Burn the Floor

Burn the Floor opens at Shaftesbury

Acclaimed dance show Burn The Floor opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre last night featuring a starry audience and some spectacular dancing.

There was lots of support in the audience for Brian Fortuna and Ali Bastian, who wowed BBC audiences on Strictly Come Dancing last year and take guest spots in the show. Ricky Whittle, Mark Ramprakash, Kara Tointon, Craig Revel Horwood and Arlene Phillips were out in force to see the show and support their dancing pals.

The show’s dynamic mix of Latin and ballroom dancing brings some fiery, passionate power to the Shaftesbury Theatre. Burn The Floor was first conceived as a special performance at Sir Elton John’s 50th birthday celebrations in 1997, and made its UK premiere two years later before setting off on a world tour.

And now it’s back in London, featuring the talents of 20 award-winning dancers from around the globe including 18 year old Robbie Kmetoni from Sydney, who was the winner of the Australian version of So You Think You Can Dance, and Cuban salsa dancer Janette Manrara.

Some of the passionate dances featured in the show include the elegance of the Viennese Waltz, the exuberance of the Jive, the intensity of the Paso Doble as well as the Tango, Samba, Mambo, Quickstep and Swing.

Burn The Floor plays at the Shaftesbury Theatre until 4 September, to be followed by another great dance show, Flashdance.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £21 on tickets to Burn The Floor at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Summer Theatre in the West End

New shows opening in London this summer

Spring and autumn may be the busiest times for new shows in London, but this summer will still pack quite a punch with some big names, high-profile directors and a few surprises in store.

A range of musicals and plays will open in the capital over the next few months, including classic musicals from Stephen Sondheim (Into the Woods) and Rogers & Hammerstein (State Fair); starry comedy, including David Hyde Pearce and Joanna Lumley in La Bete, Jeff Goldblum in The Prisoner of Second Avenue and Simon Russell Beal and Jonathan Groff in Deathtrap); dance spectaculars (Burn the Floor), new musicals (Wolfboy), ambitious children’s drama (The Railway Children) and a terrifying new play (Ghost Stories).

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Burn the Floor – Save £21

Save £21 on tickets to Burn The Floor at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Valid Sunday to Thursday performances

Burn The Floor is a dance spectacular that has thrilled audiences around the world with its dynamic mix of Latin and ballroom dancing.

Now the West End is set to experience its fiery, passionate power as Burn The Floor comes to the Shaftesbury Theatre in London featuring special guest dancers Brian Fortuna and Ali Bastian, who wowed BBC audiences on Strictly Come Dancing last year.

First conceived as a special performance at Sir Elton John’s 50th birthday celebrations in 1997, Burn The Floor made its UK premiere two years later before setting off on a world tour.

Burn The Floor takes audiences on a journey through the passionate drama of dance, including the elegance of the Viennese Waltz, the exuberance of the Jive, the intensity of the Paso Doble as well as the Tango, Samba, Mambo, Quickstep and Swing.

Burn The Floor features the talents of 20 award-winning dancers from around the globe.

BOOK NOW: Save £21 on tickets to Burn The Floor at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Valid Sunday to Thursday performances

Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre

Hairspray The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

SORRY THIS SHOW HAS NOW CLOSED

Other shows you might enjoy:

Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre – BOOK TICKETS

Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre – BOOK TICKETS

Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre – BOOK TICKETS

Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre – BOOK TICKETS

Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre – BOOK TICKETS

Sister Act at the London Palladium – BOOK TICKETS

The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre – BOOK TICKETS

The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium – BOOK TICKETS

MORE ABOUT HAIRSPRAY IN LONDON

Shaftesbury Theatre, London

Opened: 30 October 2007

Closed: 28 March 2010

The Olivier and Tony award winning musical played over 1,000 performances and grossed over £50 million in the UK, becoming the longest running show at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 40 years.

Based on the cult John Waters movie, Hairspray is a colourful, fun and vibrant show which follows Tracy Turnblad – a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart – as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular dance show.

Stars of the show included Michael Ball, Brian Conley, Micky Dolenz, Chloe Hart, Belinda Carlisle,  Leanne Jones, Tracie Bennett and Mel Smith.

Flashdance to hit West End

David Ian’s successful touring production of Flashdance The Musical, based on the cult 80s movie, is making its way into the West End.

After spending 2009 touring the UK, the show will premiere at the Shaftesbury Theatre from September 2010, replacing Hairspray which is finishing up at the venue on 28 March.

Riding on the high of movie-to-musical stage shows, and a hard act to follow after the successes of Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing et al, Flashdance The Musical tells the story of 18 year old Alex, a welder by day and ‘flashdancer’ by night, whose dream is to win a place at the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy.

The show features choreography by Arlene Phillips and is based on the Paramount Pictures film – which won an Oscar for its music. Some of the songs from the film feature in the stage show – including  ‘Maniac’, ‘Manhunt’, ‘Gloria’ and the title track ‘Flashdance – What a Feeling’ – as well as 10 original songs created for the musical.

Written by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary, with music by Robbie Roth, lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth, Flashdance The Musical will be directed at the Shaftesbury Theatre by Nikolai Foster with orchestrations and musical supervision by Phil Edwards. Casting will be announced shortly.

Book tickets to see Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Hairspray: Only 8 weeks to go

The producers of Hairspray have announced that it will close in 8 weeks time at the Shaftesbury Theatre, on 28 March 2010, following two and a half years of big-haired success.

The Olivier and Tony award winning musical has played over 1,000 performances and grossed over £50 million in the UK, becoming the longest running show at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 40 years.

