Pirate radio musical cancels again due to illness

A new musical has been hit with further bad luck after an evening performance was cancelled at short notice due to illness.

Caroline - A New Musical, based on the pirate radio ship broadcasting off the Essex coast, has been on at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester.

The production announced at 16:00 BST on Thursday that the performance would not go ahead and a spokesperson apologised.

Last week, an actor who had never seen the script was asked to step in at the last minute because of illness, but Craig Mather said the audience was "well and truly onside".

The theatre has not yet confirmed if Friday and Saturday's performances will go ahead, however, the show is sold out for the rest of its run in Essex.

"We are sorry to disappoint those of you expecting to see the show," the theatre said.

"We will be contacting all bookers by email to explain your options."

Written by Olivier-award winning writer Vikki Stone, the show is about the rebel Radio Caroline station which defied UK broadcasting laws by playing pop music from international waters off the coast of Clacton-on-Sea.

The show on Friday is due to be followed by a question and answer session with Radio Caroline broadcaster Ray Clark.

The performance on 4 June was also cancelled due to illness, but the next day, musical theatre teacher Mather stepped in and read from the 140-page script on stage.

It is the first production launched by the East Anglia Touring Consortium to support mid-scale tour productions with a focus on championing new writing and developing local talent.

The cast of 10 has toured across East Anglia, with The Mercury the penultimate stop before it travels to the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk from 16 to 20 June.

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