Summer Holiday nominated for Best Musical at UK Theatre Awards

The summer's sell out hit production has been nominated for Best Musical at UK Theatre Awards.

The theatre's production team say they are thrilled with the nomination, especially as it was the final show in the Octagon's 50th anniversary celebrations and before it shut for a multi-million pound transformation of the building.

The 1960s musical was brought to life by a cast of multi-talented actor-musicians under the direction of Elizabeth Newman, the former artistic director, and Ben Occhipinti. Audiences were treated to an unusual setting for the performance as the sounds of Cliff Richard’s timeless songs could be heard across Bolton.

The show began at Bolton’s new Travel Interchange before audiences embarked upon a fleet of buses and were transported to see the story continue on the steps of the town hall. The cast received standing ovations after each performance with audiences dancing in the aisles.

Ben said: "Summer Holiday was such a huge joy to create and was only made possible with the hard work of the team at the Octagon and all the amazing support of our friends at Vision Buses, TFGM and Bolton Council.

"We worked together to create something very special and an unforgettable experience for everyone who watched the show. It is something I’m immensely proud to have been a part of and am thrilled that UK Theatre have recognised the production as a piece of extraordinary theatre."

The UK Theatre Awards are the only nationwide awards to honour and celebrate outstanding achievements in regional theatre throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Summer Holiday has been nominated for Best Musical 2018 alongside other nominees The Assassination of Katie Hopkins, a Theatr Clwyd production, Miss Littlewood, a Royal Shakespeare Company production and Pieces of String, a Mercury Theatre Colchester and TBO co-production.

The awards take place on Sunday, October 14 at London’s historic Guildhall where the winner will be announced.