Based on the cult John Waters movie, Hairspray is a colourful, fun and vibrant show which follows Tracy Turnblad – a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart – as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular dance show.

As the show closes in the West End it will embark on a nationwide tours, with dates including Cardiff, Glasgow, Southampton, Leeds, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Birmingham.

Brian Conley will return to the cast to play Edna Turnblad for the final eight weeks of the London run, with former Monkee Micky Dolenz playing doting husband Wilbur and Chloe Hart continuing to play Tracy.

Hairspray producer Bill Taylor said: “Every show, even a big, glorious hit show like this one, has a natural life and for now it is time for Hairspray to leave London. Margo Lion and the Broadway producers of Hairspray join Stage Entertainment in thanking every member of the company who has been involved in making it such a success and every audience member who joined us at the Shaftesbury theatre over its record-breaking run.”

Save £25 on tickets to see Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Belinda Carlisle to join Hairspray

It’s all change at Hairspray as the producers announce another cast change starting 26 October. Pop star Belinda Carlisle will join the big-budget, big-hair show as Velma Von Tussle, alongside the Never Mind The Buzzcocks comedian Phill Jupitus, who will take the role of Edna Turnblad, formerly played by Michael Ball and currently by Brian Conley.

Also musicals stalwart Sharon D Clarke , who has played many of the West End’s big shows, will take the role of Motormouth Mabel.

Other cast members remain in place including Chloe Hart (Tracy Turnblad), Verity Rushworth (Penny) Liam Tamne (Link Larkin), Adrian Hansel (Seaweed) and Raquel Jones (Little Inez) all remain with the show and are joined by new cast members Tony Timberlake (Wilbur Turnblad), Nicola Brazil (Amber Von Tussle) and Gavin Alex (Corny Collins).

Hairspray has won numerous awards including the Olivier Award Best Musical gong and Best Musical at the Evening Standard Awards.

Hairspray starts Sunday performances from Sunday 8 November, running Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 3.00pm.

Hairspray discount tickets: Save £27.50 on tickets with westendtheatre.com

BACKGROUND

Belinda Carlisle is a Grammy Award nominated singer and actress.  As lead singer of the groundbreaking band The GoGo’s she was part of the first ever girl group who wrote and played their own music to top the Billboard Charts in the US.  Following extensive touring with The GoGo’s, her solo career was hugely successful with global hits including Circle In The Sand, Leave A Light On For Me, I Get Weak, We Want The Same Thing, Live Your Life Be Free and the international number one Heaven Is A Place On Earth.  Screen credits include the movie “Swing Shift” and appearances on “Dancing With The Stars” (ABC) and “Hell’s Kitchen” (ITV1).  Based in France, Belinda still performs around the world.

Phill Jupitus is a broadcaster, writer and actor who has appeared on British television & radio and the stage for over 20 years.  His career began at record label Go Discs where he was press officer for The Housemartins and directed videos for Billy Bragg and Kirsty McColl.  He also worked as a performance poet and compered for acts like Madness, The Who and Paul Weller before becoming a regular fixture on the UK comedy circuit.  He has appeared on many television and radio panel shows including “QI” and “News Quiz”, as well as being a regular team captain on the hit BBC 2 show “Never Mind The Buzzcocks”, and has toured extensively with his one man shows.  As a DJ, Phil played the first ever record on BBC 6Music as host of the “Breakfast Show”, which he presented for five years.  He is also a columnist (and sometime cartoonist) for The Times’s football supplement The Game and regularly records very successful football and music podcasts.

Sharon D Clarke is a prolific West End, television and radio star and recording artist.  Her stage credits include “Chicago”, “We Will Rock You”, “The Lion King”, “Rent” and “Guys & Dolls” as well as many productions at the Hackney Empire.  On television she has appeared in “The Singing Detective”, “Waking The Dead”, “The Crust” and she played Dr Lolo Griffin on BBC 1′s “Holby City” for more than three years.  She also appeared as a judge on the hugely successful “Last Choir Standing” for the BBC in 2008.  She has appeared on many chart singles as a guest vocalist, including Going Back To My Roots (with FPI Project) and I Wanna Give You Devotion (with Nomad).

Nigel Planer to join Hairspray; Michaell Ball extends run

The producers of Hairspray have announced that Nigel Planer and Verity Rushworth are to join the cast of the multi-award winning musical, beginning on Monday 2 February.  Nigel takes over the role of ‘Wilbur Turnblad’, husband of larger than life ‘Edna’ played by Michael Ball.  Verity will play ‘Penny Pingleton’, best friend of ‘Tracy Turnblad’ played by Leanne Jones.

Nigel Planer is best known as Neil in ‘The Young Ones. His numerous West End credits include ‘Chicago’, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ and ‘Wicked’.  Verity joined the cast of ‘Emmerdale’ in the role of Donna Windsor-Dingle at the age of 12, and has gone on to become one of the show’s best loved characters.  She leaves the programme onscreen at the end of January 2009.  She also appeared in the 2007 season of ITV’s ‘Soapstar Superstar’.

Current and original lead performers Michael Ball, Leanne Jones and Ben James-Ellis have all extended their contracts to remain with the show and will now perform until Saturday 25 July 2009.  The role of ‘Edna Turnblad’ is the longest continuing part that Michael has ever played in the West End.

The smash hit award-winning musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre won ‘Best Musical’ as well as ‘Best Actor in a Musical’ for Michael Ball and ‘Best Actress in a Musical’ for Leanne Jones at the 2008 Olivier Awards.

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