Theatres, Hollywood stars and playwrights rail against EU plans to ban halogen spotlights

Theatres will be forced to close and blockbuster West End shows will be put in jeopardy because of EU regulations that will force them to replace halogen spotlights, campaigners have warned.

The EU is consulting on whether to remove an exemption for stage lighting from current legislation as part of an energy efficiency drive, forcing theatres to buy LED alternatives from 2020.

 Ministers are considering introducing the regulation in the UK despite the fact Britain is leaving the European Union, arguing that the lighting will cost less over time.

Jude Law, the actor, David Hare, the playwright and Derren Brown, the magician, are all supporting a campaign against the regulation.

According to campaigners new LED spotlights cost £2,500 each, with the cost of replacing stage lighting for a 1,300 seater venue could be more than £2million.

The National Theatre has estimated that it will cost it £8million to bring its lighting and equipment into line with the new regulations.

Campaigners believe that the regulations could even hit blockbuster shows in the West End such as Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.

Hare told The Telegraph: "I am horrified by the impracticality of the EU lighting proposals, which will have the unintended consequence of closing theatres all over Europe. It mystifies me why anyone would want to do such serious damage to such a vibrant art form."

Sir Cameron MacIntosh, the theatre impresario, said: "This is obviously a very serious matter for everyone in the industry as it will affect audiences and practitioners alike. 

"A solution must be found as the financial contribution of the Arts to the European economy is enormous as well one of its great artistic achievements.”

The Association of Lighting Directors is running a campaign against the regulation and has launched a petition which has already gained more than 12,000 signatures.

They say that even new LED spotlights will not meet EU energy efficiency targets, leaving them unable to light shows.

Robbie Butler, a lighting designer who is helping run the campaign said: “This will have a catastrophic impact on every single venue, theatre and opera house across Europe.

There will be no useable alternatives to the tools that we need to light shows. "On a continental scale, the entertainment industry is facing overnight devastation to which there is no immediate recovery."

Paule Constable, a four-time winner of an Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design, said:“Something popular and new like Hamilton, even the lights used in a flashy show like that where light is really dynamic, would equally be unable to be maintained as it is nor could it be recreated."

Lord Henley, a business minister, said in the Lords that "no decisions" have been taken about halogen lighting, adding that the Government is "aware" of the concerns of campaigners.

But he said: "Our initial technical advice suggests there are low energy lighting alternatives (e.g. LEDs) which use much less energy and have a longer lifetime than the tungsten lightbulbs. "As a result, savings on energy bills will outweigh higher purchasing costs over the lifetime of the product."

The EU regulations will ban the sale of newly manufactured halogen spotlights from 2020. Theatres will not be forced to replace them overnight, but will have to buy LEDs lighting when existing bulbs stop working.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: "Officials recently met representatives of the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) and no final decision has been made.  "The current proposals make it clear that even when the legislation is introduced, theatres and other entertainment venues will not have to remove tungsten lighting and any products still in shops or being stocked by retailers can still be sold."