Show pulled amid poor ticket sales

Jim Davidson has axed his theatre show Stand Up And Be Counted in the face of poor ticket sales.

The comic had received a lot of media attention for the play, which revolved around an old-school comedian very much like himself trying to justify his reputation to comics of a younger generation.

However, that could not translated into box office figures, and the show has been pulled after visiting just four of the planned 12 cities on the tour.

Davidson blamed ‘the current economic climate’ for the decision – but said that despite the setback he planned to take the show to the West End.

The tour will be pulled after next week’s run in the Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow. Despite having a capacity of 1,449, fans can still get a pair of seats in Row C for the Friday night show, suggesting a very low take-up.

Breaking the news on his blog, Davidson said: ‘After a great deal of soul-searching I have come to the difficult decision that I have no choice but to draw a close to the current production of my first play, Stand Up And Be Counted.

‘Despite a great audience response, the current economic climate has unfortunately made it impossible to make the “numbers” work out. Therefore, the final performance of this incarnation of the show will be at Glasgow’s famous Pavilion Theatre on Saturday March 26.

‘In the month and a half since the first performance, the show has been seen by over 8,000 people and has received amazing amounts of coverage in both the national and local media. My great cast of Matt Blaize, Rachael Barrington, Philip Childs, Lloyd Hollett and Clare Kissane have worked wonders in bringing the play to life and your enthusiasm and enjoyment of Stand Up And Be Counted has blown me away. I can’t tell you how proud I am of what we have achieved in the last year.

‘All of which has made me even more determined to see the show performed on the London stage and with that in mind I am already in talks with several West End producers and theatre owners.’

Following the cancellation of the play, Davidson has vowed to tour again with his stand-up show.

Click here to read Chortle’s review of Stand Up And Be Counted.