after the london production closed in 1999 and also following the closure of the broadway production in 2001, the show in its original london staging embarked on a long tour of the six largest venues in britain and ireland, stopping off in each city for several months. the tour opened at the palace theatre, manchester and also played in the birmingham hippodrome, the mayflower theatre in southampton, the edinburgh playhouse, the bristol hippodrome and the point theatre in dublin. this successful tour drew to a close in 2003 and a brand new production was developed by original producer cameron mackintosh on a smaller scale so that the show could be accommodated in smaller theatres. this tour started in july 2004 and ended in june 2006.