Matthew Bourne’s dance thriller The Car Man is set to return with a new cast for a UK tour starting on 15 June. The production, which has not been staged since 2015, features fresh performers for the iconic roles and visits 17 venues including Sadler’s Wells.

Casting for the upcoming 2026 UK tour of The Car Man has been announced, with Ashley Shaw, Will Bozier, Cordelia Braithwaite and Harrison Dowzell among the leads. The Car Man, originally premiered in 2000, is Matthew Bourne’s reinvention of Bizet’s Carmen, set in a 1960s garage diner.

Will Bozier and Harrison Dowzell, both former lead Swans in Bourne’s Swan Lake, will share the role of Luca. Ashley Shaw and Cordelia Braithwaite will alternate as Lana. The cast also includes Leonardo McCorkindale, Harry Ondrak-Wright, Anna Maria de Freitas, Kurumi Kamayachi, Danny Reubens and Alan Vincent, who originated the role of Luca.

Bourne’s New Adventures company will tour The Car Man to 17 UK venues, opening at Curve Leicester before taking in cities such as Salford, Hull, Plymouth, Sheffield, Bristol, Newcastle, Southampton, Nottingham, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Canterbury. The tour features a five-week summer season at London’s Sadler’s Wells.

The production’s creative team includes director and choreographer Bourne, composer Terry Davies, with music from Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite, sound by Paul Groothuis, lighting by Chris Davey and design by Lez Brotherston.

Bourne reflected on the enduring appeal of The Car Man’s roles, describing them as “iconic, unique and sought after,” and emphasised that New Adventures aim to “re-invent, question and grow” with each new cast rather than simply revive past productions.

The Car Man’s blend of thriller narrative and dance continues to carve a distinctive place in the UK dance landscape, remaining the only company worldwide to present the piece, now refreshed for a new generation of performers.