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The car man, last performed at the royal albert hall in a spectacular re-imagined production for the hall's 150th anniversary.

The Car Man is loosely based on Bizet’s popular opera (Carmen) and has one of the most thrilling and instantly recognisable scores in New Adventures’ repertory, brilliantly arranged by Terry Davies.

The familiar 19th Century Spanish cigarette factory becomes a greasy garage-diner in 1960’s America where the dreams and passions of a small-town are shattered by the arrival of a handsome stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.

Lez Brotherston’s epic design, Chris Davey’s evocative lighting and Matthew Bourne’s vivid storytelling take in a wealth of cinematic references, creating a dangerous and uncompromising vision of small-town America.

The Car Man was first seen in 2000, winning the Evening Standard Award for “Musical Event of the Year”. A revival in 2007 proved a smash-hit in London and at venues accross the UK. In 2015, Zizi Strallen won the "Outstanding Female Dancer (Modern)" Award at the National Dance Awards. Since 1 March 2016 The Car Man has been shown in over 150 cinemas worldwide.

As part of the Royal Albert Hall's 150th anniversary celebrations, New Adventures brought a new staging of the multi-award winning production of The Car Man to the Royal Albert Hall's stage for the first time in 2022. This was the first time New Adventures performed a full production at this historic and iconic venue. The show was completely reimagined for the gladiatorial arena of the Royal Albert Hall, featuring an expanded company of 65 dancers and musicians, a live orchestra and epic new designs.

The Car Man contains scenes of a sexual nature, brief nudity, strobe lighting and gunshots. Age guidance 12+.

★★★★★ A sizzling Bourne adventure. Sultry perfection. The Observer

The History of the Show

World Premiere: 16 May 2000 at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth

After opening in Plymouth in May 2000, it played London’s historic Old Vic Theatre for an extended 19 week run from 4 September 2000 and was subsequently the winner of the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Musical Event. A UK and International Tour followed in 2001/02 and included Lisbon, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv (2 weeks), Saint Paul, MI (2 weeks), Los Angeles, CA (8 weeks), Berkeley, CA, and Tokyo Otsu Osaka Kobe.

Dubbed ‘an auto-erotic thriller’, the production was filmed in 2001 at Pinewood Studios (still available on DVD).

The show was revived in 2007 and played a smash hit UK Tour opening on 18 June that year at the Plymouth Theatre Royal. It was then revived again in 2015 for a limited 16 week UK tour. The tour opened at The Churchill Theatre, Bromley, on 14 April 2015, with a four week summer season at Sadler’s Wells from 14 July to 9 August 2015.

The show was filmed live at Sadler's Wells in August 2015 and, following screenings in cinemas worldwide throughout 2016, was released on DVD & Blu-ray in November 2017. In 2020, The Car Man had its broadcast premiere on Sky Arts and became available to purchase or rent digitally as part of New Adventures' Festival of Classics .

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Awards & reviews.

EVENING STANDARD AWARD 2000 Winner of Musical Event of the Year

OLIVIER AWARDS 2000 Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Dance

NATIONAL DANCE AWARDS 2015 Zizi Strallen won Outstanding Female Dancer (Modern) Award for her role as Lana

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Cast and creative team interviews, inside the rehearsal room, photoshoots and more. join us on our journey as we reimagine the car man  for the royal albert hall., matthew bourne's vision, sir matthew bourne obe.

We love a photoshoot here at New Adventures! Check out the final photography by Johan Persson on our social media platforms.

'The Car Man' review — Matthew Bourne's steamy dance drama is back with a bang

Never mind the summer heatwave – the hottest place in London right now is the Royal Albert Hall. As part of the venue’s 150th anniversary celebrations, Matthew Bourne has retooled his turbo-charged 2000 production The Car Man , which riffs on both the opera Carmen and the film noir classic The Postman Always Rings Twice .

This new version is bigger and bolder than ever, with a massive cast of 39, a full orchestra (giving a magnificent account of Terry Davies’ reworking of the Rodion Shchedrin Carmen Suite ), two retro cars, multiple cinematic screens, and a huge catwalk – framed with telegraph poles – that runs from the stage and all the way through the arena seats. It’s on this stretch of empty road that we first glimpse the brooding stranger sauntering into town, the catalyst for the coming explosion.

Ironically, this small 1960s Italian-American town is named Harmony, one of the many witty elements that perfectly leaven this steamy, violent tale, and which further demonstrate just why Bourne is considered our finest dance storyteller. It really doesn’t matter whether or not you know his source material: a packed Albert Hall audience was rapt throughout.

