Touring Entertainment Report 2023 - Preview

2023

Touring Entertainment Report

From ABBA to WWE... the global business of touring theatre, shows and exhibitions in focus

n Family Entertainment

n Ice Shows

n Popular Culture

n Theatre & Musicals

n Touring Exhibitions

n Show & Producer Directories

170+ Show Producers

900+

Touring Productions

Welcome

Welcome to the very first Touring Entertainment Report – the first global overview and analysis of touring content in the world. From theatre productions and family entertainment shows to exhibitions, the experience economy, and beyond, the breadth of offer in this world-spanning business is staggering. Yet, for a market so huge, there’s not been an annual resource for buyers to know what’s available, what’s working, and what’s on the horizon. Until now.

Over the following pages, you’ll find in-depth looks at key segments of this booming sector of the live entertainment industry, featuring interviews with top producers and promoters worldwide, plus a directory listing hundreds of shows and contacts for the people behind them.

The people working in this industry can rightly be called pioneers, often opening new markets or bringing new and highly creative forms of entertainment to people all over the world. And for many children, these productions are their first taste of the joy of the live experience, meaning these companies are frequently creating the audiences of the future.

There’s been a significant expansion of the sector in recent years, resulting in increased demand from audiences and a plethora of exciting new formats. Driven by new technology and a post-Covid desire for family and friends to get together once again, this is an exciting time for this sector.

I want to thank everyone involved with bringing the Touring Entertainment Report to life, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.

James Drury | Editor

The audience creators

It’s boom time for touring entertainment as people seek out social activities that bring them closer to their favourite TV shows and films, opportunities to learn in an interactive way, or ways of treating three generations of their family.

Ice Shows

Dazzling displays of athletic skill, production, and choreography to rival lavish pop concerts, stories of romance, laughter, and fun – ice shows have been a popular feature of many venue calendars for decades.

Holiday on Ice has seen 25% growth in the German market over the past three years. The company’s A New Day is the most recent production to tour

For almost 40 years, Feld Entertainment has toured the global phenomenon of Disney on Ice to arenas. Today, nine productions reach around 80 countries in six continents.

Feld, which also produces spectacles such as Monster Jam, Marvel Universe Live! and Jurassic World Live Tour , has often been a pioneer in opening and developing markets for family entertainment. There’s a feeling that if Disney on Ice can work in a territory, other shows in this segment will work there, too.

Denis Sullivan, Feld’s vice president, international tours and a stalwart of the touring entertainment business, says: “We go into markets in a very sustainable way. We don’t do anything for a one-year hit; every market we look at we have at least a five-year view.” And some markets they’ve been in for over 35 years.

Key to this is the company’s focus on quality, says Feld’s vice president – Europe, Middle East and Africa, Steven Armstrong. “We strive to ensure that there’s the same quality, week in, week out, no matter whether you’re in Finland or Mississippi.”

Because the brand has been touring for so long, audiences are now made up of three generations of Disney on Ice fans. And that’s not the only demographic change he’s noticed. “Coming out of Covid, everyone in the family wants to spend time with each other. Before the pandemic, dads weren’t as prone to coming. Now it’s about the chance to share experiences with the entire family. You can notice it as you walk around an arena.”

The longest running of them all, Holiday on Ice celebrates its 80th year in 2023. Its European season runs from November to April, during which period it tours two productions: one goes to its core market of Germany, where it reaches 25 cities; the other hits the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, and France. Outside those times, they take on engagements outside Europe, such as Saudi Arabia (in 2022), Singapore, or other territories that make financial sense, says CEO Peter O’Keeffe.

