The Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre will temporarily become an ice rink for one of the two productions that will replace the cancelled touring musical Jersey Boys.

Swan Lake on Ice and The Illusionists will now fill the vacant slot between April and May, and advance booking for both shows is open.

According to presenter Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, Jersey Boys was cancelled due simply to “scheduling conflicts” and the fact that the jukebox musical “cannot be in two places at once”, says the company’s chief executive James Cundall. “Who knows, we may be able to get it back another time.”

In its place between April 27 and May 8 will be Swan Lake on Ice, which was staged here almost a decade ago and is part of the Lunchbox Imperial Ice Stars series. The production is currently running in South Africa as part of its world tour.

The performers are all former Olympic, world or European champions and are known for their awe-inspiring skating skills. “We will turn the stage into a giant, 10cm thick, ice rink,” says Cundall. “I should say [the venue management] has been amazing … they were left with a situation where they’d have an empty venue, which they didn’t want. We found two shows that are top of their class so they supported us.”

Equally entertaining will be The Illusionists, a show that Cundall has always wanted to present in Hong Kong. It will be staged at the Cultural Centre between April 14 and 24.