Lana, the bored wife of the local diner and garage owner, Dino, is immediately drawn to the stranger, Luca. When the pair are finally alone, the atmosphere becomes dangerously charged and we all hold a long breath until they crash into one another in an eruption of forbidden passion. There’s nothing coy or cute about the sex scenes here: this is a sweaty tangle of lustful limbs, brutal grabs and thrusts, and a savagery that hints at the bloodshed to follow.

That carnality is echoed by the company, the muscled, macho mechanics dancing with clenched fists, stamping feet and cigarettes hanging out of their mouths, while the women hoist their skirts and slap the floor. There’s also one gay male coupling, and an amusing subsequent sequence where the male and female lovers of the same man bask in the afterglow, unaware of each other.

But otherwise Bourne stays fairly faithful to his period setting, interrogating a culture of toxic masculinity that sees Lana humiliated and objectified by her boorish husband, and, in turn, use her sexuality to engineer an escape route. We also see the sweet, innocent romance between Lana’s sister Rita and sensitive young Angelo mocked by the others. Luca teaches Angelo to fight, but that only becomes part of his tragic transformation into yet another thuggish man.

Bourne’s characterisation is crystal clear throughout, which helps enormously given that the performances now have to be projected so much further. There’s an assist from Lez Brotherston’s arresting design (that diner is palpably greasy and grimy) and Duncan McLean’s stylish projections, which switch between vintage ads, location shots and old Hollywood-style portraits of our main players at crucial points. But mainly we get all the information we need from the brilliantly tailored movement.

Zizi Strallen immediately locates Lana in her self-consciously slinky walk; she’s always aware of the effect she has on others. Yet there’s a gloomy lethargy to her until Luca arrives, and she suddenly finds a new verve and purpose. Strallen is strongest in these vivacious moments, but I didn’t entirely buy her as the ruthless femme fatale who would dismissively kick a corpse.

Still, she has great chemistry with the sinewy Will Bozier as Luca, and he certainly gives this seducer the full hip-swivelling swagger – plus an unpredictable temper. He’s excellent, too, in the darker second half as his crimes come back to haunt him, particularly in a nightmarish psychological number which sees him partnering a dead body.

Paris Fitzpatrick and Kayla Collymore are also fantastic as the corrupted young couple, dancing with lyrical, heart-wrenching expressiveness throughout, while Alan Vincent’s Dino is an effectively towering monster. And I loved the mini send-up of French mime artists, led by the vivid Bryony Harrison.

Bourne’s production is full of such inventive touches and clever tonal switches, leaping from a whooping hoedown to jailhouse despair and a mighty melodramatic climax. The heat almost becomes an extra character, thanks to Chris Davey’s evocative lighting – a woozy haze with harsh neon from the diner sign or the eerie glow of car headlights – and Paul Groothuis’s cicada and castenet-punctuated soundscape.

The Car Man is also by far the sexiest thing I’ve seen at the Albert Hall, and not just because Bourne includes a naked shower scene with plenty of buff bottoms. Yes, you do miss some of the intimacy in this bigger arena, and the larger chorus doesn’t always feel necessary. But the story’s core desire, desperation and destruction still come across with thrilling force. This unmissable dance drama is a hell of a ride.

The Car Man is at the Royal Albert Hall to 19 June. Book The Car Man tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: Will Bozier and Zizi Strallen in The Car Man (Photo by Johan Persson)

Originally published on Jun 13, 2022 09:53

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Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man

In partnership with Center Theatre Group on its Digital Stage platform, enjoy an on-demand film screening of celebrated British choreographer Matthew Bourne’s acclaimed The Car Man .

Dec. 11-13, 2020

Upcoming Dates

Fri. Dec. 11, 2020 10a.m.

Sat. Dec. 12, 2020 10a.m.

Sun. Dec. 13, 2020 10a.m.

Event Information

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Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man is an on demand streaming presentation on Center Theatre Group's Digital Stage. You will be re-directed to their website to purchase tickets and to watch the digital performance. For questions or streaming issues please contact Center Theatre Group directly at (213) 628-2772, Monday through Friday 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET, or [email protected] .

During the on demand period ticket holders can log in and watch the performance on Center Theatre Group’s website  here .

