The First UK Tour of Starlight Express ran from November 2004 - 2008, and then continued as the 2009 New Zealand Tour. Technically this tour is counted as two productions, with the November 2004 - September 2005 Tour being a separate entity to the February 2006 - March 2008 Tour. However, practically and artistically, the 2006 run was a continuation of the earlier production with a smaller, more flexible set and a new cast.
Production Specifics
The First UK Tour started in Manchester in November 2004, produced by David Ian and Clear Channel Productions, in association with Troika Entertainment. Following the closure in 2002 of the Original London Production of Starlight Express, there was considerable public appetite to see the popular show visit other parts of the country.
Despite the timing, the UK Tour bore little relation to the recently-closed London production, rather it was the continuation of the 2003 2nd US Tour, which was effectively a revival of the 1993 Las Vegas production. That in turn, was a permanent residence for the 1989 1st US Tour, which had gone on the road directly after the Broadway Production closed. Due to this heritage, the show used the "Vegas Showgirl" coaches' costumes, included Caboose, and used a different set of re-writes to the show that had closed in London.
Due to the restrictions of touring in regional theatres, performing live races was a technical impossibility. So to compensate, the UK Tour used the 3D race footage filmed in 2002 for the US tour.
Sets
The 2004 set was a clever reduction of familiar elements of the Starlight set - the mobile bowl, the split level set. It included a "lollypop" shaped track into the stalls. Although this set was as small and portable as possible, it was still too big to fit into many regional theatres, so for 2006 the set was replaced with the non-set that consisted of arches across the back of the stage, and two portable push-on ramps. This arrangement allowed more room for skating, but little in the way of actual set.
Tour Dates
| City | 2004 - 2005 | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester | Palace? Theatre | 01/11/2004 - 04/12/2004 |
| Sunderland | Empire Theatre | 08/12/2004 - 05/01/2005 |
| Bristol | Hippodrome | 26/01/2005 - 05/03/2005 |
| Oxford | New Theatre | 09/03/2005 - 26/03/2005 |
| Edinburgh | Theatre | 30/03/2005 - 07/05/2005 |
| Southampton | Mayflower Theatre | 11/05/2005 - 18/06/2005 |
| Liverpool | Theatre | 22/06/2005 - 30/07/2005 |
| Birmingham | Theatre | 03/08/2005 - 10/09/2005 |
| City | 2006 | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Torquay | Theatre | 06/02/2006 - 25/02/2006 |
| Milton Keynes | Theatre | 28/02/2006 - 14/03/2006 |
| Stoke on Trent | Theatre | 21/03/2006 - 08/04/2006 |
| Cardiff | Theatre | 11/04/2006 - 29/04/2006 |
| Woking | Victoria? Theatre | 02/05/2006 - 27/05/2006 |
| Norwich | Theatre | 30/05/2006 - 24/06/2006 |
| Glasgow | Theatre | 04/07/2006 - 22/07/2006 |
| Dublin | Theatre | 26/07/2006 - 19/08/2006 |
| Eastbourne | Theatre | 23/08/2006 - 09/09/2006 |
| Southend on Sea | Theatre | 12/09/2006 - 23/09/2006 |
| Grimsby | Theatre | 26/09/2006 - 07/10/2006 |
| Bournemouth | Theatre | 17/10/2006 - 04/11/2006 |
| Wimbledon | New Theatre | 14/11/2006 - 02/12/2006 |
| Leicester | Theatre | 02/12/2006 - 30/12/2006 |
| City | 2007 - 2008 | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester | Theatre | 10/01/2007 - 03/02/2007 |
| Liverpool | Theatre | 06/02/2007 - 24/02/2007 |
| Birmingham | Theatre | 27/02/2007 - 17/03/2007 |
| Southampton | Mayflower | 20/03/2007 - 07/04/2007 |
| Sunderland | Theatre | 10/04/2007 - 28/04/2007 |
| Edinburgh | Theatre | 01/05/2007 - 19/05/2007 |
| Canterbury | Theatre | 22/05/2007 - 09/06/2007 |
| Hull | Theatre | 12/06/2007 - 30/06/2007 |
| Bristol | Theatre | 17/07/2007 - 11/08/2007 |
| Bradford | Theatre | 14/08/2007 - 08/09/2007 |
| Nottingham | Theatre | 11/09/2007 - 29/09/2007 |
| Belfast | Theatre | 03/10/2007 - 20/10/2007 |
| Stockholm | Theatre | 01/11/2007 - 03/11/2007 |
| Gothenburg | Theatre | 08/11/2007 - 10/11/2007 |
| Oslo | Theatre | 15/11/2007 - 17/11/2007 |
| Oxford | New Theatre | 11/12/2007 - 05/01/2008 |
| Aberdeen | Theatre | 21/01/2008 - 09/02/2008 |
| Plymouth | Theatre | 11/02/2008 - 01/03/2008 |
2004-2005 Cast
1st November 2004 - September 2005
2006-07 Cast
| Rusty | Oliver Thornton | Pearl | Miria Parvin |
| Greaseball | Tom Kanavan | Dinah | Lucy-Jane Adcock |
| Electra | Mykal Rand | Ashley | Amy Thornton / Rebecca Lisewski |
| Poppa | Michael Samuels | Buffy | Alexandra Gotteschall |
| Hopper 1 | Robert Nurse | Purse | Ben Draper |
| Hopper 2 | Carlton Connell | Wrench | Bekki Carpenter |
| Hopper 3 | Tony Andrade | Volta | Rebecca Lisewski |
| Flat-top | Adam Ellis | Joule | Holly James |
| Dustin | Gavin Ashbarry | Swing | Jamie Capewell |
| Caboose | Stuart Armfield | Swing | Melanie Cripps |
| Ruhrgold | Ryan Dixon | Swing | Lucinda Gill |
| Turnov | James Marin | Swing | Lee Lomas |
| Nintendo | Tim Driesen | Swing | James Marshall |
| Prince of Wales | Gareth Davis | Swing | Andrew Millar |
| Trax | Matt King | Swing | Leyla Pelligrini |
2007 Cast
| Rusty | Kristofer Harding | Pearl | Gemma Atkins |
| Greaseball | Tom Kanavan | Dinah | Lucy-Jane Adcock |
| Electra | Mykal Rand | Ashley | Amy Thornton |
| Poppa | Michael Samuels | Buffy | Kimmi Richards |
| Hopper 1 | Damian Winter-Higgins | Purse | Ben Draper |
| Hopper 2 | Ben Harrold | Wrench | Amy Webb |
| Hopper 3 | Robert Nurse | Volta | Saskia Lockey |
| Flat-top | Glenn Robb | Joule | Emma Stephens |
| Dustin | Gavin Ashbarry | Swing | Tony Andrade |
| Caboose | Cameron Neilson | Swing | Lucy Boldero |
| Ruhrgold | Kris Manuel | Swing | Jamie Capewell |
| Turnov | Mark Willshire | Swing | Lee Lomas |
| Nintendo | Matt Krzan | Swing | Andrew Millar |
| Prince of Wales | Mark Hedges | Swing | Ruthie Stephens |
| Trax | Matt King |
Media
Reviews
Videos
Starlight Express UK Tour Promo Video
Feature on the Southampton run inc Tom Kanavan interview
Gemma Atkins and Kristofer Harding, 2007
Gallery
2004 - 2005
2006
2007