While the current schedule is keeping the company busy (O’Keeffe reports 25% annual growth in the German market for the last three years), it’s also eyeing expansion into additional territories. “From a European perspective, Poland and Italy are a fit, as is the Czech Republic. But in some countries, you’re only talking about one-city tours. We prefer to play five, six cities because then you’ve got a larger marketing spend and reach. So, we tend to look to the larger

Thousands of professionals read IQ every day. Make sure you get the whole picture…

Popular Culture

Pop culture, from the global phenomenon of WWE wrestling to the extraordinary show of the Harlem Globetrotters, spectacular Monster Trucks displays to comedy and tribute bands bring the magic of TV and legacy artists to life in venues across the planet.

Thousands of professionals read IQ every day. Make sure you get the whole picture…

Theatre & Musicals

Touring theatre shows and musicals are familiar ground for many live entertainment promoters, with West End and Broadway productions such as Cats and Phantom of the Opera playing in venues worldwide. Shows based on film franchises or musicals based on the songs of superstars such as Tina Turner also sell strongly, further blurring the boundaries between the pop and rock worlds and the theatre industry.

Thousands of professionals read IQ every day. Make sure you get the whole picture… SUBSCRIBE HERE

Mehr BB’s production of West Side Story

Touring Exhibitions

The strength of audience demand for touring exhibitions post-pandemic is mirroring the concert market.

In this ever-enlarging sector, post-Covid consumers want experiences of other kinds – art, science, design, natural history, museum-worthy antiquities, blockbuster fantasy tales – but always stories of some kind, brought to us through objects, video, audio, technology, and all kinds of cutting-edge immersion.

The range of experiences now circulating under the touring exhibitions banner is increasingly dizzying. “It’s an amazing market in terms of the versatility – the variety of projects and the many different forms they take,” says Manon Delaury, CEO of one-stop touring exhibitions resource TEO. “I think there’s something in it for everyone.”

That means, in terms of subject matter, of course – exhibitions moving the dial on the global circuit focus on everything from Harry Potter, Disney, and Avatar to dinosaurs and deep-sea exploration, to the art of Van Gogh, Monet, and Da Vinci, to the legacy of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp –but also in terms of size, which can vary from the truly immense to the distinctly compact.

“You get the very big productions with the big brands and the big names who travel internationally. Those would be 1,500 square all the way to 3,000 square metres,” says Delaury. “And it goes all the way to the smaller projects, like a 500-square-metre art exhibition. I have calls about trying to find 100-square-metre-specific exhibits. So, it’s really extremely varied, not only in terms of topics, but also in terms of size. There’s a great variety out there being addressed by travelling experiences.”

The engine of the market, albeit not exclusively, is families, for whom such experiences provide a novel way of presenting education as well as entertainment.

“It’s quite hard to drag a kid around the museum, as we all know, but take them to a Van Gogh immersive experience or Monet’s Garden, and they love it – and it’s educating them at the same time” said Ingrid Sutej of Monet’s Garden producer, Eventim-owned Temple Live Entertainment, speaking on a panel about touring entertainment at ILMC in March.

Quite how big a market we are talking about is open to conjecture. At this year’s ILMC, there was blue-sky talk of a market with $25bn potential, akin to that of the concert market. But realistically there is no consolidated data in the exhibitions market and therefore no way to judge how close we might be.

Anecdotally, however, there is very clear evidence of substantial growth over the past

Thousands of professionals read IQ every day. Make sure you get the whole picture…

