It will star Keith Chegwin and Olga Sharutenko, who partnered on ITV's "Dancing on Ice" competition earlier this year, in which they were eliminated in Week 7.
They join a 26-strong cast of Olympic, World, European and National Championship skaters in the production, which comes to the West End after touring to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Following its run at the London Palladium, the show will continue to Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff (Nov. 8-17) and Southampton's Mayflower Theatre (Nov. 19-23).
Set in early 1900s St. Petersburg to a score by Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker on Ice follows the "classic Russian tale of Marie, the little girl whose love brings to life her cherished Nutcracker doll - a magical Christmas gift from her mysterious godfather Drosselmeyer - leading to adventures with the Mouse King, the enchanted Prince, and the Sugar Plum Fairy."
Tony Mercer, artistic director of the Imperial Ice Stars, has teamed with four-time figure skating World Champion and dual Olympic gold medallist Evgeny Platov, and dual World Champion Maxim Staviski to create the choreography.
In a press statement, Mercer stated, "The art form of ice dance lends itself beautifully to this well-loved tale. Not only does the story entail some beautiful romantic ‘adagios’ with lifts and jumps, but the exotic ‘divertissements’ from Spain, China, Arabia, Russia and Egypt allow us to introduce some gymnastics, flying, acrobatics, fire and illusions." The show is presented at the London Palladium by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions and Tony Mercer. The theatre's stage is being transformed into an ice rink for the first time in almost 36 years, but the venue was previously the site of The National Skating Palace in the late 1890s, and hosted the World Figure Skating Championships in 1898.
Chegwin, who will skate as Drosselmeyer, is known for his TV appearances in "Swap Shop," "Cheggars Plays Pop," "Daybreak," Ricky Gervais's "Extras" and Gervais and Stephen Merchant's "Life is Too Short." Sharutenko joined The Imperial Ice Stars in 2004 and has since skated in all the company’s productions in the lead roles; she made her "Dancing on Ice" debut in 2006 when she partnered John Barrowman.
To book tickets, contact the box office on 0844 874 0664, or visit www.seetickets.com for more details.
