 In 2009 , the show toured the United Kingdom and Ireland with the name of SpongeBob SquarePants : The Sponge Who Could Fly ! A New Musical . It opened at the Hackney Empire in London , England on February 3 , 2009 . The musical toured the UK from March 2009 for six months with performances at the Hammersmith Apollo , Southend , Edinburgh , Birmingham , Reading , Salford , Sunderland , Nottingham , Liverpool , High Wycombe , Plymouth , Bristol , Cardiff , Oxford , Killarney and Dublin . 
