Ceilidh the Musical has extended its Shoreditch Town Hall residency, which was due to close on 13 November. New blocks of performances over Christmas, New Year and Burns Night now take it to 28 February 2027.
The first stretch of the Ceilidh the Musical run still ends on 13 November, as originally planned. The production then comes back to the venue's Assembly Hall in three further blocks rather than one continuous season. The Shoreditch Town Hall box office lists performances from 23-28 November, from 28 December - 11 January and from 19 January - 28 February 2027.
The festive block includes a 9pm performance on New Year's Eve. Burns Night on 25 January falls in the final block, with a matinee and an evening show that day. Between the London dates the show plays the Corn Exchange in Brighton from 15-20 December as part of Brighton Dome's Christmas programme.
Performance times change from 23 November. Evening shows start at 7.30pm, with 2.30pm matinees on Fridays and Saturdays and Sunday performances at 1pm and 6pm. Balcony seats are from £25, main floor seats from £40 and front row seats £55. Every area is seated, though main floor and front row ticket holders may be invited to join some of the dances. The show runs 2 hours 15 minutes including an interval.
Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie, the Glasgow writing partnership known as Noisemaker, wrote the book, music and lyrics, and were named this year's recipients of the Jonathan Larson Grant. Sam Pinkleton, the Tony Award-winning director of Oh, Mary!, directs and choreographs a company of 16 actor-musicians. Gilmour also plays Ramsay, with Kyle Gardiner as alternate.
The evening is built as a ceilidh in its own right. A caller leads the room through songs and dances while one family's story unfolds around the audience. "There is absolutely nothing like CEILIDH," Pinkleton said when the London dates were first announced in July.
The producers put the extension down to phenomenal demand and a wave of strong reviews. The Guardian called the show "A joyous, riotous celebration of Scottish culture", the Sunday Express "an absolute belter" and The Observer "a foot-stomping, hand-clapping, arm-flinging celebration", while WhatsOnStage summed it up as "A life-affirming fun night out". The longer London stay also means the planned UK tour has been postponed, with more details to be announced.
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The musical had its UK opening at Pitlochry Town Hall, in Alan Cumming's first season as artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and played Baltimore before reaching London. It opened at Shoreditch in October; the critics' verdicts are collected in our review roundup. Trafalgar Theatre Productions, Grove Entertainment, Barbara Whitman and Eilene Davidson Productions present the production with Cumming for Pitlochry Festival Theatre, so he is also one of its co-producers.
For more information, visit the official website.
