Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom to cha cha into the UK for Christmas 2016

A new production, directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, begins previews at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on Wednesday 30 November. The first UK staging of Strictly Ballroom The Musical, based on the much loved film, runs until 21 January 2017.

Drew McOnie (In The Heights, Hairspray) will direct and choreograph the production, which is based on the original Australian musical created by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. Terry Johnson joins the creative team to adapt the original book.

McOnie said: “The film Strictly Ballroom has had such a huge impact on me. It inspired me as an 8-year-old dancer to follow my choreographic instinct and gave me the desire to explore the many different ways of communicating ideas through dance. The opportunity to bring that passion and personal connection to the next stage of Strictly Ballroom's journey means the world to me; and having Baz Luhrmann's support is a dream come true.”

Drew McOnie. Photo: Pamela Raith

Strictly Ballroom the Musical is the story of a championship ballroom dancer who defies all the rules to follow his heart. It features break-into-song numbers such as Love is in the Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps and Time After Time, as well as several wonderful new songs by internationally acclaimed artists including Sia, David Foster and Eddie Perfect.

Luhrmann said: “One of the great joys for us was to take a story that began as a play when I was at drama school and return to our homeland in Australia to birth the musical stage version with all our original collaborators. Now that it’s been born, Strictly Ballroom must go on. It’s wonderful that one of the new bright-lights of the English theatre, who himself was fan of the film at a young age, is taking the show to realise it in a new way, for new audiences, and oversee its continued growth.“ Strictly Ballroom will be presented at the West Yorkshire Playhouse from 30 November 2016 to 21 January 2017. Book Now