Fortune Theatre's production Four Flat Whites in Italy has broken a 22-year record, becoming the most popular single season of a play staged at the theatre.
About 6600 seats to the Roger Hall play were sold during its 32-performance run which finished on Saturday, beating the previous record of 6491 paid admissions for another of the playwright's works, The Share Club, which was staged at the Mayfair Theatre in 1987.
Theatre manager Janice Marthen said the Dunedin audience was discriminating and budget conscious but when it was offered a fine, entertaining drama it responded to it.
With industry, promotional and usher seats factored in, about 7% of the city's permanent population saw the play.
Theatre script adviser and archivist Alister McDonald said by world standards that was an enormous response for a play to enjoy in such a short time.
"By comparison, David Williamson, the most popular playwright in Australia, sells 30,000 seats when his plays are staged by the Melbourne Theatre Company."
More people saw the play than saw all the other "straight plays staged in the city at other venues" , he said.
Four Flat Whites was credited as one of the productions which has kept the Fortune out of the red this year.
