Five leading West End theatres are in darkness amid fears that traditional plays are being squeezed out of theatreland by the economic downturn and an excess of musicals.

Only seven non-musical plays are being staged in the West End at the moment, including two long-running productions, The Mousetrap and The Woman In Black.

This compares with 24 musicals, such as Mamma Mia! and Dirty Dancing, which helped fuel last year's record box office takings of £470 million in the West End.

Three of the temporarily shut theatres, the Apollo, the Lyric and the Gielgud, are in Shaftsbury Avenue. The other two are the Comedy and the Novello.

Playwright Alan Ayckbourn has said he believes "straight" plays are "doomed" due to a decline in regional theatre. Leading producer Bill Kenwright is said to have almost given up on them because of losses sustained on previous productions. Evening Standard theatre critic Nicholas de Jongh writes in today's paper: "There is a danger the West End may soon become a virtual Disneyland, festooned with musicals, many theatres converted to house stand-up comedy shows, cabaret, lap-dancing or casinos."

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