War Horse boosts economy by £15m
WAR Horse, the popular and evocative wartime drama, which has had two runs at The Lowry arts centre over the last year, has boosted the region’s economy by more than £15m.
The final run at the Salford venue draws to a close on Saturday. The acclaimed National Theatre’s production will have been seen by more than 200,000 people by the final performance.
The current run, which began on 23 July, has added a further £6.6m economic boost to the £8.9m provided by the first run – which ran from 20 November 2013 to 18 January 2014. It saw another 84,000 people see the show at The Lowry, during what is traditionally a quiet period for the theatre.
Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive of The Lowry, said: “War Horse bows out at The Lowry our most popular production ever – and leaves behind not only great memories of the Michael Morpurgo tale, but also a concrete example of the value of the arts and the wider visitor economy to the local area.
“The National Theatre was one of the very first partnerships we established when we opened in 2000 and they continue to deliver for our audiences year after year. Whilst we are all very sad to be saying farewell to this particular show – we look forward to welcoming the National back this Christmas.”
Chris Harper, general manager of National Theatre Productions said: “The Lowry and our amazing audiences in the North West are special to the National Theatre, and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response to War Horse.
“As the show moves on at the end of this week, down the road to Stoke-on-Trent before flying on to South Africa, I know that the company will take with them treasured memories of their time in Salford.”
