HUNDREDS of dance fans are furious after a Michael Flatley show was cancelled - because the stage is too small.

Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance was booked for four days in January at 2,000 capacity Newcastle City Hall. But the stage is not big enough for the scenery and dancers.

Hundreds of tickets have already been sold and refunds are now being handed out.

The show has been thrilling audiences in London's West End since the mid 1990s, and is on a world tour.

A spokesman for Newcastle City Council said the decision to cancel was reluctantly made.

He said: "At a pre-production meeting with the promoters, it became clear that the City Hall's stage was not large enough to accommodate even a scaled-down version of the production.

"The scenery needed would not fit on to the City Hall stage. It was reluctantly agreed that the only option available was to cancel the shows."

The show mixes Irish dance with contemporary and world music routines.

City Hall manager Peter Brennan said: "This was an extremely well sold show.

"Everyone who bought a ticket is entitled to a full refund.

"The Lord of the Dance is usually performed at big arenas, but now it is touring the smaller venues."

He added: "The director of the show came round to see our stage and suddenly shouted out a very rude word.

"The set wouldn't fit on the stage, there was no room for the cages that form part of the show.

"Last week Little Britain was here and there was a similar problem with the stage, but we were able to overcome it by adding some carpentry to the existing stage. It took a lot of effort, but the show still went on."