Billy Leaves London - Billy Elliot the Musical is to close in London after 11 years and 4,600 performances. The final curtain will fall on the multi award-winning show at the Victoria Palace Theatre on 9 April. The story about the miner's son who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer is leaving to allow for the theatre's refurbishment, announced last year. The theatre's makeover comes after it was bought by stage impresario Cameron Mackintosh, which is also part of extensive redevelopment work that is taking place around Victoria station. The first regional Billy Elliot shows will begin in Plymouth in February before stops around cities including Sunderland, Bradford, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin, with dates currently planned until May 2017.
A Swiftmas Carol - Taylor Swift is seeking to trademark the word Swiftmas and 1989, the name of her album, in the US. It is the 25-year-old's latest attempt to stop others from using phrases associated with her on merchandise. Swiftmas is, apparently, the word the singer's fans use to describe the random acts of kindness she makes, such as giving them unexpected presents.
Creative Claims - A study carried out by Nesta claims that more people work in the creative industries in the UK than in almost any other EU country. The report suggests that 7.6% of the UK workforce are employed in creative industry jobs. These include roles in the performing arts, film and television and advertising. Only Sweden and Finland have a higher proportion of people employed in the creative industries, and - together with the UK - all three countries outstrip the proportion in the EU as a whole, which is 5%. The research also suggested that the UK's creative workforce is growing three times faster than the EU average. The report, called Creative Economy Employment in the UK and the EU, is described by Nesta as the first consistent estimate of the size of the creative industries in the EU's 28 countries.
Useful Move - Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatres Group is to buy London's St James Theatre. A statement from RUT said it had signed an "exclusivity agreement" with Entertainment and Media Group - which currently owns and manages the St James Theatre in Victoria - "for the sale and purchase" of the venue. It added that the deal was subject to "due diligence and final contract". A figure for the cost of the sale has not been disclosed. Buying the St James Theatre would give RUT its seventh theatre in London. Its stable of current venues includes the Adelphi, the Cambridge, Her Majesty's, London Palladium, New London and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Lazy, Hazy, Days of Summer - The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon is to tour the UK in 2016. The show, which won four Olivier awards this year, will embark on a national tour beginning at Manchester Opera House in August. It will tour throughout the remainder of 2016 and into 2017, visiting venues including Edinburgh Playhouse, the Sunderland Empire, the New Victoria Theatre in Woking and Oxford's New Theatre.
Signing Off - Ed Sheeran has announced he is "taking
