Cameron Mackintosh Plans Endowment for West End Theaters

Producer Cameron Mackintosh plans to use some of his estimated £635m fortune to endow each of his seven London playhouses so that they remain homes to only musicals and plays after his death, according to a report in The Sunday Times. The venues include the Prince of Wales, where Mamma Mia! is running, the Queen’s, where Les Misérables is playing, and the Prince Edward, currently home to Jersey Boys.

Though most West End theaters are protected from demolition, uncertainty hangs over their use whenever they are sold. The Empire in Leicester Square became a cinema, while the nearby Hippodrome is being converted into a casino and entertainment venue. No one has previously attempted to guarantee that the buildings remain a stage for plays and musicals.

Mackintosh has already spent more than £35m on improving his theaters. In addition, he has changed the names of some of his acquisitions in memory of his theatrical heroes, such as John Gielgud (current home to Avenue Q, Noël Coward (where Lucy Prebble’s Enron is playing), and Ivor Novello (which currently houses Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.