Crash brings the curtain down on West End shows

A spate of West End shows have issued early closure notices over the weekend, prompting caution in theatreland as the credit crunch hits box office sales.

Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial effort, Riflemind, which opened at Trafalgar Studios on 19 September to a star-studded audience and was backed by Cate Blanchett and her Australian playwright husband, Andrew Upton, is to shut 10 weeks early. Starring John Hannah as an ageing rock star, it was booked until 3 January, 2009 but now finishes on 25 October.

Avenue Q, the award-winning puppet musical and surprise word-of-mouth hit, which offered affordable tickets to a younger audience, also posted closing notices at the Noel Coward Theatre. It opened in London on 28 June, 2006 and, after numerous extensions, had been booking until 29 April next year. The finale will instead arrive on 28 March.

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A spokeswoman for the musical played down the closure: "It's just ending a week or two early." But industry insiders said the closures marked a darker turn.

Eurobeat, the spoof musical which uses the Eurovision song contest as its starting point, also posted a closure notice at the Novello Theatre on Friday. The show had been a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007 before opening in London last month. It had been booking until 15 November but will now finish a fortnight early.

The trio of closures closely follows the sudden disappearance of the stage version of Girl with a Pearl Earring, based on the Tracey Chevalier novel and subsequent hit film starring Scarlett Johansson. It was the second consecutive production at the Theatre Royal Haymarket to finish before its booking period, coming after the musical, Marguerite, starring Ruthie Henshall, shut two months early with producers blaming Britain's current economic climate.

Terri Paddock, editor-in-chief of Whatsonstage.com, said fewer risks would be taken by punters and producers: "It is a difficult time ... Regular theatre-goers will be smarter about how they spend their money, while producers will be thinking of taking on the right projects." She suggested that as the recession took hold, West End productions might offer "escapist" dramas, which are traditionally popular during economic hardship.

The producer of Girl with a Pearl Earring, Andrew Welsh, is also behind Treasure Island, a lavish new musical starring Keith Allen as Long John Silver, to open at the Theatre Royal on 7 November. Mr Welsh said of the early closure: "There were a number of reasons but the economic crisis would have played a role as well as the reviews."

One notable casualty early this autumn was Never Forget, a musical based on the story of the boy band, Take That. After opening at the Savoy Theatre in May, its previously announced move to the Lyric Theatre was cancelled and it will close in the West End in four weeks. Jason Haigh-Ellery, the show's producer, said he'd noticed a change in climate in the West End. "Two years ago, producers were queuing up with shows to fill theatres. It's not quite the reverse now but it's very different. We are being a lot more careful," he said.

He felt the best survival strategy was to create shows for more limited periods so they became "must-see" performances. Taking shows on tour, as he has done with his former West End production, Footloose, was another way of filling theatres, he said.

The show's over Theatrical victims of the crunch

Riflemind, directed by the Hollywood actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and backed financially by Cate Blanchett, opened at Trafalgar Studios on 19 September. It will now close 10 weeks early, this Saturday.

Eurobeat, the spoof musical starring Les Dennis at the Novello Theatre, opened last month and was taking bookings until 15 November, but will now finish a fortnight early.

Avenue Q, the award-winning puppet musical at the Noel Coward Theatre, opened in London on 28 June 2006. Will now close on 28 March.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, opened on 29 September and had been due to play until 1 November, but will close on 18 October.

Never Forget, a musical based on Take That, opened at the Savoy Theatre on 22 May. Will now close in the West End on 15 November.

Joan Rivers cancelled the return season for her show at the Leicester Square Theatre.