New Adventures has announced that Matthew Bourne’s award-winning dance thriller The Car Man will return for a 2026 UK tour, visiting Mayflower Theatre from Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 September 2026.
Loosely based on Bizet’s ever-popular opera, The Car Man has one of the most thrilling and instantly recognisable scores in New Adventures’ repertoire.
The familiar 19th Century Spanish cigarette factory becomes a greasy 1950’s garage-diner in the American Mid-West, where the dreams and passions of a small-town are shattered by the arrival of a handsome and enigmatic stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.
“I never dreamed when we created this show at the beginning of the new millennium that it would still be around, thrilling audiences, 25 years later,” explained Matthew Bourne. “Inspired by vintage movie film noir classics, it holds a unique and special place in the New Adventures repertory as the only piece based on an opera and possibly the first ballet to feature a bi-sexual anti-hero!
“I’m particularly happy that we are taking the show on the road again after more than 10 years ,and I can’t wait to re-visit the hot and steamy town of Harmony USA – the best place to be next Summer!”
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. It was last seen in a unique revival for The Royal Albert Halls 150th Birthday in 2022. This expanded production received rave reviews and nightly standing ovations. However, this will be the first time the show has toured since 2015.
Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, The Car Man has music by Terry Davies and Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen), with sound by Paul Groothuis, lighting by Chris Davey and design by Lez Brotherston.
Casting to be announced.
Tickets for Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man (Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 September 2026) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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