S Poddar
The eagerly awaited performance of Macbeth by David Tennant and Cush Jumbo has been cancelled for the third time in a row, this latest cancellation being announced just two hours before curtain time. The Shakespearean production, taking place at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre, has faced repeated cancellations on the grounds of “company illness,” as termed by the theatre.
Many fans had come from afar and complained that they were given notice very late. They claimed that money had already been spent in traveling and on food and expressed sympathy for the health problems of the cast, but argued that they should have known earlier so that they could have altered their plans. On November 1, the theatre’s X (formerly Twitter) account announced that the evening show would be canceled. It said: “Unfortunately due to company sickness the performance of Macbeth tonight has been cancelled.”
Ticket holders were told they would be contacted by their ticket provider in the following days to arrange refunds or alternative options. Fans were more hurt by the timing of these notices, for some were notified of the cancellation just two hours before the show. A fan wrote, “Meanwhile, in London, UK, the whole company, including David Tennant of Macbeth, is ill, and four consecutive performances are canceled just two hours before their curtain call.”
Many took to social media to express disappointment at the way the cancellations were announced. One of the frustrated audience members wrote on Instagram, “I am all for the actors taking care of themselves, but cancelling 1.5 hours beforehand is a bit rude.” Another disappointed fan, who traveled from Lyon, shared, “We came to the tonight’s performance from Lyon”. Shame they hadn’t cancelled it a bit sooner during the day. So here we were just to see an empty evening of London. We just possibly got to see something else perhaps instead.
It did not get much better following what was otherwise a pretty nice dinner theatre performance. According to numerous ticket holders, they’d spent an entire day in search for the information while wasting their extra money by nearly cancellation. “Much sympathy to those who are ill, but the lack of notice of cancellation is astoundingly poor,” said the event attendee. “If, as we were told, the theater knew there wouldn’t be tonight performance by 4 p.m., then why did the ticket holders waste their extra until nearly to 6 in the evening to know whether there’ll be a presentation or cancellation?
The cast and crew were really quite distressed about the cancellations and an annoyed fan commented about that, saying, “A decision should have been made much earlier in the day. I am not at all placing blame on the cast – illness cannot be helped and I hope everyone gets over it quickly. What makes me very disgusted, though, is the way in which the theatre treated the situation. It was incredibly rude and disrespectful.
Fans on X could not get excited about cancellation notices, especially those pertaining to non-refundable travel costs. One tweeted: “Booked nonrefundable trains for weeks preparing for tomorrow’s performance is there anyway to rebate cost of those?” Another user queried: “Why use this as an excuse ticket agents use to raise price of the remaining shows?
For others, last-minute cancellations left them fighting to get through to customer service. One fan complained, “Maybe if you answered just one of the many people who asked about tonight’s performance on here and Instagram, your phone lines wouldn’t be clogged up with callers trying to find out. Been on hold for 50 minutes now.”
With some of the disgruntled patrons having booked nannies, hotel reservations, and restaurants, the timing of these cancellations hasn’t sat well with many. One posted, “Nanny booked. Hotel booked. Restaurant booked. Play cancelled with four hours to go.” Another customer referenced a text message she received from the ticketing company ATG as she inquired, “Just so I don’t leave early tomorrow to get to London, can you confirm?
The rescheduling and refund concerns of the ticket holders were identical. “Can you give more info, please? Rescheduling? Refunds? When will it be back?” asked one of them. Another implored, “You can’t just cancel via text message and then not follow up with more info!”
A publicist from the theatre spoke after much public outcry to express that: “All clients who had been scheduled in their booked cancelled performances received correspondence informing that they would be contacted by their point of sale on regards to the options presented for their booking. As they stated, this process already is in place.”
As the theatre processes the complaints and refunds of the customers, the frustration of the fans who waited for Tennant and Jumbo’s take on one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies is highlighted. Fans expect the cast to recover well and that communication will be smoother next time so that they can watch the play with fewer interruptions.
