West End flop Mask closes early

Sheila Ferguson and Robert Fardell star in Behind the Iron Mask

London musical Behind the Iron Mask has announced it is to close, just two days after its opening night.

Based on Alexandre Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask, the show drew damning reviews from newspaper critics.

In a statement, the producers said the show had found it difficult to "sustain sufficient audience levels and meet its running costs".

The musical, which stars former Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson, will close its doors on 20 August.

It began previewing on 22 July at London's Duchess Theatre. No replacement has yet been announced.

Much of the critics' derision centred on lead actor Robert Fardell, whose face is masked by an iron helmet for the duration of the performance.

'Vacant moments'

The Guardian said he looked like "Hannibal Lecter crossed with a Teletubby", while the Evening Standard said he resembled "a charred parrot".

"I suspect Robert Fardell is deeply grateful he can spend the whole evening hiding behind his iron mask," said the Daily Telegraph.

The Independent, meanwhile, referred to "weird, vacant moments when the show seemed to run completely out of steam - as though, like its audience, it was losing the will to live".

But Behind the Iron Mask will not hold the record for the shortest-lived London musical.

That dubious honour is held by Oscar Wilde: The Musical, which closed in October 2004 after just one night.