It’s been announced that the UK and Ireland tour of DOCTOR DOLITTLE will close at the end of this month.

Directed by Christopher Renshaw, the revival premiered at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley in November 2018 before playing a Christmas stint at The Lowry in Salford. The production stars Mark Williams in the title role.

DOCTOR DOLITTLE will now play its final performance at the Oxford New Theatre on 26th January. The tour was scheduled to run to November 2019.

The show’s producers Music and Lyrics have cited lower than expected ticket sales as the reason for the tour’s cancellation. The production company has previously been responsible for the UK tours of THE ADAAMS FAMILY and CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG in recent years.

Chair Robert Sanderson said: ‘Music and Lyrics was established to create work of scale and imagination for regional presenting venues and over eight years it has met with a high degree of success. On this occasion, DOCTOR DOLITTLE has not secured the same degree of support and, sadly, members of the consortium have had no alternative but to foreshorten the planned tour.’

‘I would like to thank all those involved in creating this breathtaking production, which has been enjoyed by audiences and critics alike. There is still time to see the production in Oxford between 15 and 26 January’.

The musical features book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and is based on the 1967 movie that starred Rex Harrison. The tour coincided with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the original film.

Members of the public who have purchased tickets for venues across the tour should contact their venue to arrange refunds.