Imagine Exhibitions’ blockbusterHarry Potter Exhibition

Show Directory

Show Producer & Juliet

Maximum Entertainment Productions

100 Years of Bags World Touring Exhibitions

1776: The Musical NETworks

2023 Show Zippos Circus

2023 Spring Tour Paul Taylor Dance Company

3D Doubt Your Eyes World Touring Exhibitions

42nd Street Crossroads Live

9 to 5: The Musical Josh Andrews Productions

A Beautiful Noise - the Neil Diamond Musical Aurora Productions

A Bee Story Cluster Arts

A Beginners Guide To Opera Much Loved Productions

A Clockwork Orange Glynis Henderson Productions

A Country Night In Nashville Handshake Limited

A Dream is a Wish Disney Concerts

A Feast of Gilbert And Sullivan Much Loved Productions

A Few Good Men McCoy Rigby Entertainment

A Garden Party Cluster Arts

A Grand Operatic Tour of Italy Much Loved Productions

A Ladder to the Stars Visible Fictions

A Little Life Playful Productions

A Magical Cirque Christmas Magic Space Entertainment

A Moment with the Butterflies Exhibition Hub Srl

A Monster Calls Global Creatures

A Night with Janis Joplin S2BN

A Portrait Without Borders Kaleider

A Silly Symphony Celebration Disney Concerts

A Simple Space Cluster Arts

A Soldier's Play Aurora Productions

A Strange Loop P3 Productions

ABBAMania The Show Semmel Concerts

Abigail’s Party ATG Productions

Accidental Death of an Anarchist Playful Productions

Adam Trent

The Works Entertainment

Adrenaline (Le Grand Cirque) Spirit Productions Ltd

Africa Fashion Victoria & Albert Museum

African Dinosaurs: Giants Exhibits Development Group

AI: More than Human Barbican

Aida

AIK Productions

Ailey II

Stage Entertainment

Turtle Key Arts

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Ain't Too Proud Jamie Wilson Productions

Aladdin

Stage Entertainment

Aladdin in Concert Live To Film Disney Concerts

Aladdin the Musical Disney

Alanis Morrissette's Jagged

Little Pill

Maximum Entertainment Productions

Alegría Cirque du Soleil

Alexa, Turn on the Lights Cluster Arts

Alice in Wonderland

Disney Concerts

Alice: Curious and Curiouser Victoria & Albert Museum

Alive

Alton Brown Live: Beyond The Eats - The Holiday Variant

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

Amadeus

Amazonia

America's Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

An American in Paris

Aurora Limburg

Magic Space Entertainment

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

Piu Entertainment

Asisi Panorama International

Spirit Productions Ltd

GWB Entertainment

A Viennese Strauss Christmas

Gala Much Loved Productions

A Viennese Strauss Gala Much Loved Productions

ABBA Forever Sweeney Entertainments

ABBA Super Troupers Cubit 3D

Anastasia NETworks

And Then There Were None

Fiery Angel Ltd

Angel Monster Cluster Arts

Angry Birds On Ice

Angry Birds Universe

Alchemy Project

Imagine Exhibitions

IQ has compiled the following list of almost 1,000 shows, which are either live on tour or available to book. The following pages detail a wealth of opportunity for promoters to continue to fill venues and wow fans around the globe.

Angst Aerial Cirque

Animal Inside Out Institut für Plastination e.K.

Animal Super Powers Imagine Exhibitions

Annie Crossroads Live

Antarctica Asisi Panorama International

Anthem Anthem Revolution Terrapin Puppet Theatre

Anthems of Rock Spirit Productions Ltd

Anything for Love Steve Steinman Productions

Apollo: When We Went to the Moon Flying Fish Exhibits

Aquaman Schirmer Theatrical, LLC

ARC Aerial Cirque

Art of the Airport Tower Flying Fish Exhibits

Aspects of Love The Really Useful Group

Assume People Like You Cluster Arts

Astronaut Imagine Exhibitions

At the Movies Much Loved Productions

Auschwitz: Not Long Ago, Not Far Away

Musealia Entertainment, SL

Avatar: The Exhibition NEON Global

Baby Shark Live! The Pinkfong Company & Round Room Live

Back to the Future The Musical Colin Ingram Ltd

Backyard Adventures Imagine Exhibitions

Bags: Inside Out Victoria & Albert Museum

Bailables Aurora Limburg

Ballet Revolution Mehr-BB Entertainment GmbH

Band of Gold Josh Andrews Productions

Banksy: Genius or Vandal? Exhibition Hub Srl

Baroque Dresden Asisi Panorama International

Baseball Swing Schirmer Theatrical, LLC

Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery ATG Productions

Bat Out of Hell: The Musical Media Productions & Solutions International Ltd.

