West End comedy will close after failing to pull it off

In the theatrical economy of the West End, a play with stinking reviews but a big star sells out effortlessly. Yet a well-made revival winning critical praise for a cast of relative unknowns is forced to close.

Such is the fate of Daisy Pulls It Off, the girls' boarding school spoof, which had been booking until November but will now shut after seven weeks, on 8 June, after playing mostly to half-full houses.

A spokesman said: "It had fantastic reviews but the bookings just aren't there. In the West End at the moment, unless you've got a star – Gwyneth Paltrow [in Proof], Madonna [in Up for Grabs] or Matt Damon [This Is Our Youth] – it's very difficult."

The show, at the Lyric Theatre, was a co-production between Clear Channel and Lord Lloyd-Webber. It was a revival of a production staged by his Really Useful Group 19 years ago that ran for three years.

The critics said it was welcome and praised performances from the large cast of 20. The Independent said Hannah Yelland was "in great form" as the heroine with Katherine Heath "wonderfully funny" as her best friend. By contrast, Madonna was widely regarded as looking gorgeous but wooden.

Daisy Pulls It Off will still go on a two-year tour of Britain as planned, starting next year.