New Adventures has announced full casting for Matthew Bourne’s award‑winning dance thriller The Car Man, which returns in 2026 for an extensive UK tour. The production opens at Curve, Leicester on 15 June 2026 before visiting 17 further venues, culminating in a newly announced weeklong run at Royal Theater Carré in Amsterdam.
Will Bozier and Harrison Dowzell will share the role of Luca, “The Car Man”. Both actors are former lead Swans in Swan Lake. Cordelia Braithwaite and Ashley Shaw will alternate as Lana, while rising talents Leonardo McCorkindale and Harry Ondrak-Wright take on the role of Angelo. Anna Maria de Freitas and Kurumi Kamayachi make their leading role debuts as Rita, with Danny Reubens and original company member Alan Vincent portraying Dino.
Joining them in the company are Jack Frame, Serena McCall, Rae Miller, Jack Widdowson and Karishma Young, making their New Adventures debuts. Returning performers include 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 said: “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!”
First seen in 2000, The Car Man won the Evening Standard Award for Musical Event of the Year and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Choreography. It was last revived in 2022 for the Royal Albert Hall’s 150th birthday, earning rave reviews and standing ovations. This marks the production’s first UK tour since 2015.
Loosely inspired by Bizet’s opera Carmen, the story relocates the action to a 1950s American garage-diner, where the arrival of a mysterious drifter ignites an explosive chain of events driven by passion, jealousy and revenge.
The production is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, with music by Terry Davies and Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite, sound by Paul Groothuis, lighting by Chris Davey and design by Lez Brotherston.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
