Kevin Clifton to star in Strictly Ballroom UK and Ireland tour

CASTING ANNOUNCEMENT

STRICTLY COME DANCING‘S

KEVIN CLIFTON TO STAR AS SCOTT HASTINGS IN

2020/2021 UK & IRELAND TOUR

DIRECTED BY CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD

Former Strictly Come Dancing champion Kevin Clifton is to star in the 2020/2021 UK & Ireland tour of Baz Luhrmann’s smash hit Strictly Ballroom The Musical, playing the lead role of Scott Hastings. After seven glorious years on Strictly Come Dancing, last week Kevin announced his departure from the series and now he makes a full-time move into the world of musical theatre in a role that couldn’t be more perfectly suited.

Kevin Clifton said: “I’m beyond excited to be finally fulfilling a lifelong ambition to play Scott Hastings in Strictly Ballroom The Musical. When I was 10 years old I first watched the movie that would become my favourite film of all time. This is my dream role. Plus I get to work with Craig Revel Horwood again! I really can’t wait to don the golden jacket and waltz all over the UK from September this year in what’s set to be an incredible show!

The musical is based on the award-winning global film phenomenon, ‘Strictly Ballroom’, which inspired the world to dance. Directed by Craig Revel Horwood, this all-singing, all-dancing and all-glittering show is set to dazzle audiences once more with the new 2020/21 tour. Kicking off in Nottingham on 26 September, the musical will then waltz around the UK & Ireland before culminating in Reading in June 2021. Tickets are on sale now from strictlyballroomtour.co.uk

Kevin joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, performing in the final five times and was crowned Strictly Champion in 2018. He’s a world-class professional dancer, former Youth World Number One and four-time British Latin Champion and has won international open titles all over the world. After making his West End musical theatre debut in 2010 in Dirty Dancing, Kevin has starred in The Wedding Singer as Robbie Hart (Wembley Troubadour Park Theatre) as well as starring in the West End production of Rock of Ages as Stacie Jaxx.

Strictly Ballroom The Musical tells the beguiling story of Scott Hastings, a talented, arrogant and rebellious young ballroom dancer. When Scott’s radical dance moves see him fall out of favour with the Australian Federation, he finds himself dancing with Fran, a beginner with no moves at all. Inspired by one another, this unlikely pair gather the courage to defy both convention and their families – and discover that, to be winners, the steps don’t need to be strictly ballroom.

Featuring a show-stopping book by Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce, and bringing together a sublime cast of over 20 world class performers, Strictly Ballroom brings to life iconic songs, including Love is in the Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps and Time After Time with dynamic and joyous verve. This tour will also feature some amazing new songs by internationally acclaimed artists including Sia, David Foster and Eddie Perfect. The show’s scintillating singing, dazzling dancing and eye-popping costumes will combine together to bring audiences a story of heart, comedy and drama, and promises to be an unforgettable night under the glitter ball.

This uplifting and courageous musical originated as a stage play that Baz 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’, the first instalment in Luhrmann’s acclaimed Red Curtain Trilogy. The vibrant film enjoyed staggering success, winning three awards at the 1993 BAFTA awards and a 1994 Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture, going on to become one of the most successful Australian films of all time, earning more than $80 million at the box office. In April 2014 Strictly Ballroom The Musical had its world premiere at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical is a fabulous, feel-good evening full of sequins, singing and salsa. This unmissable kaleidoscope of glitz and glamour is a tonic for the soul and will send your heart soaring and toes tapping long after you leave the theatre!

STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL – 2020 TOUR DATES

26/09/2020 – 03/10/2020 Nottingham Theatre Royal

05/10/2020 – 10/10/2020 Wolverhampton Grand

12/10/2020 – 17/10/2020 Hull New Theatre

20/10/2020 – 24/10/2020 Milton Keynes Theatre

26/10/2020 – 31/11/2020 Sunderland Empire

02/11/2020 – 07/11/2020 Bristol Hippodrome

09/11/2020 – 14/11/2020 Bromley Churchill Theatre

16/11/2020 – 21/11/2020 Edinburgh Playhouse

23/11/2020 – 28/11/2020 York Grand Opera House

30/11/2020 – 05/12/2020 Salford The Lowry

21/12/2020 – 02/01/2021 Guildford G Live

STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL – 2021 TOUR DATES

04/01/2021 – 09/01/2021 Northampton Royal & Derngate

11/01/2021 – 16/01/2021 Southend Cliffs Pavilion

18/01/2021 – 23/01/2021 Norwich Theatre Royal – On sale soon

25/01/2021 – 30/01/2021 Llandudno Venue Cymru

01/02/2021 – 06/02/2021 Aylesbury Waterside

08/02/2021 – 13/02/2021 Darlington Hippodrome

15/02/2021 – 20/02/2021 Newcastle Theatre Royal

22/02/2021 – 27/02/2021 Wimbledon New Theatre

01/03/2021 – 06/03/2021 Bournemouth Pavilion

08/03/2021 – 13/03/2021 Dublin Bord Gais – On sale soon

15/03/2021 – 20/03/2021 Derry Millennium Forum Theatre

22/03/2021 – 27/03/2021 Aberdeen His Majesty’s Theatre

29/03/2021 – 03/04/2021 Peterborough New Theatre

05/04/2021 – 10/04/2021 Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre

12/04/2021 – 17/04/2021 Sheffield Lyceum – On sale soon

19/04/2021 – 24/04/2021 Glasgow Kings Theatre

26/04/2021 – 01/05/2021 Liverpool Empire

03/05/2021 – 08/05/2021 Canterbury Marlowe

10/05/2021 – 15/05/2021 Birmingham Hippodrome

17/05/2021 – 22/05/2021 Plymouth Theatre Royal – On sale soon

24/05/2021 – 29/05/2021 Blackpool Opera House

31/05/2021 – 05/06/2021 Bradford The Alhambra Theatre – On sale soon

07/06/2021 – 12/06/2021 Southampton Mayflower

14/06/2021 – 19/06/2021 Ipswich Regent

21/06/2021 – 26/06/2021 Reading The Hexagon

MORE TOUR DATES WILL TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON

Listings information:

Website: strictlyballroomtour.co.uk

Instagram: @strictlyballroomtouruk

Facebook: @strictlyballroomtouruk

Twitter: @sbtourUK