Picture: Dave Hogan
The Craig Revel Horwood-directed and choreographed touring production of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical will now hit the road from the autumn of 2021.
Reuniting former Strictly Come Dancing pro dancer Kevin Clifton with Revel Horwood, the hard-to-please King of the Saturday night put-down, the re-scheduled UK and Ireland tour of the hit romantic comedy set within the sequin-studded world of competitive ballroom dancing will now launch in Plymouth on 27 September 2021.
Following Plymouth, the production will dance into Portsmouth, Northampton, Sunderland, Ipswich, York, Bradford, Cardiff, and Guildford in 2021. Starting in early January, the 2022 leg of the tour will visit Darlington, Peterborough, Salford, Llandudno, Southampton, Reading, Nottingham, Canterbury, Southend, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin, Derry, Wimbledon, Bournemouth, Hull, Wolverhampton, Bristol, Liverpool, Aylesbury, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bromley and Milton Keynes, before taking its final bows in Blackpool in July 2022.
Theatregoers currently holding tickets for the 2020/2021 tour will be offered the chance to exchange their tickets for the new performance dates at the same venues. Details of how to make an exchange will be announced soon.
Commenting on his delayed debut in the show Clifton said: “I’m really delighted that the Strictly Ballroom tour has been rescheduled. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s my all-time favourite film and Scott Hastings is my dream role, so I can’t wait to bring this musical to theatres across the UK next year. In the meantime, please stay safe and keep well everyone.”
Revel Horwood added: “I’m thrilled that our new production of Strictly Ballroom The Musical has been rescheduled for 2021/2022. The tour may be a year later, but you can still expect those same sexy dance moves, scintillating costumes and a simply FAB-U-LOUS show for all to enjoy, starring the one and only Kevin Clifton!”
A favourite with fans of the BBC celebrity dance show, international Ballroom and Latin champion, Clifton joined the Strictly professional line-up in 2013 and is the only pro dancer to have reached four consecutive finals. He finally claimed the Glitterball in 2018 with his partner Stacey Dooley.
Clifton made his musical theatre debut in Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych in 2010 and returned to the genre in January this year to play Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer for a limited London season at the newly opened Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre.
As well as being a popular fixture on Saturday night TV, Revel Horwood’s vast musical theatre credentials include playing Miss Hannigan in multiple productions of Annie and directing and choreographing productions of a range of major shows including Sister Act and Chess.
The feel-good story of the rule-breaking dancer and the shy outsider who transforms into the perfect partner first hit the stage as a student play. The play was then transformed into a film by Luhrmann and designer Catherine Martin before the duo working with Terry Johnson, who joined the team to adapt the original book, to return to the stage in its musical incarnation at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in 2014.
Featuring a book by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce and a mixture of feel-good songs from the film’s original soundtrack along with new songs from current chart stars Sia, David Foster and Eddie Perfect also played seasons in Melbourne and Brisbane in 2015. The show made its eagerly-anticipated UK debut at the West Yorkshire Playhouse late 2016 before playing a West End run in 2018.
Angela Thomas
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