Blackpool show bar signs creative producer

A Blackpool showbiz venue is aiming to boost its Vegas verve after hiring a creative producer for its shows.
Leye D Johns, Mykey Young, Lucy Gallagher and Martin Heywood at VivaLeye D Johns, Mykey Young, Lucy Gallagher and Martin Heywood at Viva
Leye D Johns, Mykey Young, Lucy Gallagher and Martin Heywood at Viva

And Viva Blackpool is set to take its brand of entertainment on the road UK wide.

The team there has been joined by Mykey Young, who was the producer behind the LightPool Festival in Blackpool which transformed the town centre over the course of six nights, featuring over 35 light art works by leading artists and performing artists, including the iconic Yoko Ono.

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Blackpool-raised Mykey has worked all over the world as a performer, producer, director and writer, and with national and international clients.

He said his brief is to build on the success the venue has had since 2012 adding influences from the world of American dinner theatre, casino concepts and the best of cabaret from around the world.

He will work with host and co-owner, Leye D Johns, Lancashire’s current Tourism Superstar, and choreographer, Lucy Gallagher to take Viva on following its major rebranding last year.

He said:“Myself, Leye D Johns and Lucy Gallagher, are going to be Blackpool’s equivalent of the ‘Dreamgirls’,

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“The next few months will see new additions to the entertainment programme that will scream Vegas. The best advice is ‘watch this space’, as it’s going to be scintillating, spectacular and something nobody should miss.”

He added that the touring shows out across the UK, aim to spread the spangle and fa the showgirl feathers far and wide and that while venues encountered on tour may not have the razzmatazz of Viva Blackpool, he claimed that the “bright lights will follow us on tour”.

Viva managing director Martin Heywood said: “Mykey’s appointment is a statement of intent by Viva Blackpool and a demonstration of the fact that we are not resting on our laurels, but doing all we can to deliver the verve that needs to sit behind our Vegas positioning.

“We are significantly raising the bar this season and are intent on wowing audiences throughout the year, making our resident shows true spectacles that are set to become some of the most talked about shows in the UK, whether they are performed here, or out on tour.

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“Spreading the Viva love to other towns is starting this year, with our Jersey Boys production touring the UK throughout the next few months, on the back of the boys having been asked to perform for members of the Royal Family, on two separate occasions during 2016.

“ This is the year when Viva gets true vivacity and we know that Mykey is the right person to deliver that.”