Motown the Musical due to open at Shaftesbury next March

Updated 3rd April: Motown the Musical is set to open at the Shaftesbury Theatre in March 2016. The venue is currently home to Memphis the Musical, which recently received 9  Olivier Awards nominations. Motown the Musical enjoyed a successful run on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre from March 2013 to January 2015. It had previously been speculated that the musical would play at The London Palladium

According to today's Mail,  negotiations to transfer Motown the Musical into the London Palladium have broken down  because the theatre's management wants to take a break from long-running shows  and concentrate instead   one-night stands, one-week runs and other short-term projects.

Comic Relief played the Palladium last weekend: Cats the musical reopens there tonight and runs until 25th April. Future events include a Frank Sinatra tribute with the possible return of Cats in the autumn plus shows from ITV and the BBC. So Motown’s looking for another home ...