Following a series of successful meetings with senior executives from both the Theatre of Comedy Company — which owns and runs London's Shaftesbury Theatre — and Camden Council, a resolution has been reached in terms of establishing mutually acceptable sound criteria for the Shaftesbury Theatre. The Shaftesbury Theatre can now be a competitive commercial West End theatre and can house all types of theatrical productions including major musicals.

The newly adopted criteria addresses Camden's statutory duty to protect the needs of local residents, whilst enabling The Shaftesbury Theatre to operate effectively and competitively as a commercial West End theatre.

Representatives of the Theatre of Comedy Company said, "We are all delighted that we have been able to amicably resolve this issue. We are pleased that as a result of the support and assistance from Camden we can now put the sound issue at The Shaftesbury Theatre firmly behind us."

Camden Council's Executive Member for the Environment, Cllr John Thane, said: "I am thrilled that the Shaftesbury Theatre is to continue its long tradition of innovative shows that entertain and delight theatregoers. Our officers have worked closely with the theatre to achieve a balanced agreement on sound that won't diminish the impact of future shows or disturb local residents. That this issue has been resolved so quickly is proof of everyone's desire to see the Shaftesbury Theatre housing successful and high quality productions."

This means that the unfortunate dispute between Council and theatre, earlier this year, that meant that Umoja left the Shaftesbury for the Queen's (it is now at the New London), can now be consigned to history and the Shaftesbury can continue to be a theatre where musicals like 125th Street, which opened on Sept. 17, can be successfully staged.

—By Paul Webb http://www.theatrenow.com/">Theatrenow