The Society of London theatre say that their Box Office Data Report for 2009 reveals that West End ticket prices have doubled in the space of fifteen years. SOLT say that the average ticket "asking price" last year was £43.07, compared to £21.36 back in 1995, but that the amount ultimately paid by audience members has increased more slowly, apparently because of a rise in the number of discounted tickets. They also note that the increases accelerated in the last three years.

Trying to explain the figures, the report suggests that "increases in the costs of mounting and marketing theatrical productions, which have generally risen at a considerably higher rate than the Retail Price Index, will obviously be a significant contributor to rising ticket prices".

Alison Steadman is to star in a new production of Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit' at the Apollo Theatre next year. The play, which is to be brought to the West End by Theatre Royal Bath Productions, will run from 2 March until 18 June 2011. It will be directed by Thea Sharrock, who has helmed the production of Terence Rattigan's 'After The Dance', which is currently on at the National Theatre.

Steadman will play the role of the clairvoyant. Further casting to follow.

Olivier Award nominated Cornish theatre company Kneehigh are planning to bring a new stage production of 1964 musical 'Les Parapluies De Cherbourg' to the West End next year. No venue or dates are yet confirmed, but the show will apparently premiere at the Curve in Leicester in February before tranferring to London.

Michel Legrand's original film, which starred Catherine DeNeuve, won the Palme D'Or on its release, and was nominated for five Oscars. The new stage production will be adapted by Kneehigh's artistic director, Emma Rice.

Tony Christie is to make his West End debut when he joins the cast of jukebox musical 'Dreamboats and Petticoats' on 5 July. The crooner will play the role of Older Bobby and Phil, Bobby's father.

Christie says: "I saw the show’s original opening night in London almost a year ago and just loved the story. And of course the music is incredible – The Platters, Phil Spector, Roy Orbison, Marty Wilde – all artists I grew up listening to. As soon as I saw it I’ve been searching for a gap in my diary to join the show".

The show was first staged at the Savoy Theatre following a UK tour, but has been playing at the Playhouse theatre since January .

West End musical 'wicked' has taken more than £100million at the box office since it opened back in September 2006. The musical, which currently stars Lee Mead, Louise Dearman and Rachel Tucker and has played for more than 1500 performances, passed this milestone last week.

Executive producer Michael McCabe told The Stage: "It’s still going incredibly strong. This year, we’ve already done our second and fourth highest grossing weeks of the run so far. It’s astonishing that we’re still growing - you expect to open a show at its biggest point and then gradually over the years see diminishing returns, but hopefully remain profitable. What we’re doing is still going up - that’s the real phenomenon of Wicked, it hasn’t plateaued. It just keeps on surprising us. When we opened, we would have loved to think, in our wildest dreams, that at the Apollo Victoria, we’d do five years. All of a sudden, we’re about to go into our fifth year with no sign of us going anywhere. That is amazing and gives you the chance to plan. We tend to plan a year ahead. We have no idea when the momentum will slow, but at the moment, it keeps on delivering".

You know 'Over The Rainbow'? Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest reality casting show, that's looking for a Dorothy to star in a West End production of 'The Wizard Of Oz'? Well, tickets for the show, which will run at the London Palladium next year, go on sale tomorrow. Just FYI.

Dance show 'Burn The Floor' is to transfer from Broadway to the West End for a brief run at the Shaftesbury Theatre. The production will feature guest appearances from 'Strictly Come Dancing' stars Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna.

The show, originally conceived as a special performance for Elton John's fiftieth back in 1997, opened in Bournemouth in 1999 and subsequently began a world tour. The new production opens in London on 21 July, previewing until the press night on 26 July, and running until 4 September.

Mark Rylance is to direct a fund-raiser set to take place at the Apollo Theatre on 18 April. The event – 'We Are One – A Celebration Of Tribal Peoples' - will feature appearances from the likes of Julie Christie, Gillian Anderson, Colin Firth, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Kevin Spacey, Ken Stott, Zoe Wanamaker, Mackenzie Crook and Juliet Stevenson.

