The Mystery Play That Sold Out Before It Opened

Ticket-buyers don’t know what Mike Leigh’s new play is about (or even the title) but it’s sold out its run at London’s National Theatre. “The truth is that no one but Mike Leigh and his actors know what his first stage play for 12 years is about. But that has not hindered its performance at the box office. The new production, which is currently going by the intuitive title of A New Play by Mike Leigh, has already sold out after theatregoers snapped up more than 16,000 advance tickets. The only clue is the play’s publicity poster, a black-and-white shot of a solitary palm tree against a backdrop of sand dunes.”