Lover

Interesting comment Titan. Actually UK Productions is very much still in existence.! They may not be touring large scale musicals at the moment, but they certainly have not ceased to exist.

Yep. Definitely shutting. Was announced today to the company officially. Though yes, they had heard before!

Ok - a little reversed view at them both.

Having company managed tours into BOTH the Hippo and the Alex, then I can say both theatres have their place for certain products, however the Alex, sadly is one of the HARDEST theatres in the entire of the UK to actually fit a show into (of its scale). The crew there are a smashing bunch of guys but the logistics, physics and restrictions placed actually make it very difficult to fit some shows in there. Even if they fit, you actually have to get it in there in the first place, and if you have never had a chance to see the dock door open you wont understand.

Having said that, I have always had a wonderful time in the Alex as well as the Hippo.

The puppets are in storage. They are well looked after. Boxes with their own fans and lights to keep them safe. ! (They are scared of the dark)

My guess is the puppets will be the ones from the West End. Nigel Plaskitt is the puppet supervisor for it also. So it would make sense that they are going to use the ones from Cam Mac.

and no - you are right, they are not cheap to make, not cheap to maintain either. Though depends whether they are just re-skinned or are fully replaced.