‘Best Of Enemies’ At Young Vic & ‘Cabaret’ Revival Among Latest WestEnd Shows To Be Hit By Covid

UPDATE, 12/20: Best of Enemies, the stage play from James Graham (Quiz) currently being housed at London’s Young Vic, has cancelled performances through January 3 due to “extensive Covid disruption” among the show’s staff and production teams, according to the venue’s Twitter account.

The Young Vic’s social media team added that they hoped performances would resume from January 4.

The play becomes the latest West End show to be hit by disruption from the virus, with many theaters postponing multiple performances due to outbreaks.

At present UK theaters, and cinemas, remain open, but the government is meeting today to discuss several options for enhanced measures to stem the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the country.

PREVIOUSLY, 12/16: The Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley-starring Cabaret production at London’s Playhouse Theater (operating now as the Kit Kat Club) has been forced to cancel performances after a member of its backstage crew tested positive for Covid.

The play’s official twitter account posted the news, saying it was planning to test the wider company and that the safety of its audiences, cast and company were the priority.

A surge of Covid cases prompted by the Omicron variant has been impacting live events across the UK, with numerous sporting fixtures postponed this week including high-profile Premier League soccer games.

Cabaret becomes the latest West End production to be impacted by an outbreak of the virus. Shows such as The Lion King at the Lyceum theater and Life of Pi at at Wyndham’s theatre have also lost performances after internal positive tests, while The National cancelled a preview of its Christmas show Hex after an actor caught Covid.

The UK government has responded by ordering people work from home, increasing mask restrictions, introducing Covid passes for some venues, and speeding up its vaccine booster rollout.