A New Adventures and Illuminations production Presented in partnership with Center Theatre Group on its Digital Stage platform

The Car Man is one of modern dance’s most thrilling and entertaining shows and a signature production for Matthew Bourne’s company New Adventures. First seen in 2000, when it won the Evening Standard Award for “Musical Event of the Year”, it has proved to be a smash-hit in the UK and around the world. This recording for Sky Arts was made at Sadler’s Wells during the production’s most recent revival.

The Car Man is loosely based on Bizet’s popular opera Carmen  and has one of the most instantly recognisable scores in New Adventures’ repertory, brilliantly arranged by Terry Davies. The familiar 19th-century Spanish cigarette factory of the opera becomes a greasy garage-diner in the American mid-west of the 1960s. The arrival of a handsome stranger disturbs the dreams and passions ofthose who live and work there. Fuelled by heat and desire, the townsfolk are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge. Lez Brotherston’s epic design and Chris Davey’s evocative lighting perfectly complement Matthew Bourne’s vivid choreographic storytelling, which draws on a wealth of cinematic references.Together with the glorious dancing of a wonderful cast, they create a delightful, dangerous and ultimately uncompromising vision of small-town America.

“Superb, witty, drop-dead-sexy” Daily Telegraph

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Matthew Bourne's The Car Man

2020-2021 On-Site and Digital Activations are brought to you by David M. Rubenstein .

Support for Dance at the Kennedy Center is provided by Suzanne L. Niedland

A New Adventures and Illuminations production for Sky Matthew Bourne’s production of The Car Man was filmed live at Sadler’s Wells during its 2015 National Tour

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man is a digital presentation by Center Theatre Group.

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Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man review – steamy dance thriller with a supercharged engine

Royal Albert Hall, London Bourne’s 1950s potboiler has been beefed up for a larger venue. The result is classy, trashy – and deeply serious

Matthew Bourne ’s The Car Man is a steamy, pulp-fiction take on the opera Carmen. Its object of desire is Luca, a sweaty hunk who has drifted into a small town in 1950s America, where he two-times his lovers: Lana, the sultry wife of the local garage owner, and Angelo, a gentle, bullied young man who doesn’t fit the macho girls-and-gangs culture around him. The show was a hit when first performed in 2000, acclaimed for its potent mix-up of gender and genre (buffs will have fun spotting the film references, the nods to ballets, modern dance and musicals, and savouring the retro designs and iconography). Now it is back in a scaled-up version – bigger! bolder! beefier! – for a limited run at London’s Royal Albert Hall. What this vast auditorium loses – some pressure-cooker intensity, some dramatic detail – the production makes up for. The fantastically versatile, multilevel set cleverly incorporates a live orchestra and billboard screens; it can switch scenes at the flick of a light switch, and extends along a thrust stage down which the dancers can parade or hurtle. The amplified music combines numbers from Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite with sound effects, so that it serves as both orchestral score and cinema soundtrack.

Bourne ties the choreography tightly to the storytelling. After the initial scene-setting group numbers, act one is sparked, driven and finally combusted by carnal lust: Luca (Will Bozier in tonight’s production; there are two alternating casts) has a grapplesome coupling with smouldering Lana (Zizi Strallen), followed swiftly by an enthusiastic back-seat ride with smitten Angelo (Paris Fitzpatrick) that sets the whole car quivering. The rest of the cast, having swapped and tasted each other’s cigarettes, break out into polymorphous rutting – not so much sex between individual people as Eros unleashed. If the ensemble choreography tends towards blockiness, it’s the partnering that matters here: limb-tangling, boundary-breaking, power-shifting and space-devouring. In true potboiler style, sex leads to deceit and violence, and act two is fuelled by guilt and revenge. The lead dancers carry the story with full-bodied conviction, but the entire cast seem to relish their roles in a work that is outrageously melodramatic and deeply serious, classy and trashy, manipulative and sincere. Like Luca himself, The Car Man brazenly gets to have it both ways.

At the Royal Albert Hall , London, until 19 June

• Matthew Bourne
• Georges Bizet

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Matthew Bourne's The Car Man

The Car Man is an award-winning ballet written by Matthew Bourne and based on Georges Bizet's opera Carmen.

The Car Man made its debut in 2000 in the UK.

• Matthew Bourne [choreographer]

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Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man at The Royal Albert Hall – June 2021

December 3, 2020 Last updated: May 2, 2021 12:56 pm By Admin

As part of the Royal Albert Hall’s 150th Anniversary celebrations, New Adventures and the Royal Albert Hall are delighted to announce that Matthew Bourne’s multi-award winning dance thriller THE CAR MAN will play 14 performances only at the iconic venue from Thursday 17 – Sunday 27 June 2021. General on sale at 10.00am on 10th December 2020. www.royalalberthall.com Casting to be announced soon. These performances of THE CAR MAN will be the only performances of the show in the UK in 2021.

