Russian invasion prompts ballet cancellations

Published: 27 February 2022
Reporter: David Chadderton

The dancers of Swan Lake performed by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia Credit: Richard Haughton

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some regional theatres in the UK have cancelled performances by The Russian State Ballet of Siberia, currently touring Britain with productions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet.

Wolverhampton Grand said, "the decision to cancel is absolutely the right thing to do given the circumstances, however this will have a significant financial impact on the theatre which is still in recovery following the closure forced by the COVID-19 pandemic."

Royal & Derngate in Northampton also cancelled a show from the Russian company on 26 February. New Theatre Peterborough and Ambassador Theatre Group, which was to host performances at Edinburgh Playhouse and Bristol Hippodrome, have also cancelled forthcoming performances. Some other theatres still have performances listed on their web sites at the moment, including Leicester's De Montford Hall, Bournemouth Pavilion and Wycombe Swan.

Royal Opera House earlier announced that it was cancelling a visit to London by Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet this summer.

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