Strictly Ballroom musical delayed, Sydney

It has been over 18 months since the NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell announced that the musical adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom would premiere in Sydney.

Originally slated for a world premiere opening in Spring 2013 at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre, producers Global Creatures (King Kong, War Horse, How To Train Your Dragon) today announced that the show has now moved its opening date to “early 2014”. No reason cited for the delay.

On May 23, 2011, Premier O’Farrell set the date for the world premiere production for September 2013.

“Today I’m very pleased to announce Baz Luhrmann and producers Carmen Pavlovic and Gerry Ryan of Global Creatures have chosen Sydney over London and New York for the World Premiere of the much anticipated, Strictly Ballroom — The Musical”

Barry O’Farrell

AussieTheatre understands that preliminary auditions for the production have taken place, but no full scale audition series has been held at this stage.

Originally devised in Sydney at NIDA as a play, Strictly Ballroom is Lurhmamm’s most personal work.

A ballroom dancer from a young age, Luhrmann went on to bring this classical myth of “triumph over oppression” to life in the form of a 40 minute student play.

“It’s a simple show, with a simple truth, and a simple heart, that seems to have grown and grown and now completes the circle of its journey, returning to the city where it all began, Sydney, as an all-singing all-dancing musical production”, Luhrmann said when the initial announcement was made in 2011.

Strictly Ballroom will be directed for the musical stage by Baz Luhrmann himself and will be designed by his wife Catherine Martin.

Watch the original launch video from 23 May 2011 below