The Da Vinci Code - Belgrade Theatre Review

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Tue 22 Feb 2022 - Sat 26 Feb 2022

How do you create a stage adaptation of a book which has sold more than 100 million copies and spawned a social phenomenon in which people from all across the globe have become fascinated by arcane religious legends? The answer is that you pare down the story and frame it very much in a theatrical setting so that audiences are less likely to compare the production with the novel and more likely to enjoy the show.



Director Luke Sheppard and writers Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel have taken this approach with the stage adaptation of Dan Brown's best-seller The Da Vinci Code. Where the 2006 film attempted to re-tell the novel, this stage version is very much a theatrical experience. It follows Brown's story but does so in a way that draws on the special elements of a live theatrical experience.

The story begins with the murder of the curator of the Louvre Museum but as he lay dying, Jacques Sauniere wrote out a series of clues in his own blood. In doing so he has involved a visiting American professor and expert on symbology Robert Langdon, and the police cryptographer Sophie Neveu, who also happens to be Sauniere's estranged granddaughter. Together they embark on a magical mystery tour to solve the riddles and discover both the reason for Sauniere's murder and a secret which has remained hidden for centuries.

Physical sets designed by David Woodhead and graphics designed by Andrzej Goulding bring the different locations alive very effectively. While Sauniere's body lies on the ground projection shows us the pentangle cut into his body as well as bringing to light the various clues he has scrawled on the wall.
And the dead Sauniere returns at various points during the drama, both in stories told as memories by Sophie, but also as a presence, a reminder that there is more to this story than initially meets the eye.

There is a strong cast to the show. Nigel Harman's Langdon's initial uncertainty is quickly replaced by his scientific desire to discover the truth and he even provides a touch of wry humour at times when handed a gun or coshed over the head. As he gamely tells Sophie, this wasn't what he expected when he travelled to Paris to deliver a lecture!

The role of Sophie is Hannah Rose Caton's professional debut but she more than holds her own against other much more experienced actors. Her motivation for pursuing the clues is complex as she combines professional and personal in an attempt to heal the rift with her dead grandfather.



Danny John-Jules takes the role of the eccentric British millionaire Sir Leigh Teabing, playing to the audience so he wins us over to his side and we believe he is just the man you need to help you on the hunt.

Da Vinci Code experts may be chomping at the bit at some of the parts which have been left out but this production does manage to capture the drama of the original while also creating a new way of seeing its story.

The Da Vinci Code plays Belgrade Theatre Coventry until 26 February. It also tours to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on March 8-12, and the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham on 21-25 June. For full details of all tour dates see davincicodeonstage.com

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!date 22/02/2022 -- 26/02/2022
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