Joe Bannister takes on the iconic role of Robert Langdon in the stage adaptation of Dan Brown’s best-selling thriller, The Da Vinci Code. This highly anticipated production, directed by the award-winning Chelsea Walker, promises to bring the fast-paced intrigue and excitement of the novel to life on stage. Audiences can expect a thrilling journey filled with ancient secrets, relentless rivals, and coded messages that could alter the course of history.
The adaptation, written by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, captures the essence of the novel while offering a fresh perspective on the story. The cast includes Sherry Baines, Philip Bretherton, and Georgia-Mae Myers.
The Da Vinci Code will run at Salisbury Playhouse from April 10 to May 3, 2025, with a press night on April 15. Following its Salisbury run, the production will move to Mercury Theatre Colchester from May 7 to 24, 2025.
You’re starring in The Da Vinci Code at Salisbury Playhouse and Mercury Theatre Colchester. What can you tell us about the show?
The show is all about a secret, one of the greatest and most closely guarded secrets of all time. In fact, it’s dangerous to talk about… and if you want to know what it is you’ll have to come and see for yourself. We can promise thrills, twists and turns along the way…
How did you prepare for the role of Robert Langdon, and what challenges did you face?
Robert Langdon sees the world as something to be decoded, a puzzle to solve. I’ve enjoyed visiting some of the places from the story like Westminster Abbey and Temple Church in London and seeing them through his eyes as places to decipher and understand. For any moment of the day wherever you are symbols surround you and it’s fun to notice and wonder what they mean and where they came from.
The Da Vinci Code is a well-known novel and film. How does this stage adaptation differ from the book and movie?
There’s something about the mystery unfolding in real time in front of you that adds an extra dimension of jeopardy to the whole experience! Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel have managed to bring a humanity and a moving exploration of grief in their adaptation alongside the thrills and the shocks.
Can you share any memorable moments or experiences from rehearsals or working with the cast and crew?
There’s nothing quite like entering a rehearsal room on a grey Monday morning to find a room filled with ominous hooded figures brandishing glowing orbs – from discussing how a gun toting assassin monk might best disable his opponent to working out how to seamlessly move from the Louvre to London and back again all in the one place, this play really has it all! This is what makes this job so magical.
What do you hope audiences will take away from this production?
Robert Langdon says that there are as many meanings to a piece of music or a painting as there are people who hear or see it and I hope that applies to our play too. There’s so much that will resonate with each audience member differently, and this production encourages us to see things in different ways by taking a second look even when we think we already know.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see The Da Vinci Code?
I cannot tell you what the secret is. But you can come and discover it for yourself…
