Phantom of the Opera's 14 month tour of UK and Ireland is axed amid fears stage shows will not restart until next year

• Theatre producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh said the show will no longer go ahead
• He blamed it on the uncertainty around the length of social distancing measures
• The first and only performance was at the Curve Theatre, Leicester, in March 
• The closure of UK theatres was extended from the end of May until June 28

It looks as though the music of the night has been silenced by the pandemic ... after the UK touring production of Phantom of the Opera cancelled all future dates.

The first and so far only performance of the new version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical took place at the Curve Theatre, Leicester, at the beginning of March.

Now theatre producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh has revealed the show, which had been set to tour the UK and Ireland over the next 14 months, will no longer go ahead.

He blamed it on the ‘great uncertainty around the duration of social distancing requirements’ combined with the ‘perilous financial situation in which many regional theatres find themselves’.

In a statement, Sir Cameron and his fellow producers said it was a ‘heartbreaking’ decision but they were determined that the musical would one day be seen again on regional stages. 

At the beginning of lockdown, all UK theatres announced that they would be shutting their doors until the end of May, which was then extended until June 28.

Last week The National Theatre warned it may have to cut up to 30 per cent of its staff unless it receives Government aid, after losing more than 75 per cent of its income. 

Sir Cameron said he did not think theatres would be able to stage productions until 2021. 

He said: ‘The truth is until social distancing doesn’t exist any more, we can’t even plan to reopen.’ 

The Proms are going virtual this year – with a live Last Night in order to ‘bring the nation together’.

More than 350 musicians will be heard together in a Beethoven ‘mash-up’ on the first night after recording their parts at home.

There will be live performances at the Royal Albert Hall in the final fortnight of the season, from August 28. An audience has not been ruled out.