Lucy Noble, Artistic Director at the Royal Albert Hall said today “ We’re so incredibly excited to welcome The Car Man to the Royal Albert Hall as a highlight of our anniversary celebrations. This is one of modern dance’s most thrilling shows , and to see it specially adapted to the scale and grandeur of this spectacular space promises to be an unforgettable experience. ”

Matthew Bourne said today “ The Car Man may have found its perfect setting in the epic and spectacular surroundings of Britain’s favourite venue, the Royal Albert Hall. This unique and iconic landmark will only heighten the visceral thrill and emotional highs of a piece already regarded as a classic favourite in the New Adventures repertoire. As a lifelong lover and supporter of the Royal Albert Hall, I am delighted to be a part of its 150th birthday celebrations! it is a real career highlight for me to present my work here for the first time and create what will no doubt be, an important moment in New Adventures history. Whether you have seen The Car Man before or not, you will not want to miss this re-imagined “event” production of the show in an expanded staging that will also be a celebration of our return to live performance after more than fifteen months – We cannot wait to welcome you back too!. ”

Based on Bizet’s beloved Carmen, the familiar 19th Century Spanish cigarette factory becomes a greasy garage-diner in 1960’s America where the dreams and passions of a small town are shattered by the arrival of a handsome stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.

Matthew Bourne’s vivid storytelling combines with one of the most thrilling and passionately dramatic scores ever written, featuring Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen), and new arrangements of Bizet’s legendary score, by New Adventures Associate Artist, Terry Davies.

THE CAR MAN was first seen in 2000, winning the Evening Standard Award for Musical Event of the Year and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Choreography.

THE CAR MAN is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, with music by Terry Davies & Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen); designed by Lez Brotherston with lighting by Chris Davey and sound by Paul Groothuis.

New Adventures is a national portfolio organisation supported using public funds by Arts Council England.

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Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – Royal Albert Hall

Picture: Roy Tan

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man continues at Royal Albert Hall, London until 19 June 2022.

Star rating: four stars  ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Bizet’s Carmen reimagined for the Royal Albert Hall reads the caption on the front of the programme for this latest – revised – venture from Matthew Bourne and New Adventures.

So put aside thoughts of the original Carmen libretto by Meilhac and Halévy, for it’s liable to have your head in a spin, as Bourne’s dance treatment ducks in and out of Bizet’s score, adds other Bizet music to the concoction and, I fancy, some original input from Terry Davies, the show’s musical supervisor.

Bizet’s opera was denounced as amoral when it first appeared in 1875, bankrupted the impresario who put it on, and, you might say, sent the composer to an early death three years later, never knowing that he had a smash hit on his hands. No chance of that on this occasion in this cheeky and irreverent treatment, where the inhabitants of a small American-Italian town, advertising for a hired hand, whip themselves into a frenzy on the arrival of Luca (Will Bozier) who sets about disarming and dismantling all the townsfolk, his roving eye lighting on the sheriff and his family and the hired help.

Main Street, in the ironically named town of Harmony (created by designer Lez Brotherston), is a raised platform stretching the length of the arena of the Royal Albert Hall with telegraph poles a-slant either side, from a central stage with a kiosk to the right and two rickety Chevrolets to the left. The mid-west locale is heightened by images on screen of orange sunsets and the occasional close-up of the players, sharing a glimpse of intimacy with us, in the vast spaces of the RAH.

There’s some marking out of territory in the opening ensembles, the elegance and sophistication of Bizet’s music sometimes at odds with Bourne’s larger-than-life choreography. Once under way, the pace and tension never let up amidst a community yearning for a bit of unbridled passion.

In Act II the music matches the forlorn desires of the driven characters, as this tale moves to its doom-laden, bloody end. Bourne’s sense of humour enlivens his narrative, a marriage of 1940s film noir and Carmen , as when Luca after bedding his Lana (Zizi Strallen) runs in haste from their tryst in his underpants, with nowhere to hide.

The athleticism of the solo dancing is mind-blowing but always led by the character, while the dancers in the ensembles unleash enough energy to levitate the dome of this august building. A huge cheer went up for them all as it did for Brett Morris’ orchestra, the sound design by Paul Groothuis, always at the service of their playing and never over ripened by excess amplification. A great evening’s entertainment.

