The West End’s Hollywood Daze

A Hollywood reputation has become one of the quickest ways to land a place on the British stage. “Over the past five years, London, especially during the tourist-rich summer months, has become the home to a new kind of production which could very easily be perceived as a hipper, higher-priced form of dinner theatre. Here’s the formula for this commercial cocktail: Add a dash of reasonably high-profile celebrity in a smallish cast play for a limited run. Shake well to generate maximum publicity. Pray the critics don’t chill it too thoroughly. Serve to an eager public.”