The 2022-23 U.K. and Ireland tour of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom musical, based on the award-winning film of the same name that spawned the hit TV series Strictly Come Dancing, begins September 26 at Portsmouth's Kings Theatre.
The 10-month tour will visit almost 40 venues before culminating in Bristol in July 2023; tour stops include Bromley, Sunderland, Liverpool, Llandudno, Birmingham, Wimbledon, Darlington, Blackpool, Peterborough, Sheffield, Guildford, Ipswich, Reading, Cardiff, Plymouth, Truro, Wolverhampton, Southampton, Northampton, Hull, Canterbury, Southend, Bradford, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Bournemouth, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Derry, Dublin, Glasgow, Aylesbury, Nottingham, Salford, Leeds, and Bristol.
Directed by Craig Revel Horwood, the cast is led by Strictly Come Dancing champion Kevin Clifton as Scott Hastings and EastEnders star and Strictly Come Dancing finalist Maisie Smith as Fran. Smith will be with the tour through March 25, 2023.
Clifton and Smith, previous champions of the Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need Special 2019, are joined by Nikki Belsher as Shirley Hastings, Mark Sangster as Doug Hastings, Gary Davis as Barry Fife, Quinn Patrick as Les Kendall, Oliver Brooks as JJ Silvers, Jose Agudo as Rico, Karen Mann as Abuela, Agnes Pure as Liz, Benjamin Harrold as Ken, Jessica Vaux as Charm, Danielle Cato as Tina Sparkle, Kieran Cooper as Wayne, Maddy Ambus as Vanessa, Adam Davidson as Nathan, and Poppy Blackledge as Pam. The ensemble features Liv Alexander, Edwin Ray, Stuart Rouse, Hollie Jane Stephens, Michelle Buckley, and Stylianos Thomadakis.
The tour is choreographed by Horwood and Strictly Come Dancing Creative Director Jason Gilkison.
Featuring a book by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, the musical features such hits as "Love Is in the Air," "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps," and "Time After Time" as well as new songs by Sia, David Foster, and Eddie Perfect.
The musical originated as a stage play that Luhrmann devised with a group of classmates at Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1984. Eight years later, he made his screen directorial debut with Strictly Ballroom, subsequently earning three awards at the 1993 BAFTAs and a 1994 Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture. In April 2014 Strictly Ballroom The Musical had its world premiere at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.
Visit StrictlyBallroomTour.co.uk.