It's all being held, as you might expect, in support of the tribal peoples mentioned in the show's name, and is inspired by Jo Eede’s recent book of the same name, which was published by human rights organisation Survival International, for which Rylance is an ambassador, and which will receive proceeds from the event.

Rylance says: "As a child, I was enriched and inspired by the lives and stories of the world's tribal peoples. As an adult, I have also been inspired by the ceaseless work of the organisation Survival International and their movement to protect these tribes, from the rainforest of the Amazon to the icy reaches of the Arctic. To celebrate 40 years of Survival’s work and enjoy the beauty of the spoken word from such rich oral cultures, I am gathering my friends from the theatre on the set of Jerusalem for a wonderful spring afternoon of eloquent recitals and stunning images from We Are One. To hear such moving words from our brothers and sisters who still live so intimately attached to their lands, is to be reminded that they have much to share with the world, and that we all have a deep need for a sense of belonging to each other, and to nature".

Five new works are to be performed at the London's Peacock Theatre -currently under lease to Sadlers Wells, as you may be aware - in celebration of the centenary of the former itinerant dance group Ballets Russes.

The pieces have been created for community groups by  Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance, English National Ballet and Russell Maliphant, and will be performed by the likes of the Tiffin Boys Youth Dance and Company Of Elders, at Ballet Russes Encounters on 29 March.

A casting update for the forthcoming West End production of Arthur Miller's 'All My Sons' has  been announced. 'Lost In Austen' actress Jemima Rooper will be joining previously announced stars David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker in the show, as will Stephen Campbell Moore and Daniel Lapaine.

Rooper appeared at The National Theatre last year in 'The Power Of Yes', and will soon be seen in ITV's 'Bouquet Of Barbed Wire' remake. 'Ashes to Ashes' actor Campbell Moore's recent work includes his role in Alan Bennett's 'The History Boys', which he undertook in the West End and on Broadway, as well as in the film version of the play.

The play is to be directed  by Howard Davies, and runs at the Apollo Theatre from 19 May to 11 September.

According  to a survey by actors' union Equity, many West End theatres are infested with rats, mice and fleas: three quarters of actors and stage managers working at 24 venues in theatreland report that there are regular infestations.

One respondent is quoted as saying: "Mice, mice, mice. Quite often there is an unpleasant smell which usually turns out to be a dead one!". Another surveyed thespian added: "I had tiny bite marks on my lipstick recently when I left the lid off".

Equity's general secretary Christine Payne said: "I knew it was bad out there, but I am really shocked by this! These findings mean that tonight, over 600 actors and stage managers will go to work knowing that they will probably see and smell vermin, both living and decomposing, in their work-place. I accept that many West End theatres are old and difficult buildings to manage, but this is running out of control. These appalling conditions must come to an end. I want to thank all those West End actors and stage management who took part in this survey. Their union will be working with them to make sure that effective action is taken".

Hmm. Feel a bit itchy now. Perhaps it's comforting to take note that backstage areas are otherwise kept clean and tidy. Or perhaps it's not.

West End show 'War Horse', which premiered at the National in 2007, and which is on at the New London Theatre until February next year, is to transfer to Broadway when its London run ends. The show, an adaptation of a book of the same name by acclaimed children's author Michael Morpurgo, will open at New York's Lincoln Center on 17 March 2011.

David Hyde Pierce, Joanna Lumley, and Mark Rylance are to star in a new revival of David Hirson's 1991 comedy 'La Bete'.

The production will premiere in the West End, opening for previews at the Comedy Theatre on 26 June, with a press night on 7 July. It will end its run on 28 August and immediately transfer to Broadway, venue and dates to be confirmed.

The West End's Theatre Royal Haymarket are planning to stage a site-specific performance in their venue's non-stage areas later this month. 'La Fille a la Mode' will feature circus performers, dancers and actors involved in the venue’s masterclass programme, which sees young people aged 17 to 30 learning about working in theatre from industry professionals.