Adrian Edwards

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Matthew Bourne’s Brilliant “The Car Man”

By Joanne DiVito | Dec 16, 2020

If it returns to this area, one absolutely must see Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures digital presentation of his powerful Theatre Dance piece, “The Car Man.”  It runs 1 hour and 38 minutes and not one minute is extemporaneous nor rambling. This Award winning “Musical Event” was presented on Friday, December 11, through Sunday, December13, 2020 by the Center Theatre Group . Better yet, perhaps the company will return to Los Angeles soon to perform this wonderful production live post-pandemic.

Often referred to as a “Dance-Thriller” it is an intense expression of Bourne’s genius not only as an intelligent and organic choreographer, but as a dramatist that makes his stories come alive.  His musicality, sense of pacing, and uncanny ability to surprise with an exquisitely designed conclusion, expresses his understanding of the human condition so moving and powerful one cannot hold back tears.

Bourne in his pre-performance talk reveals that no characters were intended to be fashioned after Bizet’s Carmen.   However, he admits there are some parallels, perhaps the characters Lana and Luca.  He actually sees the story as loosely based on the 1934 novel “The Postman Always Rings Twice” by James Cain and the Noire film of 1946 with John Garfield, Lana Turner, and 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange.

Matthew Bourne’s “The Car Man” – Photo by Johan Persson, courtesy of Center Theatre Group

Luca, the Drifter, The Car Man, appears in the factory town of Harmony.  Chris Trenfield, with his masculine eagle like focus so brilliantly counters the chaos of the gathering factory folk. He is soon fixed and burning for the sensual, and married, Lana.

Lana, a waitress at Dino’s Diner, is married to the irascible Dino, played by Alan Vincent, (the original 2001 character of Luca).  She soon notices the newcomer and lures him to her with her wiles to the gorgeous Seguidillas.  Lana is played by the remarkable Zizi Strallen, so secure and free as an actress and phenomenal technical dancer, she stuns and captivates with her range. One can almost hear the recitative from the Habanera “When will I love you?…I don’t know, Maybe never, But not today.“ The tease brings intensity to the relationship between Luca and Lana, distracted only by the sudden presence of Lana’s husband,

This happens against the nascent love and desire of Lana’s sister, Rita, also a waitress at the Diner, played by the delicate responsive Kate Lyons.  Rita’s affection for Angelo, the hired help, supports Dominic North’s stunning portrayal of a timid and innocent boy unschooled in the ways of the world and mercilessly harassed and bullied by the ultra macho males of the town.

Like a Greek Chorus of bawdy bored townsfolk, all incite and instigate the tyranny until halted by Luca . This sets the scene for raw machismo eroticism; heartbreaking twists of fate; along with murder and mayhem…thus, a “Dance thriller.”

The Ensemble of Matthew Bourne’s “The Car Man” – Photo by Johan Persson, courtesy of the company.

This was Bourne’s first time collaboration creating a complete score with composer Terry Davies.  Davies based the score on Russian Born, Rodion Schedrin’s Carmen Suite (after the Bizet Carmen ). Davies cleverly employed just strings and percussion with additional music based on the original score.

The music had a beautiful range between the near underscoring of familiar Bizet melodies, to the rowdy quadrille of the Toreador Song, Lana’s sultry Seguidilla and the famed Habanera. Bourne’s love and sensitivity to the music added choreographed sounds of feet pounding, and hands dropping against the wood floor, countering the musical underscoring.  The use of vocal cheering, yelling and comments, gave a live and immediate feel of being a part of the story.

The designer of Set and Costumes, Lez Brotherston and the Lighting Designer, Chris Davey highlighted the characters with exquisite sensitivity creating emotional notice of the quality of the ambiance, performance and mood.

The rest of this amazing cast included dancers Cordelia Braithaite, Tom Clark, Daniel Collins, Pia Driver, Glenn Graham, Nicole Kabera, Katrina Lyndon, Andrew Monaghan, Leon Moran, Danny Reubens, Katie Webb, Daniel Wright.

The way The Car Man was filmed live at the Sadler’s Wells during their 2015 National Tour in partnership with Illuminations Production for Sky Arts using six cameras, created the full emotional and physical impact of the story.  A rare and sensitive way to see theatre these days, and a treat for the emotions, aesthetics and the art of Theatre Dance.  Hopefully, it will be extended by the Center Theater Group for those wishing to see it for the first time or repeat-visit to this searingly brilliant theatre.

