Matthew Bourne’s acclaimed production of The Car Man is coming back to UK theatres in a major new production for 2026.
The multi award-winning dance thriller is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, and produced by his New Adventures company.
The tour starts at the Curve theatre in Leicester on 15 June 2026, and then visits Leicester, Salford, Hull, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Sheffield, London, Bristol, Newcastle, Southampton, Nottingham, Norwich, Birmingham, Bradford, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Canterbury.
The London dates are a 5-week summer season at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, from 28 July to 29 August 2026. Tickets are now on sale.
Based on Bizet’s opera Carmen, The Car Man features stage designs by Olivier and Tony award-winner Lez Brotherston.
Matthew Bourne’s vivid storytelling combines with one of the most passionately dramatic scores ever written, with musical arrangements by Terry Davies featuring Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen), to create a dance event like no other.
The wider creative team includes sound by Paul Groothuis and lighting by Chris Davey, with further creatives – and casting – to be announced.
In Bourne’s reimagining, the 19th Century Spanish cigarette factory of Carmen becomes a greasy garage-diner in 1960s America, where a small-town’s dreams are shattered by the arrival of a handsome stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.
Matthew Bourne said in a statement: “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! 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 Red Shoes
Coming up this Christmas at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London is Matthew Bourne’s sumptuous production of The Red Shoes, playing over Christmas from 2 December 2025 to 18 January 2026.
Booking tickets to The Car Man
Book tickets to The Car Man at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London
The Car Man – UK Tour dates 2026
Monday 15 – Saturday 20 June 2026
Leicester / Curve
Tuesday 23 – Saturday 27 June 2026
Salford / Lowry
Tuesday 30 – Saturday 4 July 2026
Hull / Hull New Theatre
Tuesday 7 – Saturday 11 July 2026
Milton Keynes / Milton Keynes Theatre
Tuesday 14 – Saturday 18 July 2026
Plymouth / Theatre Royal
Tuesday 21 – Saturday 25 July 2026
Sheffield / Lyceum Theatre
Tuesday 28 July – Saturday 29 August 2026
London / Sadler’s Wells
Tuesday 1 – Saturday 5 September 2026
Bristol / Bristol Hippodrome
Tuesday 8 – Saturday 12 September 2026
Newcastle / Theatre Royal
Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 September 2026
Southampton / Mayflower Theatre
Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 September 2026
Nottingham / Theatre Royal
Tuesday 29 – Saturday 3 October 2026
Norwich / Norwich Theatre Royal
Tuesday 13 – Saturday 17 October 2026
Birmingham / Birmingham Hippodrome
Tuesday 20 – Saturday 24 October 2026
Bradford / Alhambra Theatre
Tuesday 27 – Saturday 31 October 2026
Glasgow / King’s Theatre
Tuesday 3 – Saturday 7 November 2026
Edinburgh / Festival Theatre
Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 November 2026
Canterbury / Marlowe Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre, London
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