History
Selladoor Worldwide was formed in 2009 by David Hutchinson and Phillip Rowntree, whilst students at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. [1] Phillip departed from Selladoor Worldwide in 2020, and David Hutchinson remained as CEO. [2] [3] In 2022, it was announced that Andrew Shepherd would take over as executive director and Lucy Atkinson was brought in, in 2023 as the new Creative Producer.
The company's début production, The Secrets Inside, was written by Hutchinson and directed by Richard Adams. It premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, then ran at the Tolbooth in Stirling. Selladoor soon moved into producing regional touring theatre, starting with a national tour of Liz Lochhead's adaptation of Dracula in 2010. The following year, it conducted the first British tour of Spring Awakening , which visited Exeter, Stirling, Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Norwich; and produced the centenary tour of William Golding's Lord of the Flies , across Scotland, England and Wales. [4]
In 2011, Selladoor also started producing an annual Off West End season at the Greenwich Theatre. In November 2013, Selladoor was made an official partner company at the Greenwich Theatre. [5] The 2014 season included Avenue Q and adaptations of the novels Kidnapped and Alice in Wonderland .
Selladoor's head office moved to London in 2009, at Athenley House on Greenwich High Road and subsequently to the Deptford Mission in Deptford. In 2012, they were made a resident producing company at the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock, which opened in January 2015. [6] [7]
In December 2012, Selladoor made their West End debut with a production of Seussical , written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, at the Arts Theatre. Recent shows include the London revival of Alan Bennett's The History Boys and Tim Kelly's adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles . [4]
In 2013, Sell a Door Theatre Company partnered with the Greenwich Theatre following nine productions at the South London venue. James Haddrell and David officially announced the partnership on 19 November ahead of Sell a Door Theatre Company opening their second West End production of Seussical . [8]
In 2014, Sell A Door Theatre Company produced their first UK Tour of the popular musical Avenue Q. [9] Due to the demand and success from their production it completed another UK Tour throughout 2015 and 2016. [10]
In 2015, David Hutchinson directed the world premiere of Jo Clifford's Jekyll and Hyde based on Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic classic at the Greenwich Theatre followed by a thirty-three venue tour across the UK. [11]
In 2016, Sell A Door Theatre Company continued to expand in size, borders and targets, rebranding the company to Selladoor Worldwide. [12]
In 2017, Selladoor produced UK Tours of Footloose , Flashdance The Musical , Spamalot , and The Crucible , and produced their first International Tours, Jersey Boys and The Producers . Collectively in 2017 Selladoor Worldwide's productions performed in 8 different countries. [13]
2017 also saw Selladoor Worldwide opened an international offices in Bangkok. [14] David saw great potential in the Bangkok's developing cultural market, and explained that he wants "to be in there first and develop those relationships." Therefore, David opened the Asia Pacific office located in Bangkok, which is managed by Peevara Kitchumnongpan
Selladoor Creation was launched in 2018, a platform for new writers to showcase and develop their work and bring innovative new work to the national and international stage, making it accessible for all audiences. [15]
In 2018 Selladoor produced John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men in association with the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury and collaborated with the Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and Les Theatre De La Villa De Luxembourg for a limited run of Diane Samuel's Kindertransport, marking 25 years since its debut at the Cockpit Theatre in London. Flashdance The Musical continued to tour the UK throughout 2018 as well visiting international venues such as Zurich MAAG and Kursaal Oostende. In the summer Selladoor launched two new exhilarating productions, Madagascar The Musical and Fame the 30th Anniversary UK tour. The Christmas season saw Selladoor's first pantomime of Aladdin at The Broadway Theatre, Catford, along with their Christmas show of The Wizard of Oz starring Holly Tandy at the Blackpool Winter Gardens. [16]
In 2019 American Idiot was revived for a 10th Anniversary Tour, and Avenue Q embarked on its 3rd UK Tour. Selladoor co-produced 9 to 5 the musical with ATG and Dolly Parton at the Savoy Theatre, London. Selladoor Worldwide also produced the London premiere of Falsettos at The Other Palace, alongside UK tours of Amelie The Musical and Little Miss Sunshine the Musical, Elmer The Patchwork Elephant Show and The Mr. Men & Little Miss On Stage.
In 2020 Selladoor announced the UK tours of Footloose The Musical and Bring It On the Musical and international tours of We Will Rock You and 9 to 5 the Musical, however due to COVID-19 all productions have been postponed to 2021. [17]
In 2021, Selladoor produced the stage version [18] of the 2001 whimsical, romantic comedy of the same name, "Amélie". The plot centres around a young woman who lives quietly in the world, but loudly in her head.
In 2022, Selladoor produced Footloose The Musical tour taking it on the road to Switzerland before returning for a UK run with stars [19] Darren Day and Jake Quickenden.
2022, also brought in the Broadway musical, "Bring It On", based on the 2000 American, teenage, cheer comedy. Starting its tour at the Peterborough New Theatre [20] before ending at The Southbank Centre; the show starred Olympic Gymnast Louis Smith [21] and Love Island star, Amber Davies. [22]
In 2023, Madagascar The Musical, in partnership with DreamWorks (Shrek the Musical) began its tour of Australia before returning to the UK in October 2023. The first touring production with Selladoor [23] premiered in 2018.