To learn more about Matthew Bourne / New Adventures, click HERE .

To visit the Center Theatre Group website, click HERE .

Written by Joanne DiVito for LA Dance Chronicle .

Featured image: Zizi Strallen and Chris Trenfield in Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – Photo courtesy of the company.

About The Author

Joanne DiVito

While working as an agent for Bobby Ball Agency, she was asked to head the West Coast Office of Career Transition for Dancers, at Screen Actors Guild. Its mission was to help professional dancers bridge their careers to new challenging and fulfilling professions. She created programs, that assisted dancers in connecting, educating and fulfilling a wide range of goals and aspirations. As an example, Joanne brought the LEAP program to Los Angeles, helping dancers get their Bachelors Degrees so they could compete as leaders in the community. She developed the “Dancers Forum” which brought together respected opinion leaders of the dance world, such as Nigel Lythgoe, Debbie Allen, Renae Williams Niles, Tony Basil, Lula Washington, Sasha Anawalt, Jamal Simms, Julie McDonald, and so many others. She encouraged dancers to get Grants to go back to school and start new businesses, was a passionate leader of the National Outreach program all around the U.S. while working on her own Bachelors Degree. Upon graduating from the LEAP program in 2007 she began working at Cal State Northridge under the leadership of Dr. Paula Thomson. Dance and dancers have always been her passion, and she is so proud to be chosen as a judge for the Music Center’s Spotlight Awards, with Jeri Gaile at its helm. The Spotlight Awards gives recognition to young up-and-coming artists and inspires young people to reach out and be their best brilliant selves. Joanne is now also taking the opportunity to move into her next love, “writing”. She is so proud to join the talented and generous Jeff Slayton and Roger Martin Holman’s in their timely and important L.A. Dance Chronicle, side by side with the gracious and gifted Ann Haskins.

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Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands

Matthew Bourne and New Adventures are back with their magical adaptation of the classic Tim Burton motion picture Edward Scissorhands. A treat for all more...

• Tue Apr 09 Apr 13 Sat Bradford, Alhambra Theatre Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands View Tickets
• Tue Apr 16 Apr 20 Sat Norwich, Theatre Royal Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands View Tickets
• Tue May 14 May 18 Sat Edinburgh, Festival Theatre Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands View Tickets
• Tue May 21 May 25 Sat Glasgow, Theatre Royal Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands View Tickets

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Matthew Bourne's Romeo & Juliet tour

Currently touring until 5 April 2024

Matthew Bourne's ROMEO AND JULIET gives Shakespeare's timeless story of forbidden love a scintillating injection of raw passion and youthful vitality. Confined against their will by a society that seeks to divide, our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo & Juliet is hitting the road for a new UK tour and London run in 2023 – here’s all you need to know.

New Adventures and Sadler’s Wells will present the production across a 12-week UK tour and five-week summer season at Sadler’s Wells.

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet gives Shakespeare’s timeless story of forbidden love a scintillating injection of raw passion and youthful vitality. Confined against their will by a society that seeks to divide, our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together. A masterful re-telling of an ageless tale of teenage discovery and the madness of first love, Romeo and Juliet garnered universal critical acclaim when it premiered in 2019, and now joins the New Adventures repertoire alongside the very best of Bourne’s world renowned dance theatre productions.

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet 2023 tour dates and venues

Sorry, no more tour dates are currently scheduled for this show! Check back soon for new dates in the near future.

Meet the cast!

The role of Juliet will be played by Cordelia Braithwaite and Monique Jonas while Paris Fitzpatrick and Andrew Monaghan will play Romeo. Danny Reubens and Richard Winsor will share the role of Tybalt.

Completing the company are Tanisha Addicott, Matthew Amos, Carla Contini, Tasha Chu, Adam Davies, Gabrielle de Souza, Jackson Fisch, Anya Ferdinand, Cameron Flynn, Euan Garrett, Kurumi Kamayachi, Hannah Kremer, Rory Macleod, Blue Makwana, Leonardo McCorkindale, Eleanor McGrath, Enrique Ngbokota, Bryony Pennington and Harry Ondrak Wright .

Daisy May Kemp and Alan Vincent will also feature in the production as well as serving as Resident Directors for the tour.

Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, collaborating with the New Adventures Artistic team; Etta Murfitt (Associate Artistic Director), Lez Brotherston (Set and Costume design), Paule Constable (Lighting Design), Paul Groothuis (Sound Design) and Arielle Smith (Associate Choreographer) with Terry Davies’ thrillingly fresh orchestrations of Prokofiev’s dynamic score.

Matthew Bourne said: “I had resisted creating a new production of Romeo and Juliet for many years wondering if there was anything new to say in a much-performed work. In 2019 I found that inspiration in a countrywide young talent development project that surrounded the original production.

“Working alongside my usual world class creative team but with a team of ‘young artistic associates’ and a young cast of super talented emerging dance artists, we created something relevant, questioning and deeply moving…. But also, an unexpected hit show!

“I’m therefore thrilled to announce its long-awaited return as part of the celebrated New Adventures repertoire to entertain and provoke audiences with its powerful and timely tale of young love.”

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Tour Information

Key Details

• Mobile Voucher Accepted
• Free Cancellation
• Duration: 3 Hrs
• Language: English
• Departure Time : 10:00 AM
• Departure Details : Karl Marks Monument on Revolution Square, metro stop: Square of Revolution
• Return Details : Metro Smolenskaya
• If you cancel at least 4 day(s) in advance of the scheduled departure, there is no cancellation fee.
• If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, there is a 100 percent cancellation fee.
• Tours booked using discount coupon codes will be non refundable.

Go beneath the streets on this tour of the spectacular, mind-bending Moscow Metro! Be awed by architecture and spot the Propaganda , then hear soviet stories from a local in the know. Finish it all up above ground, looking up to Stalins skyscrapers, and get the inside scoop on whats gone on behind those walls.

Know More about this tour

We begin our Moscow tour beneath the city, exploring the underground palace of the Moscow Metro. From the Square of Revolution station, famous for its huge statues of soviet people (an armed soldier, a farmer with a rooster, a warrior, and more), we’ll move onto some of the most significant stations, where impressive mosaics, columns, and chandeliers will boggle your eyes! Moreover, these stations reveal a big part of soviet reality — the walls depict plenty of Propaganda , with party leaders looking down from images on the walls. Your local guide will share personal stories of his/her family from USSR times, giving you insight into Russia’s complicated past and present. Then we’re coming back up to street level, where we’ll take a break and refuel with some Russian fast food: traditional pancakes, called bliny. And then, stomachs satiated, we are ready to move forward! We’ll take the eco-friendly electric trolleybus, with a route along the Moscow Garden Ring. Used mainly by Russian babushkas(grannies) during the day, the trolleybus hits peak hours in the mornings and evenings, when many locals use it going to and from their days. Our first stop will be the Aviator’s House, one of Stalin’s Seven Sisters, followed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — and you’ll hear the legends of what has gone on inside the walls. Throughout your Moscow tour, you’ll learn curious facts from soviet history while seeing how Russia exists now, 25 years after the USSR.

Local English-speaking guide

Pancake snack and drink

Additional food and drinks

Tickets for public transport

Souvenirs and items of a personal nature

Tips and gratuities for the guide

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking

Dress standard: Please wear comfortable shoes for walking. For your Urban Adventure you will be in a small group of a maximum of 12 people

Traveler Reviews

This tour exceeded our expectations. Nikolai (Nick), our tour guide, was very knowledgeable, thorough, and has a great personality. He didn't take shortcuts and really covered everything that was on the agenda in great detail. We saw beautiful metro stations and learned the history behind them, including many of the murals and designs.

We did the tour with Anna her knowledge and understanding of the History surrounding the metro brought the tour alive. Well done Anna!

This tour was amazing!

Anna was a great tour guide. She gave us heaps of interesting information, was very friendly, and very kindly showed us how to get to our next tour.

Amazing beauty and history.

An excellent tour helped by an absolutely amazing guide. Anna gave a great insight into the history of the metro helped by additional material she had prepared.

great tour and guide - thanks again

great will do it again, Miriam ke was very good as a guide she has lived here all here life so knew every interesting detail.a good day

• Preplanned tours
• Daytrips out of Moscow
• Themed tours
• Customized tours
• St. Petersburg

Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

What is the kremlin in russia?

The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

Tour Details

Moscow metro tour: architectural styles of the subway.

Duration: 2 hours

Categories: Culture & History, Sightseeing

This metro tour of Russia’s capital and most populous city, Moscow, is your chance to get a unique insight into the beautiful and impressive architecture of the city's underground stations. Admire their marble walls and high ceilings representing Stalin's desire for glory after World War 2, and see first-hand how the interiors change with the rise of new political eras. Your guide will lead you through the complex network, which is one of the most heavily used rapid transit systems worldwide, with over two billion travelers in 2011.

