Show Facts


Starlight Express opened on March 27^th, 1984. It is second only to Cats as the longest running musical in British theatre history.
Tuesday, January 9^th, 2001 Starlight saw it's 7000^th performance at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.
On Saturday, January 12^th, 2002 at 7:45pm the 7409^th and last Starlight Express performance at the Apollo Victoria Theatre was given.

In November 1992, every aspect of the production was re-worked. The show was re-directed, re-choreographed, re-lit, even the set was thoroughly refurbished for the new production.

Although only 24 people appear on stage, over 200 are involved in making Starlight Express happen every night.

There are 1,500 light bulbs on the set, 1,200 lanterns and 6,000 pea lights on the back wall of the set to create the star effect.

There is currently only 1 production - Bochum (14 years).

One ticket tout, who has been outside the Apollo Victoria Theatre each weekend since the show opened, now has his grandson to help him.

The top speed recorded by a skater was 40 mph during a rehearsal.

An Army video training film has Starlight Express as one of the London landmarks for orienteering.

The theatre ghost, who has been seen since the theatre was a cinema, sits in Row Q, sometimes during the evening performances.

There have been eight productions since 1984 including London, New York, US/Canadian tour, Las Vegas, Japan, Australia/Japan tour, Germany and Mexico.

The London production has been seen by over 8 million people.

The bridge featured in the show weighs five and half tonnes.

Three generations of the Pearton family have watched the show every week for the last four years. The grand-daughter has skating lessons every week.

New casts attend skate school prior to opening in the show. Skate school runs for 4 weeks prior to 7 weeks of vocal staging and choreography rehearsals.

When the set was first built, 750 gallons of paint and varnish were used.

The original production cost £2.25 million to mount.

90,000 feet of trussing is on the set.

6 miles of timber, two and half acres of sheet wood and 60 tonnes of steel were used to construct the set.

5,500 pairs of false eyelashes, 8,000 tins of base make-up and 2,000 tubs of make-up remover have been applied.

27,600 pairs of skate laces, 27,000 skate wheels and 23,000 toe stops have been used since the production opened.

An estimated 16 million people have seen the show worldwide and the estimated gross box office world-wide is £450 million (£140 million in London alone).

The skaters have got through 1,200,000 boxes of tissues and 12,000 gallon bottles of water.

Alan Newman, a postman from Kent, has seen the show 750 times and estimates he has spent £21,000.00. He always sits in the same seat - Stalls L23.

Scary Spice, of The Spice Girls, trained in the Skate School for Starlight Express in 1995. Saffron, lead singer for Republica, was in Starlight Express for two years.

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