Worth getting revved up for
FAST & FURIOUS IS SETTING OUT ON A LIVE TOUR AND COMING TO NEWCASTLE, WRITES WHAT’S ON EDITOR GORDON BARR
GLOBAL smash Fast & Furious is going on tour and heading to Newcastle.
The live-action stunt extravaganza will play the Metro Radio Arena for three days next spring, with tickets on sale this Friday.
The show, of which The Chronicle has been given a sneak preview and which also features a stunt driver from the North East, will be in Newcastle from April 6 to 8, 2018 – one of only seven UK cities it is touring on its debut outing.
Fast & Furious Live will premiere in London at the O2 in January before heading across Europe for the first six months of 2018 as the first leg of the global arena tour.
The action and excitement from one of the most popular and enduring film series of alltime will come to life in this ground-breaking, live show.
The adrenaline-fuelled, twohour show is set to be the most spectacular live arena show ever produced, featuring precision performance driving and newly created physics-defying stunts. Using favourite cars and locations that criss-cross the globe along with key scenes from the film series – created via state-ofthe-art 3D projection mapping – fans will be transported straight into this immersive extension of the Fast & Furious movies.
Audiences will feel the heat from flaming exhausts and marvel at vehicular acrobatics as scene after scene unfolds enhanced by the most advanced digital projection technology imaginable.
Featuring several original cars from the films, as well as exact replicas of fan favourites – from Dom’s legendary Dodge Charger to the flip car from Fast & Furious 6, Fast & Furious Live will evoke some of the boldest moments from the franchise.
From what we have seen so far – after spending a day at ‘Fast Camp’ in Leicestershire, where drivers went through their paces and the team behind show gave us an insight into what to expect, it is an event not to be missed.
Creative director and executive producer Rowland French said: “It’s been years in the making, and we are beyond excited to finally show fellow fans what we have been creating in order to bring Fast & Furious Live to the global stage. With this mix
of extraordinary stunts, special effects, cutting-edge 3D-projection mapping – as well as drivers pushing their own limits – every performance will create an unforgettable experience for the live audience.
“Twenty-three cities across 14 countries is just the beginning for Fast & Furious Live.”
Vince Klaseus, president of Universal Brand Development, said: “Fast & Furious Live will allow audiences worldwide to experience the extreme action sequences from the franchise through an authentic live experience.
“With this live show, we are redefining fan access and bringing audiences closer than ever to their favourite movie moments.”
Thousands of the world’s best stunt performers and drivers applied for the opportunity to join the production
Following extensive auditions, they have been whittled down to an elite team who have started a rigorous training camp in preparation for the world tour. They will be joined by some of the world’s leading parkour athletes, resulting in a truly global cast who will be performing incredible automotive and live action stunts.
Among the stunt drivers is Hexham lad Anthony Scott, known to everyone as Scotty. Working as a professional stunt driver for more than 25 years, and ‘drifting’ competitively all over the globe for the past decade as a member of the Extreme Drift All-Stars, Scotty has put his precision driving skills and immense car control into some of the most powerful drift cars in existence.
Executive president of Touring Live Nation Phil Bowdery said: “As the world’s largest live entertainment company, we have been part of many incredible shows, but we are especially thrilled to be working on Fast & Furious Live, which will offer fans a spectacle on an unprecedented scale.”
The European tour will debut with a super-charged world premiere at London’s O2 on January 19 before heading across the continent to the biggest and best arenas in Belgium, Italy, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, France, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.