Craig Revel Horwood: This is when and where you can see the BBC Strictly Come Dancing judge in Sussex and Surrey and how to obtain tickets

Strictly Come Dancing star Craig Revel Horwood is taking to the road with his debut solo tour with dates including April 21 at Guildford’s G Live and April 23 at Hastings’s White Rock Theatre.
Craig Revel HorwoodCraig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood

Join Craig as he talks about his life from Australia to the West End to Strictly, reveals a wealth of backstage gossip and gives a special performance of some of the music which has been the soundtrack to his career.

Best-known today for being a judge on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, Craig’s professional training began in his home country of Australia where he appeared in productions including West Side Story and La Cage Aux Folles.

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On arriving in Europe Craig joined the company at the Lido Du Paris as a dancer and then as principal singer at the Moulin Rouge, finding himself a year later in the UK tour of Cats.

Since then, Craig appeared in the West End in Miss Saigon and was an original cast member of Crazy For You.

He crossed over into choreography to huge success, being nominated for an Olivier Award for the West End productions of Spend Spend Spend and My One and Only.

Craig continues to perform on stage, with ten years in pantomime and as Miss Hannigan in Annie in the West End and on tour.

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Craig explains: “ This is my one-man show and it’s based on my life. Act One is very much the stories of me growing up in Australia in my home town of Ballarat, my time in Melbourne and my career in musical theatre.

“I was in West Side Story, Cats, Miss Saigon, La Cage Aux Folles, all of those shows, and I’ll be singing songs from some of them. Then in Act Two it’s very much about where my Strictly story began and what’s happened since then, so I’ll be telling anecdotes about Strictly and backstage stuff. It’s an autobiographical romp through my life through song and dance. It’s one thing reading an autobiography but it’s another thing when you see the person actually on stage talking about it themselves.

“And people don’t necessarily know me from singing so I think that will be interesting. It’s a show I’ve always wanted to do and this seems like the perfect time to do it, to bring a bit of joy into people’s lives. I’m not just doing it for my own satisfaction but also to show people what I used to do before Strictly.”

It will be just Craig and a pianist on stage. It is his first time flying solo.

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“It’s quite scary, I have to say. I’m quite nervous about the whole thing because I’ve never gone out by myself like this.

“Obviously I’ve played parts like Miss Hannigan in Annie but you’re part of a company and certainly in panto you’re constantly breaking the fourth wall, talking to the audience and going in and out of character.

“This will be totally different. When you’re talking about yourself in real life it can be emotionally difficult as well, although I’m looking forward to baring all in that respect.”

Expect to see a Craig Revel Horwood different to the Strictly Craig Revel Horwood.

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“That is me at work, which is totally different to me at play. I think we’re all very different when we’re not at work, aren’t we? When I’m on Strictly I put my judge’s hat on and I treat it seriously. That’s who people see but it’s not the real me, no, of course not. That’s just a part of me. It’s my critical side.

“You wouldn’t expect a judge in a murder trial to be the same person as he is at home.

“That’s my work character and I’m like that when I’m choreographing and directing too. I think it’s important to be honest with people, especially since you want them to be really good and better.

“For me that honesty is absolutely essential and on the tour I want to be honest and tell everyone the truth about how I started.”

Tickets from the venues

Have you read: Hastings panto announced

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