Hairspray: West End musical cancels performances after Covid case

West End musical Hairspray has scrapped all performances for 10 days after a member of its production team tested positive for Covid-19.

The show at the London Coliseum, which stars Michael Ball and Les Dennis, has been suspended until 14 July.

The announcement comes after a matinee performance was cancelled on Sunday.

Producers said they were "adhering to the strictest of protocols" and the ill person "will not have come into contact with anyone visiting the venue".

Their statement said: "Unfortunately, despite extremely robust measures being in place, a member within the Hairspray company has sadly tested positive for Covid-19."

They added: "We want to reassure all of our audiences that due to the strict processes we have in place at the London Coliseum, this registered case will not have come into contact with anyone visiting the venue and we are confident that we have adhered to all the required health and safety requirements."

Under current government guidance, those who test positive for Covid-19, or who have been in close contact with someone who has, must self-isolate for 10 days.

"The safety of our customers remains our number one priority," the statement added. "Everyone at both the London Coliseum and in the Hairspray team are so sorry that this means these performances cannot go ahead."

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The opening night of the production, which sees Ball revive his role as the mother of a teenage girl growing up in 1960s Baltimore, was attended by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden last month.

Organisers said ticketholders could get a full refund or book for a new date.

It is not the only theatre show to be disrupted. London's Royal Court has announced its play Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner would be suspended between 5 and 11 July "due to Covid isolation requirements" after a member of the production team tested positive.

The West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat also faced delays in June.

And the Cheltenham Music Festival lost a choir that was due to appear on Monday. But organisers found a replacement choir - The Carice Singers - who stepped in to perform the world premiere of Lillie Harris's The Dusk of Thee at just one day's notice.

The spate of cancellations prompted acclaimed playwright James Graham to describe the UK's current mass isolation policy as "unsustainable" on Sunday.

On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said anyone who tests positive would still have to self-isolate at step four of the government roadmap, probably from 19 July, but that "close contacts" may no longer need to do so if they are fully vaccinated.