Casting announced for 2026 tour of Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man
Theatre news!
New Adventures has revealed the casting for The Car Man, Matthew Bourne’s acclaimed dance thriller, which will return for a UK tour in 2026. The production opens at Curve Theatre on 15 June 2026 before travelling to 17 additional venues over 23 weeks, including a five-week summer residency at Sadler’s Wells. It will also feature a newly announced one-week engagement at Royal Theater Carré.
The central role of Luca, known as “The Car Man,” will be performed by Will Bozier and Harrison Dowzell, both previously principal Swans in Swan Lake. They are joined by established New Adventures performers Cordelia Braithwaite and Ashley Shaw as Lana. Emerging talents Leonardo McCorkindale and Harry Ondrak-Wright take on the role of Angelo, while Anna Maria de Freitas and Kurumi Kamayachi make their principal debuts as Rita, Lana’s devoted sister. Danny Reubens and Alan Vincent—the original “Car Man”—will play Dino, Lana’s jealous husband.
They are supported by an ensemble portraying the residents of the fictional American town of Harmony. Newcomers Jack Frame, Serena McCall, Rae Miller, Jack Widdowson and Karishma Young make their New Adventures debuts, alongside returning company members including Tanisha Addicott, Jamie Duncan-Campbell, Cameron Flynn, Rory Macleod, Callum Mann, Eleanor McGrath, Jarrod McWilliams, Eve Ngbokota, Nikolas Shikkis, Xavier Andriambolanoro-Sotiya and Lyra Treglown.
Matthew Bourne commented on the announcement:
“As we announce a thrilling new 2026 cast for our dance thriller, THE CAR MAN, it’s interesting to reflect on how iconic, unique and sought after the leading roles in this show have become since it was made in 2000. We are still the only company in the world to perform this production and yet the roles of Luca, Lana, Angelo, Rita and Dino have become as legendary as the show itself and a unique part of the UK dance landscape for several generations of young dancers. I’m proud that New Adventures never just “revives” a show; we re-invent, question and grow with each new cast which is why I’m so excited to revisit the small town of Harmony this summer and, much like Luca himself, shake things up a bit!”
The production first premiered in 2000, earning the Evening Standard Award for Musical Event of the Year and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. Its most recent staging was a special revival for Royal Albert Hall 150th Anniversary in 2022, which received widespread acclaim and standing ovations. This marks the first full tour of the production since 2015.
Inspired loosely by Carmen, the piece features one of the most distinctive and recognisable scores in the New Adventures repertoire. The story shifts the setting from a 19th-century Spanish cigarette factory to a 1950s garage-diner in the American Midwest, where the arrival of a mysterious outsider disrupts the lives of a small-town community. Themes of desire, ambition and deception drive the narrative toward escalating tension and revenge.
Directed and choreographed by Bourne, the production features music by Terry Davies alongside Carmen Suite by Rodion Shchedrin, with sound design by Paul Groothuis, lighting by Chris Davey and set and costume design by Lez Brotherston.
The production runs at Curve Leicester from 15 to 20 June 2026, with tickets currently available.
