Via Warner Bros. press release:
BATMAN LIVE – WORLD ARENA TOUR
OPENING NIGHT PERFORMANCE – 19 JULY 2011
Today, 19 July, 2011, BATMAN LIVE opens in the UK at the Manchester Evening News Arena. Two and a half years in the making, the spectacular production will be unveiled by Warner Bros. Consumer Products, DC Entertainment and Nick Grace of Water Lane Productions Ltd.
Audiences entering the arena are greeted by a 3D Gotham City landscape, complete with buildings, soundscape and video animation, setting the scene for the story to come. The sheer magnitude of the production becomes apparent from the first moment the full symphonic score is heard, and the 100-foot bat-shaped LED video wall comes to life to enhance the action on the impressive custom-built stage.
The 43-strong cast of actors and circus-trained acrobats have been rehearsing to perfect the state-of-the-art production – and as the lights dim and Gotham City’s afternoon turns into night – you can almost feel the anticipation in the air.
Faithfully adapted from the DC Comics characters and stories, BATMAN LIVE focuses on Robin’s quest for justice, which leads him to follow in the footsteps of his hero – the mysterious vigilante known as Batman, much to the dismay of his protective guardian, billionaire Bruce Wayne, whom the audience knows is secretly Batman.
This dynamic triangle resolves itself in a non-stop thrill-ride across Gotham City that transforms Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson into the legendary crime-fighters, Batman and Robin. The adventure transports the audience from the Big Top of Haly's Circus to the lower depths of Arkham Asylum, and from the glittering peaks of the Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge to the subterranean wonders that await inside the Batcave.
A dazzling celebration of storytelling and stagecraft, BATMAN LIVE is, at its heart, a poignant coming-of-age story. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, both orphaned at an early age, must first learn to overcome their own fears and forge their own family – with the help of Police Commissioner James Gordon and Bruce’s trusted butler, Alfred Pennyworth – if they’re going to survive the combined forces of Batman’s larger-than-life rogues’ gallery: The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, The Riddler, Two-Face, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.
“Batman will be brought to life through this incredible stage show that will tour the world,” said Brad Globe, President, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “As one of the most iconic characters in all of popular culture, Batman enjoys universal appeal and we think that fans of all ages will be amazed by this action-packed, live experience.”
Acrobats suspended in the air, The Joker’s henchmen in choreographed fight sequences and stunning scenic elements are all part of the BATMAN LIVE experience. One of the exciting elements is the eye-catching all-new Batmobile, designed especially for the show by legendary racing car designer Professor Gordon Murray, known for designing race cars for some of the most successful teams in the world for Formula One racing, as well as the famous McLaren F1 road car.
Creative Director Anthony Van Laast said, “It has been a thrilling journey for myself, the creative team and the company to develop the production from the early creative seeds, to the first day of rehearsals and now to the Opening Night. It is everything I hoped the show would be – exhilarating, impressive, exciting, dynamic and yet accessible – and I truly hope that the arena-going public have as much fun watching it as we have had making it.”
After a week long run in Manchester, BATMAN LIVE will tour arenas for the first time ever across the UK (visiting Newcastle, Glasgow, Sheffield, Birmingham, London, Liverpool, Nottingham, Belfast), Dublin, then Europe, arriving in North America in August 2012.
BATMAN LIVE is a live-action, super-heroic spectacle of unprecedented scale that is every bit as human, touching, and inspiring as it is spectacular.
Posted by Dustin Fritschel