BBC Earth Experience Moon Eye Productions

Bearded Bingo Cluster Arts

Beatles: The Magical History Tour Exhibits Development Group

Beauty and the Beast in Concert

Beethoven 9

Disney Concerts

Circa Contemporary Circus

Beetlejuice NETworks

Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom Fierylight

Bend It Like Beckham The Musical Starvox Touring

Benjamin Rauhala and His West End Besties

DLAP Group

Berlin Berlin Mehr-BB Entertainment GmbH

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 1927 Productions Ltd

Beyond Morris: Arts and Crafts Victoria & Albert Museum

Bianca Li's Giant Dance Fest GAAP Bookings

Bionic Me Imagine Exhibitions

Bite Club Cluster Arts

Black Fimalac Entertainment – TS3

Black Panther in Concert

BLAM!

Disney Concerts

Glynis Henderson Productions

Blame Game Crying Out Loud

Blaque Showgirls

Griffin Theatre Company

Blippi on Tour Round Room Live

Blood Brothers Bill Kenwright Ltd

Blue's Clues and You! Live on Stage Round Room Live

Bluey's Big Play

Bob Marley One Love Experience

Windmill Theatre Co

Terrapin Station Entertainment

Bodies Hereleb

Bodies – The Science Within Aurea Exhibitions

Body Worlds Institut für Plastination e.K.

Bohemian Rhapsody Spirit Productions Ltd

Bolster & Lee Cluster Arts

Bombay Dreams

The Really Useful Group

Bonnie and Clyde the Musical DLAP Group

BOOM!! Sound-Color-Foams Mobiles Musik Museum

Bowie Taken by Duffy Nomad Exhibitions

Brainiac Live

Dan Colman Creative Ltd.

Brats Carnival Cluster Arts

BRED Cluster Arts

Brick Live Exhibition Hub Srl

Bright Black Vox Motus

British Music Experience Cubit 3D

Broadway's Greatest Hits Spirit Productions Ltd

Brokeback Mountain Lambert Jackson Ltd

Bubble of Freedom Corpus Acrobatics

Bubble World Experience Exhibition Hub Srl

Buddy Forever Musical Creations

By Jeeves

Entertainment GmbH

The Really Useful Group

Camp Culture Cluster Arts

Carnival of the Animals Circa Contemporary Circus

Carola's Garden

Asisi Panorama International

Carrie Hope Fletcher Cuffe & Taylor

Casting Off

Cluster Arts

Cats The Really Useful Group

While every best effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the Show and Producer Directories, IQ assumes no liability for errors or omissions. Please get in touch at annuals@iq-mag.net with any comments or to ensure your company or show is included in future editions of this publication.

Thousands of professionals read IQ every day. Make sure you get the whole picture…

Producer Directory

The following pages contain key information about companies either producing or representing a wide variety of touring shows and exhibitions

1927 Productions Margate, UK contact@19-27.co.uk 19-27.co.uk

Shows

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Golem, Please Right Back, Roots, The Animals and the Children Took to the Streets, The Magic Flute

2B Theatre Company Halifax, Canada info@2btheatre.com

+1 902 453 6267 2btheatre.com

Shows

Old Stock: A Refugee Story

5 Angry Men Melbourne, Australia info@5angrymen.com

+61 4 0514 9850 5angrymen.com

Show

The Bells, The March

A Slightly Isolated Dog

Wellington, New Zealand leo.gene.peters@gmail.com

+64 2182 1140 aslightlyisolateddog.weebly. com

Shows

Don Juan, Jekyll & Hyde

Abhann Productions Dublin, Ireland info@riverdance.com

+353 1889 4900 riverdance.com

Show Riverdance

Aerial Cirque Dublin, Ireland admin@aerialcirque.org

+353 1444 8959 aerialcirque.org

Shows

ARC, Neverneverland, Angst, The Acrobat and the Flea

Agenda Production International GmbH Berlin, Germany contact@agenda-production. com

