By Mark Shenton
09 Jul 2008

The West End has had a record-breaking year, with the highest attendances reported since record-keeping began: 13,636,540 people attended performances last year, ten percent higher than in 2006, according to the Society of London Theatre's 2007 Box Office Data Report, which has just been published.

These figures represented theatres that were more than 70 percent full, and advance bookings are also reported to have increased by 40 percent. Box-office revenues were also substantially up, with total ticket revenue rising to £469,729,135, from the previous year's receipts of £400,802,809.

In a statement Richard Pulford, chief executive of SOLT, said, "2007 was something of an annus mirabilis for London theatre, with many new productions which have caught the public imagination."

Pulford added, "These figures are a wonderful start to our Centenary Year, but in the current economic climate we're going to have to work very hard to maintain this level of success."