The promenade performance, led by physical theatre company Dante or Die, is inspired by the first production to take place at the location back in 1720, an illegal show in an unlicensed venue. It will be twenty minutes long, and be performed three times on 26 February.

Dante or Die's Terry O’Donovan says: "It’s a really exciting piece. The spaces we are going to use are beautiful - you will see a cloakroom in a completely different way and you will see corridors you would not otherwise have seen. We are going back to the roots of the illegality of this theatre, when it first opened, and the naughtiness of the fact it was not supposed to be happening".

'Any Dream Will Do' winner Lee Mead is set to join the cast of the West End production of 'Wicked' as of 10 May, opposite another talent show alumnus, 'I'd Do Anything' finalist Rachel Tucker. Mead, who is currently on tour in 'Lord Arthur Saville's Crime', will take on the role of Fiyero in the Oz-related show, which has been running since 2006.

The musical 'Hairspray' is set to close, following a two and a half year run in London's West End.

The Olivier Award winning musical, based on the 1988 film of the same name, opened in October of 2007 at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and will close on 28 March. It's not gone altogether, however, as it will begin a UK tour in March.

Stage Entertainment UK chief executive Bill Taylor says "Every show, even a big, glorious hit show like this one, has a natural life and for now it's time for Hairspray to leave London".

He's right. A pity some other shows don't bow out gracefully.

London's West End Theatre audiences have apparently managed to stay solvent in the last year or so, despite the economic crisis. In fact, they must have loads of cash, because 2009 has been a record breaking year for the box offices, according to the Society Of London Theatre, who say that takings have increased by 7.6%, to almost £505million. Yes, more than HALF A BILLION.

SOLT president Nica Burns reckons it's because everyone is so talented. "The extraordinary quality and breadth of productions available nightly in London explains these record figures in such a difficult year economically", she says. "Whilst our musicals continue to flourish, 2009 was an outstanding year for plays - proving that audiences respond to challenge and stimulation as well as toe-tapping entertainment".

Or, it might be that audiences are willing to part with their cash to see Big Movie Stars like Jude Law, who has been knocking around the West End this year. Not that I'm saying he's not talented, of course.

The Olivier Awards – which, if you didn't already know it, honour West End theatre - have added a new category to their range of gongs, and the new accolade, for Favourite Long Running Show, will be voted for by the general public. Voters have until midday on 1 Feb to cast their vote for one of the twenty eligible shows on the list, which  will then be reduced to a shortlist. Go here to join in  the fun: www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/olivier_awards/vote

And here, just to make this story look a little longer, are the shows that are eligible:

Blood Brothers
Hairspray
Jersey Boys
Mamma Mia
La Cage Aux Folles
War Horse
Les Misérables
The 39 Steps
Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage
The Woman in Black
The Mousetrap
Avenue Q
Grease
Stomp
Billy Elliot - The Musical
The Phantom of the Opera
Wicked
The Lion King
Chicago
We Will Rock You

TV turned radio presenter Toby Anstis is among new members joining the cast of the Picadilly Theatre production of 'Grease' later this month. The Heart 106.2 DJ will make his West End debut playing Teen Angel from 25 Jan until 20 March.

Siobhan Dillon, a finalist from 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria', is stepping into the role of Sandy, playing opposite another TV reality graduate, former Hear'Say singer Noel Sullivan, who has been playing Danny since autumn last year. The leading pair will stay in their roles until 24 July.

David Essex musical 'All The Fun Of The Fair', which is based on songs from the pop star's career, is to transfer to London's Garrick Theatre following its UK tour. The show previews in the West End from 17 April, running through until September. The press night will take place on 28 April.

That's it really, I suppose. I could add that the show includes arrangements of tracks such as 'Winter’s Tale', 'Hold Me Close', and 'Gonna Make You A Star'. If you're interested. I guess I could also tell you that I've always had a bit of a soft spot for David Essex because he comes across as a nice chap. But you definitely wouldn't be interested in that.