Russell Brand’s first South African tour scrapped
MAGALIESSIG - Comedian says he's been 'banned' from entering the country.
Last night author, actor and comedian Russell Brand was allegedly refused permission to fly to South Africa because his passport didn’t contain the mandatory number of empty pages, consequently he has now been forced to cancel his tour of South Africa.
Promoter Tony Feldman of Showtime Management said, “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused to Russell Brand’s fans and thank them for their continued support. We are hoping to reschedule the dates for mid 2014.”
Brand, on his twitter page said, “Banned from South Africa. Here ready to go. Refused entry. Hope I can come soon.”
So far there has been no explanation of why the star hadn’t renewed his passport, to ensure enough space to fly to the country. There has also been no apology issued.
Ticket holders can obtain full refunds next week from Computicket service centres countrywide.
15 November, 9.15am
The first show of Russell Brand’s Messiah Complex South African Tour scheduled to take place tonight at the Teatro at Montecasino has been cancelled.
It was caused by an unexpected delay when the comedian missed his flight.
According to a statement by Montecasino there was a technical problem with his passport and the airline did not allow him to board. Apparently there was not enough pages left on his passport to allow him to fly to the south of Africa.
The promoter has made emergency arrangements to get him to Johannesburg, but unfortunately he will be a day late.
Showtime Management is working to replace tonight’s show with a performance next week.
This will be advised as soon as possible. Ticket-holders for tonight’s show can either get a full refund from Computicket – or hold on to their tickets until a possible replacement date is announced.
If there is no replacement Computicket will fully refund on presentation from next week. said Tony Feldman of Showtime Management.
“We apologise to Russell Brand fans for the inconvenience and for this unexpected and disappointing last minute change. This only affects tonight’s show. The remainder of the Tour will go ahead as scheduled,” said Tony Feldman of Showtime Management.
The sold out Messiah Complex Tour is scheduled for three shows at the Teatro at Montecasino on 16, 17 and 18 November and two shows at the Artscape theater in Cape Town.
