Some of Britain's top theatres were to close from Monday (March 16) night, as the country shut down social life in the battle against a coronavirus outbreak just as it accelerates towards it peak.
In
Some of Britain's top theatres were to close from Monday (March 16) night, as the country shut down social life in the battle against a coronavirus outbreak just as it accelerates towards it peak.
In a toughening of Britain's approach to the outbreak, Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised to close down any remaining social life in the world's fifth largest economy and ordered those over 70 with underlying health problems to isolate for 12 weeks from this weekend.
People should avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres, the government said, though Johnson stopped short of ordering them to close.
Following Johnson's announcement, the Society of London Theatres said its member venues, which include London's major West End theatres, would close from Monday night until further notice.
"We only arrived thirty minutes before the show to be told that it was cancelled so very disappointed," said one theatre-goer who had tickets to see 'Pretty Woman'.
"Audience members for a show that has been cancelled will be contacted by their ticket providers and are entitled to a refund," the society said in a statement.
Nearly 70,000 movie theatres in China have been closed for weeks as the virus continues to spread.