Selladoor Worldwide
Selladoor Worldwide is a West End and national and international touring theatre production company based in Greenwich, London. Selladoor Worldwide produces musical theatre, plays and family theatre, touring numerous productions throughout the UK and worldwide annually. Selladoor Worldwide also operate and manage theatres across the UK, known as Selladoor Venues.
History
Selladoor Worldwide was formed in 2009 by David Hutchinson and Phillip Rowntree, whilst students at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.The company's début production, The Secrets Inside, was written by Hutchinson and directed by Richard Adams. It premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, then ran at the Tolbooth in Stirling. Selladoor soon moved into producing regional touring theatre, starting with a national tour of Liz Lochhead's adaptation of Dracula in 2010. The following year, it conducted the first British tour of Spring Awakening, which visited Exeter, Stirling, Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Norwich; and produced the centenary tour of William Golding's The Lord of the Flies, across Scotland, England and Wales.
In 2011, Selladoor also started producing an annual Off West End season at the Greenwich Theatre. In November 2013, Selladoor was made an official partner company at the Greenwich Theatre. The 2014 season included Avenue Q and adaptations of the novels Kidnapped and Alice in Wonderland.
Selladoor's head office moved to London in 2009, at Athenley House on Greenwich High Road and subsequently to the Deptford Mission in Deptford. In 2012, they were made a resident producing company at the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock, which opened in January 2015.
In December 2012, Selladoor made their West End debut with a production of Seussical, written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, at the Arts Theatre. Recent shows include the London revival of Alan Bennett's The History Boys and Tim Kelly's adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
In 2016 David Hutchinson and Phillip Rowntree continued to expand the company in size, borders and targets, rebranding the company to Selladoor Worldwide, previously known as Sell A Door Theatre Company. Sell A Door Theatre Company had established themselves as an integral part of the regional theatre landscape in the UK and Ireland, but Hutchinson and Rowntree aspired to expand further afield and therefore to produce and tour theatre not only in the UK, but worldwide.
Along with UK Tours of Footloose, Flashdance The Musical, Spamalot, and The Crucible, David Hutchinson and Phillip Rowntree, as Selladoor Worldwide produced their first International Tours in 2017, including Jersey Boys and The Producers. Collectively in 2017 Selladoor Worldwide's productions performed in 8 different countries.
In January 2017 the company expanded further to incorporate a number of subsidiary companies: Selladoor Productions, Selladoor Creation, Selladoor Family, Selladoor Venues, Selladoor Management, Selladoor Enterprise and Selladoor Scotland.
2017 also saw Selladoor Worldwide open two international offices, one in New York and the second in Bangkok. David saw great potential in the Bangkok's developing cultural market, and explained that he wants ‘to be in there first and develop those relationships.” Therefore, David opened the Asia Pacific office located in Bangkok in December 2017, which is managed by Peevara Kitchumnongpan
In 2018 Selladoor produced John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men in association with the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury and collaborated with the Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and Les Theatre De La Villa De Luxembourg for a limited run of Diane Samuel's Kindertransport, marking 25 years since its debut at the Cockpit Theatre in London. Flashdance The Musical continued to tour the UK throughout 2018 as well visiting international venues such as Zurich MAAG and Kursaal Oostende. In the summer Selladoor launched two new exhilarating productions, Madagascar The Musical and Fame the 30th Anniversary UK tour. The Christmas season saw Selladoor's first pantomime of Aladdin at The Broadway Theatre, Catford, along with their Christmas show of 'The Wizard of Oz' starring Holly Tandy at the Blackpool Winter Gardens.
Both Fame and Madagascar The Musical continue their popular UK tours in 2019, with the former performing in the West End for a strictly limited 6-week engagement at the Peacock Theatre in September, and the latter touring extensively in international markets. American Idiot has been revived for a 10th Anniversary Tour, and Avenue Q has embarked on its 3rd UK Tour. Presenting in the UK are also the first West End productions of Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 The Musical at the Savoy Theatre, and the London premiere of William Finn and James Lapine’s Falsettos at The Other Palace, as well as UK tours of Amelie and Little Miss Sunshine, both award-winning musicals based on cult classic films in their European premiers. Selladoor Family have also launched new stage adaptations of two beloved children’s properties for UK touring: Elmer The Patchwork Elephant Show and The Mr. Men & Little Miss Show. Selladoor have recently announced the international tour of We Will Rock You launching in August 2020 in South Africa before continuing to the likes of the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel and beyond.
Selladoor Worldwide now have offices in Madrid, Bangkok, New York and Shanghai in addition to our headquarters in London. In 2018 Selladoor Creation was launched, which is a brand new platform for new writers to showcase and develop their work with the backing of one of the UK's leading theatre producers, and bring innovative new work to the national and international stage, making it accessible for all audiences. 2019 saw the expansaion of the Selladoor Worldwide group, with the announcement of Selladoor Venues. Selladoor Venues are the current operators for the Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple, The Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe and Peterborough New Theatre.