Opened in 1935, Moscow’s underground system, now 190 miles (305 km) long with 185 stations, is today one the largest and most heavily used rapid transit systems in the world. On this Moscow metro tour, discover the impressive architecture of Moscow’s underground stations and learn how they reflect the Soviet era.

Getting around by metro, your local guide will take you through parts of Moscow’s infamous history. Stop at stations built during the time of the USSR (Soviet Union) that are praised as one of the most extravagant architectural projects from Stalin’s time. After World War 2, he was keen on establishing Stalinist architecture to represent his rising regime and a recognized empire. Learn how when his successor started the de-Stalinization of the former Soviet Union in 1953, the extravagancy of the architecture was toned down.

Discover how the unique character of each station reflected several different eras. While stations like Kievskaya and Slavyansky Bulvar have pompous halls and high stucco ceilings brimming with extravagant decorations, those built later, like Volzhskaya, are lightly adorned with sparse furnishings. Architect Alexey Dushkin and painter Alexander Deyneka were just two of the many artists who made these magnificent landmarks possible.

Revel in Moscow's glory days, as well as the years of scarcity, on this fascinating Moscow metro experience. Conclude your tour at one of the central stations in Moscow. If you're lucky, you may even find the secret entrance to the unconfirmed Metro-2, a parallel underground system used by the government -- a mystery which has neither been denied nor confirmed today.

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Culture Shock Rating

We have a wide range of tours designed to give you an insight into the destination you're travelling in and there is something for everybody. The culture shock ratings considers the destination visited, transport used, activities undertaken and that "Wow, I'm really not at home now!" factor. While generalisations are always tricky, a summary of our gradings is as follows…

This is the least confronting of our tour range. Transport used on the trip is either private or a very comfortable public option, the activities included are usually iconic sites and locations that are not all too confronting.

The tour can include a mix of private and public transport providing a level of comfort that is slightly below what you would experience at home. Sites visited are usually iconic sites, tours can also include market visits, visits to communities etc that provide the traveller with a fantastic insight into destination.

Expect to rough it for parts of this tour, whether it's a packed public bus where you are forced to stand, a visit to a local market, a local community, you are sure to have an experience that is very different from what you're used to at home.

The comforts of your home town and the environment you are used to are more of a rarity. Expect some challenging transport options, visits to local sites and areas that don't resemble anything at home.

You're out there in the global community! You are likely to be exposed to the elements, travel in whatever means of transport is available and basically take it as it comes, whatever comes! It can be tough.

Physical Rating

Our physical rating gives you an idea of how much huffing and puffing you can expect on the tour. While generalisations are always tricky, a summary of our gradings is as follows…

These tours have very limited physical activity. Usually climbing in and out of the transport provided, walking through sites, markets etc included in the itinerary.

These tours have a bit of physical activity but nothing that should challenge you too much. This could be climbing on and off public transport through to a walk through the destination you're travelling in, they can include walking only tours or a combination of walking and transport.

These tours involve a bit of physical activity from walking up and down hills in the destination you're travelling in or the surrounding areas. Climbing on and off local transport or riding a bike up to 30 kms along predominantly flat terrain or jumping in a kayak for a gentle paddle on flat water.

These Tours will provide you with some solid physical activity. Whether its bike riding, walking, trekking, kayaking or riding on public transport you will need to have a good level of fitness to enjoy this tour.

Be prepared for some serious physical activity. These tours are our most challenging and involve some serious walking, hiking or bike riding. Can involve step climbs by foot or pedal and some challenging public transport options in the destination you are travelling.

Luxury Rating

Some trips are like a stroll on the beach, while others have you trekking alpine passes. Some of you thrive on camping out on the savannah, while others may prefer a hot shower and a comfortable bed in a lodge. Follow the grading systems below to find the right trip for you.

To help you choose the trip that's right for you, we've broken all of our trips down into four service levels. Measuring the comfort level of the accommodation and transport. So whether you're travelling on a budget and want to save money by using public transport, or prefer upgraded accommodation and are happy to pay a little more, then we have a level for you.

This is grassroots travel at its most interesting

Authentic experiences with some of the comforts of home

For those who like to travel in comfort

All the unique experiences wrapped up with a gold ribbon

Moscow Metro Tour

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Description

Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

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