The Da Vinci Code is bound for Bath Theatre Royal

The first ever stage adaptation of Dan Brown’s best-selling thriller, The Da Vinci Code tours to the Theatre Royal Bath from Monday 31st January to Saturday 5th February, starring Olivier Award-winning Nigel Harman as Robert Langdon, Danny John-Jules as Sir Leigh Teabing and Hannah Rose Caton as Sophie Neveu. This world premiere production is directed by Luke Sheppard, who recently directed the award-winning West End musical & Juliet.

The curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered, and alongside his body are a series of baffling codes. The Da Vinci Code follows the pulse-racing journey as Professor Robert Langdon and fellow cryptologist Sophie Neveu, attempt to solve the riddles, leading to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci and beyond, deep into the vault of history. In a breathless race through the streets of Europe, Langdon and Neveu must decipher the labyrinthine code before a shocking historical secret is lost forever.

Author Dan Brown said: “I am thrilled that The Da Vinci Code is being adapted for the stage, and excited to see the unique potential of live theatre enhance this story. The team making the production has been faithful to the book, but will also bring something new for the audience, in what is certain to be a gripping, fast-paced stage thriller and a thoroughly entertaining show.”

Nigel Harman is known to millions of television viewers for his role as Dennis Rickman in more than 300 episodes of EastEnders. More recently he has played Bradley in Mount Pleasant on Sky One; Green in ITV’s fourth series of Downton Abbey; Sam in Hotel Babylon on BBC One; and made guest appearances in Cuckoo, Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack’d, City of Vice and Lark Rise to Candleford. His film credits include Telstar and Blood Diamond. Nigel last performed at Bath’s Theatre Royal in 2019, when he starred as Ricky Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross, and prior to that in The School for Scandal in 2012 and The Pirates of Penzance in 1998. His West End stage credits include the roles of Lord Farquaad in Shrek The Musical - for which he won an Olivier Award in 2012; Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls; Pip and Theo in Jamie Lloyd’s Olivier Award nominated production of Three Days of Rain; as well as A Chorus of Disapproval, Mamma Mia, Damn Yankees and The Who’s Tommy. As a director, Nigel’s credits include Big Fish at the Other Palace starring Kelsey Grammar and a UK tour of Shrek the Musical. 

During a career spanning more than forty years on screen and stage, Danny John-Jules’s many roles include playing Cat in Red Dwarf, appearing in every episode of the thirteen series televised between 1988 and 2020. Danny also made the character of Dwayne Myers his own in BBC One’s hit series, Death in Paradise, performing in fifty-seven episodes between 2011 and 2021. Danny played Barrington in Maid Marion and Her Merry Men, Milton Wordsmith in over seventy episodes of The Story Makers, Don King in Urban Myths, Ed in The Crouches, Lenny Bicknall in M.I. High and is the voice of Curtis in Bob The Builder. His film credits include Creation Stories, Voodoo Magic, The Whistleblower, Sucker Punch and Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. On stage in the West End, Danny has starred in Barnum, Cats and Time. He created the role of Rocky 1 in the original stage production of Starlight Express and was Dink in the first West End staging of Carmen Jones at the Old Vic Theatre, directed by Simon Callow.

Hannah Rose Caton, who makes her UK theatre debut in The Da Vinci Code, is based in both London and New York and is a recent graduate of The Juilliard School’s Drama Division. In theatres Off Broadway and across the US, her stage credits include Mrs. Christie at Vermont Theatre Festival, An Octoroon for Chautauqua Theatre Company and Hay Fever for West Fulton Theatre. Her film and television credits include The Falling, Last Knights and Wizards vs Aliens. 

The cast is completed by Joshua Lacy as Silas, Basienka Blake as Vernet, Alasdair Buchan as Remy, Alpha Kargbo as Fache, Leigh Lothian as Collet, Andrew Lewis as Saunière with Debra Michaels appearing as Sister Sandrine and Marie.

Director Luke Sheppard, who most recently directed the acclaimed new West End musical & Juliet and What’s New Pussycat at Birmingham Rep, said: “Cracking The Da Vinci Code open for the stage reveals an epic thriller steeped in theatrical potential, rich in suspense and surprising at every turn. Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel’s brilliant adaptation leaps off the page and demands us to push the limits of our imagination, creating a production that champions dynamic theatrical storytelling and places the audience up close in the heat of this gripping mystery.”

Producer Simon Friend said: “We have a truly stellar cast and creative team bringing The Da Vinci Code to life on stage for the first time, and with Dan Brown’s full endorsement of the show and the talented director Luke Sheppard at the helm, we’re confident that we’ll please devoted fans as well as newcomers to this magnificent story. Dan Brown’s epic thriller has been read by millions worldwide, and seen by millions worldwide on the big screen, and we are all looking forward to taking our brand new stage version to audiences all over the UK.”

The Da Vinci Code, published in 2003, became Dan Brown’s second novel to feature the character Robert Langdon following his best-selling mystery-thriller Angels and Demons in 2000. A worldwide bestseller, with over 100 million copies sold, The Da Vinci Code was made into a film in 2006 directed by Ron Howard, starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and Sir Ian McKellen. The 2022 stage version is adapted by Rachel Wagstaff (Flowers For Mrs Harris, Birdsong) and Duncan Abel (The Girl on the Train); set and costume design is by David Woodhead, video design is by Andrzej Goulding, the composition and sound design team are Ben and Max Ringham, and lighting design is by Lizzie Powell.

The Da Vinci Code appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Monday 31st January to Saturday 5th February. Tickets are on sale at the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk