Last week, Spider-Man star Tom Holland announced he was returning to the West End in a new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Directed by Jamie Lloyd, the upcoming production is set to run at the Duke of York’s Theatre for 12 weeks only.
The strictly limited season is from May 11 to August 3 with further casting to be announced.
This morning general tickets went on sale at midday (4 hours after priority opened), but were sold out 2 hours later. At one point during the scramble to secure seats, there were over 71,000 people in the virtual queue.
Fans took to social media to express their excitement and distress at the rush for tickets.
A fan tweeted: “The demand to see his play. Tom Holland really is an unparalleled phenomenon. And there are still those who doubt that he’s a huge draw well beyond Spider-Man. I pity them.”
One wrote: “I thought I was being proactive with my priority access to Tom Holland Romeo and Juliet theatre tickets at 8am. Turns out 41,000 other people are doing the same. Getting tickets to Tom Holland’s Romeo & Juliet is starting to feel like [Taylor Swift] Eras tour trauma.
Another lamented: “Waited in the Tom Holland Romeo and Juliet queue for over 3 hours just for there to only be the £125+ tickets left. I don’t have that kinda money I’m sorry.”
Meanwhile, some were lucky, with one tweeting: “I DID IT! I just scored a ticket to see Tom Holland in Romeo & Juliet on stage in London!!!! On closing night! Not to mention, it’s an aisle seat 3rd row from the stage! I must be dreaming.”
Tickets may be sold out for now, but ATG pointed out: “At a later date, 5000 tickets at £25 will be available exclusively for under 30s, key workers and those receiving government benefits on every level of the auditorium – including the front row. Details of when these tickets become available will be announced soon.”