After taking over the general management role from The Path Entertainment Group, "The SpongeBob Musical" based on the beloved series written by Stephen Hillenburg and the book written by Kyle Jarrow which had made a splash with audiences all over the world, began its UK based tour with Selladoor in 2023 starring RuPaul's Drag Race UK star, [24] Divina de Campo and Pop Idol star, Gareth Gates.
The London Palladium is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many with televised performances. Between 1955 and 1969 Sunday Night at the London Palladium was staged at the venue, produced for the ITV network. The show included a performance by the Beatles on 13 October 1963; one newspaper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the hysterical interest in the band.
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York Times. He is the producer of shows including Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver!, and Hamilton.
Seussical, sometimes Seussical the Musical, is a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on Horton Hears a Who!, Gertrude McFuzz, and Horton Hatches the Egg while incorporating many other stories. The musical's name is a portmanteau of "Seuss" and the word "musical". Following its Broadway debut in 2000, the show was widely panned by critics, and closed in 2001 with huge financial losses. It has spawned two US national tours and a West End production, and has become a frequent production for schools and regional theaters.
Avenue Q is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody of Sesame Street, but its content involves adult-oriented themes. It has been praised for its approach to themes of racism, homosexuality and internet pornography.
The Really Useful Group Ltd. (RUG) is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing. The name is inspired by a phrase from the children's book series The Railway Series in which Thomas the Tank Engine and the other locomotives are referred to as "Really Useful Engines".
Jeffrey Daniel Whitty is an American playwright, actor, and screenwriter.
Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.
The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland, who at the time was also owner of the King's Theatre in Hammersmith and had owned the Theatre Metropole in Camberwell in the 1890's. Built on the site of a large house with spacious grounds, the theatre was designed by Cecil Aubrey Massey and Roy Young. It seems to have been the only British theatre to have included a Victorian-style Turkish bath in the basement. The theatre opened on 26 December 1910 with the pantomime Jack and Jill.
Singapore Theatre Company (STC), formerly known as Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), is a non-profit professional theatre company founded in 1993. It is located at the KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT at 20 Merbau Road, Singapore. The current artistic director is Gaurav Kripalani while its managing director is Charlotte Nors.
The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-built 220-seat space next door to the original venue. The theatre focusses on producing LGBTQ+ work that is joyful, irreverent, colourful and queer. It is currently led by Executive Director and Acting CEO Sofi Berenger.
Jon Robyns is a British stage actor, who is best known for playing Jean Valjean in Les Misérables and the title role in The Phantom of the Opera in London's West End.
Julie Atherton is a British actress, singer and director. She is best known for originating the role of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in the West End production of Avenue Q. and playing Sister Mary Robert in the first UK tour of Sister Act: The Musical. As a singer she released her debut album, A Girl of Few Words, on 2 October 2006.
Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations.
Samantha Dorrance is a British actress, singer-songwriter, TV presenter and writer who reached fame on Disney Channel UK. Best known for playing Mr Tumble's best friend Tootsie on Cbeebies and for her role of Laura in Dreamboats and Petticoats London's West End.
BrassNeck Theatre is a theatre company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was formed by the merger of The Grove & Rawdon Theatre Company and Stampede Theatre Company in January 2010.
Dancap Productions was a Canadian theatrical production company, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2007 by Aubrey Dan, the company presented large-scale musicals and plays in Toronto. The company initially found success with its Canadian production of Jersey Boys, which ran in Toronto for two years. After six years, Dancap Productions closed in July 2012.
The Other Palace is a theatre in London's Off West End which opened on 18 September 2012 as the St. James Theatre. It features a 312-seat main theatre and a 120-seat studio theatre. It was built on the site of the former Westminster Theatre, which was damaged by a fire in 2002 and subsequently demolished. It was owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatres Group from 2016 to 2021, which gave it its current name.
David Hutchinson is a British theatre producer and director. He is the founder and CEO of The Path Entertainment Group as well as the founder and CEO of Selladoor Worldwide, formerly Sell a Door Theatre Company Hutchinson attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts 2006 to 2009 and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Acting.
The British Theatre Playhouse (BTP) is a professional theatrical and musical production company incorporated in Singapore in 2004. With the motto Bringing to the World the Best in British Entertainment, the BTP is internationally focused with a British connection, as well as it is a long-standing member of the Singaporean British Chamber of Commerce and the European Chamber of Commerce. In 2012, the BTP also established a UK branch office, in order to work more closely with British playwrights, writers, actors, directors, musical directors, and set and costume designers.
Simon Joshua Lipkin is an English actor, best known for his work in musical theatre. He has originated roles in several major West End musicals such as Avenue Q and Rock of Ages. His television work includes The Amazing World of Gumball and Doctor Who. He has acted in small roles in film as well as in the starring role in 2018 comedy Nativity Rocks!.
