West End enters 'golden period' with record ticket sales of 512mn pounds

London, Jan 28 (ANI): The West End has entered a 'golden period', with its ticket sales soaring to 512 million pounds last year.

More than 14million people attended the theatre last year and total box office revenues reached 512,331,808 pounds according to figures published by the Society of London Theatre.

Wicked, Billy Elliot and Sister Act each set records - 2010 was particularly great for plays, reports the Telegraph.

The dramas Jerusalem, Enron and Yes, Prime Minister broke box office records at their respective theatres.

Nica Burns, the president of the Society of London Theatre, said the figures showed the West End was enjoying a "golden period", a "pay-off" from years of investment in new writing and directing talent. "

"These figures show that nothing beats the experience of live theatre," she said.

Kids Week, an initiative that allows children to visit the theatre for nothing with an accompanying adult, proved an unprecedented success, with 68,121 tickets sold - a rise of nearly 17,000 on the previous year.

"There have been a lot of family friendly and child-oriented plays. One recent phenomenon is having two shows at the same venue, one in the day for children, and that's a welcome development," said Paul James, the commercial manager for the society.

"From a commercial point of view it means theatres aren't standing empty for most of the day. But it also has the great advantage of getting people into the theatre young.

"The figures for 2010 are a pleasant surprise, given the weather and travel problems and the economic climate. It turned out to be a vintage year," he said. (ANI)