Thriller Live - lights to be dimmed in honour of Rod Temperton
Theatre news
AT 7.25 this evening (October 5, 2016), the lights at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue will be dimmed for five minutes before Thriller Live starts to pay tribute to Rod Temperton, the British writer of Michael Jackson’s iconic Thriller and one of the UK’s most successful songwriters, who sadly passed away last week.
Previously Posted: Thriller Live has once again extended its booking period at the Lyric Theatre, this time until October 2017.
A new Thriller Live tour will visit theatres across the UK and Europe from January 2017 and tonight (September 30, 2016), a production opens at a major new resort in the People’s Republic of China.
Michael Jackson first sang Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough in 1979. It was the first song to showcase his talent as a solo artist, winning him his first solo Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and it’s been in Thriller Live, the West End concert spectacular created to celebrate the career of one of the world’s greatest entertainers, since day one.
Thriller Live first opened in the West End at the Lyric Theatre in January 2009 and is currently the 10th longest running show – musical or play – in West End history. It never fails to get the audience on its feet and has received more than 3,200 nightly standing ovations. It also holds the record as the longest running show since the Lyric started entertaining the capital in December 1888.
Thriller Live recently sold its two millionth West End ticket and has now been seen by over four milion people in 32 countries and played over 5,100 performances worldwide.
The UK tour dates have also been announced and they are: Southport Theatre (January 27 and 28); Eden Court Theatre, Inverness (January 30 to February 4); His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen (February 6 – 11); Norwich Theatre Royal (February 13 – 18); Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (February 21- 25); Venue Cymru, Llandudno (February 27 to March 1); Sands Centre Carlisle (March 2 – 4); Gaiety Theatre Dublin (March 6 – 11); Waterfront Hall, Belfast (March 16 – 18); Grand Theatre Swansea (March 20 – 25); Grand Theatre Leeds (April 11 – 15); and Belgrade Theatre, Coventry (April 25 – 29).
Thriller Live was chosen as the opening production in the state-of-the-art 1,200-seat Parisian Theatre at the heart of the magnificent $2.9billion dollar hotel complex, the Sands Parisian Macao Hotel in Macao in the People’s Republic of China. The hotel and resort opened its doors to the public for the first time on Tuesday, September 13 and Thriller Live will play there for seven weeks.
Producers Paul Walden and Derek Nicol said today: “After more than eight years in the West End, Thriller Live continues to go from strength to strength. We have had a spectacular summer and year on year audience numbers are fantastic. Michael Jackson’s music has never been more popular, and just like Wicked and other successful shows, Thriller Live has many loyal fans who come back time after time for repeat visits. We aim to keep the show fresh and exciting for them for many years to come through subtle changes, additional special effects and new video content.”
The current Thriller Live West End company are: Jordan Alexander, Angelica Allen, J Brock, Dajiow, Haydon Eshun, Ryan Shaw, Ria Horsford, Cordell Mosteller, Alex Ko, Aisling Duffy, Florivaldo Mossi, Leslie Bowman,Joshua Rees Ivey, Alishia Marie Blake, Ebony Clarke, Alex Jackson, Victoria Lamm, Arnold Mabhena, Helen Parsons, Chanté Simpson, Steven Thompson, Beccy Jones, Thomas Remaili, Aled Arhyel Charles, Remi Gooding, Zayn Johnson, Zuriel Williams-Kabasomi and Daniel Odejinmi.