The West End play that Matt Lucas dropped out of following the suicide of his ex-husband is closing early due to lack of ticket sales.

The Little Britain star pulled out of his role in Prick Up Your Ears just days after it had opened when the shock news broke - and was replaced by Con O'Neill.

But now it has been announced that the show will close three weeks early, with the last performance taking place at the Comedy Theatre on November 15.

A statement from the producers said: "Despite very good feedback and notices for Con O'Neill's performance, the box office sales have not been sufficient to keep the show going.

"And so the producers have taken the difficult decision to close the show three weeks prior to its scheduled end date."

Even when actors aren't hit by the same sort of personal tragedy as Matt, things can still go very wrong on the stage...