Bring It On, Footloose and 9 to 5 musical tours delayed until 2021
A number of UK tours have been postponed, it was announced today.
All operated by Selladoor Worldwide, the productions – Footloose The Musical, We Will Rock You, Madagascar the Musical, 9 to 5 the Musical and Bring It On The Musical, will now open in 2021.
CEO David Hutchinson said: "It's with a heavy heart that we've taken the decision to postpone the majority of our productions into 2021 both in the UK and internationally. It's taken our production team, creatives and partners years to put these productions together and we were so excited to share them with audiences this year. However, the uncertainty on when theatres will reopen, married with questions on how we safely tour actors both in the UK and internationally; and consumer confidence compromised – we feel the odds are against us and we must prioritise sustainable production.
"We have 100+ members of staff across our productions and venues operation and the priority at this uncertain time is to maximise our runway for relaunch, whenever that may be, and maintain as much resilience as we can. We are currently burning through our reserve cash at a scary rate and it's completely unsustainable for a company mainly reliant on box office."
Footloose, which was originally meant to open last April, will now begin UK tour dates in January 2021.
9 to 5, which was due to open this month, will now begin in spring 2021, while Bring It On (which was meant to open in Birmingham in June) will now begin its tour in the autumn of 2021. It is unknown if Bring It On will complete its 2020 winter season at the Southbank Centre, with tickets currently still on sale.
International productions of We Will Rock You and Madagascar have also been moved to next year. Full dates for the 2021 tours are to be confirmed, with producers working with venues to lock down times over the coming weeks.
All Selladoor venues (The Queen's Theatre Barnstaple, The Landmark Ilfracombe and New Theatre Peterborough) will be closed until November, with plans to reopen in time for pantomime season.