+49 302 345 666 agenda-production.de

Shows

Frozen – The Music Show on Ice; Havana Nights; Nutcracker on Ice

Alchemation

Sutton, UK alchemation@alchemation. com alchemation.com

Shows

Mrs. Doubtfire; Peter Pan Goes Wrong; SIX: The Musical; The Play That Goes Wrong

Alchemy Project Dubai, UAE info@alchemyproject.co alchemyproject.co

Shows

Angry Birds On Ice, Chaplin the Musical, The Neverland Musical, The Red Riding Hood Musical

Alegria Exhibition GmbH Munich, Germany

+49 899 438 9635 alegria-exhibition.de

Shows

Christmas in Hollywood; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – in Concert; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ – in Concert; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – in Concert; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – in Concert; Klimts Kiss – Playing With Fire; Monet’s Garden; Pirates of the Caribbean –The Curse of the Black Pearl; Star Wars VII in Concert –The Force Awakens; The Sound of Ennio Morricone; The Sound of Hans Zimmer and John Williams; Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella; The Sound of James Bond;

Tutankhamun - The Immersive Exhibition Experience; Viva Frida Kahlo – Immersive Experience

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater New York City, New York, USA groupsales@alvinailey.org

+1 212 405 9000 alvinailey.org

Shows

Ailey II, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Apassionata World GmbH Munich, Germany info@apassionata.com

+49 302 2500 9120 apassionata.com

Shows

Cavalluna Kids; Cavalluna: Land of A Thousand Dreams; Cavalluna: Secret of Eternity

Armstrong International Music and Arts Ent. Beijing, China info@armstrongmusic.cc

+86 105 826 3639 armstrongmusicarts.com

Show

Jimmy Lao’s Fantasy World

Art of Banksy

London, UK

boxoffice@artofbanksy.co.uk Artofbanksy.co.uk

Show

Art of Banksy

Asisi Panorama International Berlin, Germany info@asisi-international.com

+49 306 9580 8612 asisi-international.com

Shows

Amazonia, Antarctica, Baroque Dresden, Carola’s Garden, Council of Constance, Dresden 1945, Everest, Great Barrier Reef, Leipzig 1813, Luther 1517, New York 9/11, Pergamon, Rome 312, Rouen 1431, The Cathedral of Monet, The Wall, Titanic

ATG Productions London, UK contact@atg-productions. com atg-productions.com

Shows 9 to 5 The Musical; Abigail’s Party; Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery; Cyrano de Bergerac; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; East is East; Fatal Attraction; Gaslight; Ghost Stories; Glengarry Glen Ross; I Should Be So Lucky: The Stock Aitken Waterman Musical; Ian McKellen on Stage; Mother Goose; Pretty Woman: The Musical; Private Lives; Strangers on a Train; The Doctor

Attraktion!

Vienna, Austria office@attraktion.com

+43 1532 0777 attraktion.com

Shows

Cinesplash 5D, Playneo, Playoke Dance & Kids, Sea Explorer 4D/5D

Aurea Exhibitions

Argentina

efp@aureaexhibitions.com

+54 911 3212 7511 Aureaexhibitions.com

Shows

Bodies – The Science Within; Da Vinci – The Exhibition; Ice Age; Living Dinosaurs Experience; Monet & Impressionist – The Immersive Experience; Monsters of the Sea; Space – The Final Frontier

Aurora Limburg Seville, Spain contact@auroralimburg.com

+34 636 509 052 auroralimburg.com

Shows

Alive, Bailables, El Cuaderno, El Sombrero, Flamenca 391, La Confluencia, Los Cuerpos Celestes, Naufragio Universal, Romances, Silencios, Triana D.F.

