VIDEO: West End Flash Mobs Bring HAMILTON, WICKED, and More to London Streets

Check out West End Waiting, a series of musical theatre flash mobs in central London, produced and performed by members of West End Waiting, a new organisation created to support the performing arts countrywide during its most challenging times.

Check out the artists below performing the first three flash mobs at Leicester Square, The National Theatre, and Trafalgar Square, featuring songs from Hamilton, Les Miserables Wicked, and The Phantom of the Opera.

Following on from three smaller vocal flash mobs each comprising around 40 stage performers, the finale promises to be an al fresco spectacular. Up to 200 singers who were, until lockdown, stars of shows both in the West End and around the UK, and (weather permitting) a 50-piece orchestra will perform six musical theatre classics, conducted by Steve Moss, Musical Director of the West End production of Les Miserables.

Lee Durnford, who originally conceived West End Waiting, has quickly achieved a remarkable consensus amongst a disparate body of associated trades who have, to date, displayed an understandable degree of self-interest in their various campaigns for greater Government support. West End Waiting aims to bring these voices together and, despite the inference in the title, the focus is UK-wide and not just London-centric.

West End Waiting's co-director Nick Miller comments, "This Saturday marks a pivotal moment for our industry - a chance to make some noise and bang the drum (in a very literal sense) for our scores of professional singers, dancers, musicians, designers, directors, producers that have no outlet and very little support during this difficult time. We want to show the country, and the world, that everyone is still here, still talented, and we remain hopeful for our resilient UK theatre industry."

West End Waiting began life as a private Facebook page with the modest intention of pricking up a few ears amongst the great and good in Westminster in the hope of garnering support for the beleaguered Performing Arts and Events sector.

Like all good viral sensations, the hope was to reach a few hundred interested parties over the ensuing months, but within 48 hours of its launch West End Waiting had secured a following of over 9,000 like-minded individuals working on and off stage and in the events industry and other allied trades.

Having recently reached in excess of 12,000 members, the aim is to provide a serious platform for these highly skilled and experienced individuals, promising a unified voice for everyone from the starring cast to the cloakroom staff.

The first public show of unity has taken the form of a number of strategically located musical 'flash mobs' in the last week of October in Central London, featuring large numbers of highly talented signers travelling in from all four corners of the UK, and supported by volunteers from West End musical directors to long-established production managers, stage managers and choreographers.

The musical theatre medley the flash mobs performed was compiled and conducted by no less than Steve Moss, Musical Director for the London production of Les Miserables.

In the coming months the aim is not simply to seek to be yet another pressure group holding out a hand to Rishi, but also to persuade certain other theatre operators country-wide (Tier 3 not withstanding) that they might choose to follow the lead of Nimax Theatres. Nica Burns, co-owner of Nimax, has taken the initiative to open all 6 of her London venues for a season of shows observing social distancing alongside robust risk mitigation, obviously with greatly reduced capacities. The company is perfectly aware that it is not possible to make a profit, but they we will be earning a contribution to their costs, and in the process retaining the invaluable skills and experienced (and, indeed, loyalty) of its workforce. Unlike certain others!

West End Waiting also seeks to persuade various other connected parties such as local authorities who have chosen to mothball their arts and performance centres that they might look to follow Nimax's lead. WEW are also keen to provide a conduit for other worthwhile causes, for example a theatre and disability blogger who has provided some very interesting first-hand experience of the poor facilities for disabled users in all too many venues.