Albert Hall gets Bizet with Car Man

A LIMITED run of Sir Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man is to open at the Royal Albert Hall as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations.

The production, which features a company of 65 dancers and musicians and an orchestra, will play 14 shows at the London venue from June 9 to 19.

Directed and choreographed by Sir Matthew, the Olivier-nominated dance thriller is a reinterpretation of composer Georges Bizet’s 1875 opera, Carmen.

The action, which centre around a greasy diner, takes place in 1960s America where a small townfolks’ dreams are shattered by the arrival of a handsome stranger.

Fuelled by desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.

The show first previewed in 2000 at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth and was later staged at The Old Vic in London and played in Los Angeles in 2001.

It was revived by Sir Matthew’s production company, New Adventures, numerous times but this will be the first time they perform it at the Royal Albert Hall.

They say the production has been “reimagined for the gladiatorial arena” of the venue and will have an immersive element as the dancers perform throughout the auditorium.