Aurora Productions New York City, New York, USA info@auroraprod.com

+1 212 399 7020 auroraprod.com

Shows

A Beautiful Noise - the Neil Diamond Musical; A Soldier’s Play; Fat Ham; Frozen the Musical; Hadestown; Into the Woods; Leopoldstadt; Life of Pi; Prima Facie; The Book of Mormon

Barbican London, UK info@barbican.co.uk

+44 207 382 7043 barbican.org.uk

Shows

AI: More than Human; Game On; Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics; Our Time on Earth; Virtual Realms: Videogames Transformed

Barrowland Ballet

Glasgow, UK nicola@barrowlandballet. co.uk barrowlandballet.co.uk

Shows

Family Portrait, Playful Tiger, The Gift, The Unexpected Gift, Tiger Tale, Too Close to the Sun

Bill Kenwright Ltd.

London, UK info@Kenwright.com

+44 207 446 6200 kenwright.com

Shows

Blood Brothers; Frank and Percy; Heathers the Musical; Home, I’m Darling; The Shawshank Redemption

BodyVox

Portland, Oregon, USA info@bodyvox.com

+1 503 229 0627 bodyvox.com

Shows Cosmosis, Figments

Cameron Mackintosh Ltd. London, UK info@camack.co.uk

+44 207 637 8866 cameronmackintosh.com

Shows

Hamilton, Les Misérables, Mary Poppins, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera

Circa Contemporary Circus

Brisbane, Australia hello@circa.org.au

+61 7 3852 3110 circa.org.au

Shows

Beethoven 9; Carnival of the Animals; Circa’s Peepshow; Danger Club; Depart; Duck Pond; En Masse; Humans; Humans 2.0; Leviathan; Maria de Buenos Aires; On by Circa; Sacre; Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show; Tubular Bells: Live in Concert; What Will Have Been; Wolfgang’s Magical Music Circus

Cirque du Soleil

Montreal, Canada contact@cirquedusoleil.com cirquedusoleil.com

Shows

Alegría, Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR, Cirque du Soleil CRYSTAL, Cirque du Soleil ECHO, Corteo, KOOZA, KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities, LUZIA, Messi10, OVO

Cluster Arts

Brisbane, Australia clusterarts.com

Shows

A Bee Story; A Garden Party; A Simple Space; Alexa, Turn on the Lights; Angel Monster; Assume People Like You; Bearded Bingo; Bite Club; Bolster & Lee; Brats Carnival; BRED; Camp Culture; Casting Off; Dale Woodbridge-Brown; Dirty Laundry; Driftwood; High Tea with BOOFF; How the Birds Got Their Colours; In the Arms of Morpheus; Knee Deep; Monster Siege; Party Ghost; RUNT; The Anniversary; The Long Pigs; You and I; ZOË

COFO Entertainment

Passau, Germany office@cofo.de +49 851 988 080 cofo.de

Shows

Climate: The Immersive Experience; The Great Masters: The Renaissance; The Great Masters: The Terracotta Army & The Legacy of the Eternal Emperor; The Mystery of Banksy: A Genius Mind

Corpus Acrobatics

Amsterdam, Netherlands amsterdam@corpusacrobatics.nl

+31 622 982 082 corpus-acrobatics.nl

Show Bubble of Freedom

While every best effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the Show and Producer Directories, IQ assumes no liability for errors or omissions. Please get in touch at annuals@ iq-mag.net with any comments or to ensure your company or show is included in future editions of this publication.

Thousands of professionals read IQ every day. Make sure you get the whole picture…

Advertisers Index

“A GLOBAL CELEBRATION OF EVERYTHING THAT IS DISNEY ”...

said ABC television on the World premiere exhibition in Philadelphia. Open now at The Franklin Institute until August 23, 2023.

The European premiere exhibition is now open at the Olympic Park Munich until September 3, 2023.