West End stars including Christopher Biggins and Griff Rhys Jones headline battle to stop Dress Circle closing

Published: 19th May, 2011
by PAVAN AMARA

CELEBRITY fans and theatre lovers are joining forces to rescue their  “showbiz shop”.

Dress Circle, in Covent Garden, has faced rising rent and falling trade since 2009, but now the record shop which specialises in  musical theatre and cabaret faces closure as early as next month.

Owner Murray Allan said: “We desperately need an investor. I am the sole owner of this place, and I need to find a big business partner. I need financial support. Anyone from the British theatre industry should take note.”

Mr Allan, who has owned the Monmouth Street shop for 17 years, said the rent rose by 35 per cent in 2009.

“It hurt a lot, but I thought we’d cope with it,” he said. “I didn’t think it would have an effect two years down the line.”

Trade was lower than expected at Christmas. “We made excuses by saying there was the snow, there were the student riots and all sorts of things, but actually it was just a warning of what was to come,” he said.

Thousands have already signed up to the “Save Dress Circle” Facebook page, and fans have suggested a charity collection tin be passed around West End theatres.

Celebrity fans have been hatching potential rescue plans.

Rocky Horror Show actor Christopher Biggins, a past winner of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, said: “I have a suggestion for this: I think Cameron Mackintosh should get involved. He owns plenty of theatres, and he could save this. He could do something about this.  

“It is hideous that it is closing. What a sorry shame when it could be saved. 

“I am a regular customer and I think it’s a great shop. There’s simply so much in there. If that closes down, then God knows what’s next? This just goes to show the horror of rising rents in real terms.”

Comedian Griff Rhys Jones said hikes in rents posed a threat to the character of Covent Garden.

“If places like Dress Circle disappear then Covent Garden will be useless to the upmarket visitor it currently attracts, because it’ll be just like any other shopping centre,” he warned. “It may as well be an outdoor Brent Cross in that case. 

“The whole area needs to have a well-thought- out policy, because rising rents will lead to it becoming commercialised, and that’s when we’ll see its demise. 

“They need to encourage a sensible mix of individual and commercial shops. Ideally, they should be looking at places like South Molton Street and Marylebone High Street.”

New York’s equivalent of Dress Circle, Footlight Records, closed its doors two years, and now trades solely online.

Dress Circle will be staging a host of events in late May to raise money. Names have not been confirmed yet.

Mr Allan said: “I can’t say who they are yet, but all I can say is that they are big names and they will be performing here at our events. Hopefully, we’ll raise money but also attention.”