Shrewish audiences blamed as 'Kiss Me Kate' is forced to close early

'Kiss Me Kate', the acclaimed musical which was hailed as one of the saviours of the West End, is to close next month.

The curtain is being brought down on the Cole Porter show after only 10 months, meaning it is unlikely to have recouped its £3.5m cost despite rave reviews and award nominations.

The show is the latest casualty of a downturn in London theatre, where audiences have shunned strong performances by relative unknowns for the allure of stars.

While Madonna packed them in for Up for Grabs at the Wyndham's and the Andrew Lloyd Webber publicity machine has ensured sell-outs for the musical Bombay Dreams, Kiss Me Kate failed to perform well enough at the box office.

It beat even the National Theatre's production of My Fair Lady in the number of Olivier Award nominations – nine to the National's eight, but did not win any. Critics praised the stylish renditions of classic numbers including "Too Darn Hot" and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" in a cast headed by four Americans.

But a spokesman said Kiss Me Kate was failing to sell enough tickets and would put on its last show at the Victoria Palace Theatre on 24 August.

"It's not coming off early – we didn't have an end date – but it should have been there for two or three years." A source said it would have lost money.

Daisy Pulls It Off closed last month after facing a similar problem of great notices but inadequate ticket sales. Several other shows have closed recently, including The Witches of Eastwick, Cats and Starlight Express although the last two had survived years.

Kiss Me Kate, based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, is a replica of a production the British director Michael Blakemore created in New York which won five Tony awards.

¿ The Broadway version of The Full Monty is to close because of falling ticket sales. The musical based on the hit film will have its final performance in the next few weeks after an 18-month run.