Danny Boyle to Direct Stage Musical Version of ‘The Matrix’

Get ready for “The Matrix” The Musical. The groundbreaking sci-fi franchise is being adapted into a stage musical, to be directed by Danny Boyle, at the new Factory International venue in Manchester, England.

“Free Your Mind” is described as “a large-scale immersive performance based on ‘The Matrix’ films… [a] dramatic retelling through dance, music and visual effects… Using spectacular visual effects, a cast of professional dancers and hundreds of Manchester participants will recreate some of the film’s most iconic scenes, provoking visions of an alternative future.”

The project reteams Boyle with acclaimed UK hip-hop choreographer Kenrick “H2O” Sandy of Boy Blue Entertainment, who collaborated on the 2012 Olympic Opening ceremony in London. Boy Blue composer, producer and DJ Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante is also on board, along with poet and playwright Sabrina Mahfouz, who will write, and designer Es Devlin, who will build large-scale stage sculptures.

Also Read:
David Zaslav Shoots Down Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Rumors: ‘Not for Sale’

“Free Your Mind” will play Oct. 18, 2023, to Nov. 5, 2023, as the official opening production for new cultural space Factory International in Manchester, which is set to open in June 2023, Business Manchester reports.

“I’m delighted to be part of Factory International as a starting point for a kind of identity that this extraordinary new building is going to have. It’s a space that gives you an enormous amount of potential. It’s wildly ambitious in terms of its scale. In my lifetime, to see a new space like this open is hugely empowering, and I hope the new generation of artists feel that power,” Boyle said.

Devlin praised the team from the Manchester International Festival (MIF), who is heading Factory International’s programming, for their previous “innovative and urgent works” by Steve McQueen, Björk, Akram Khan, and Yoko Ono. “It’s a profound privilege to be invited to take part in its inception. Like a new musical instrument, a new building needs to be ‘tuned in,’ and it’s immensely energizing to be present when it starts to sing,” he said.

Boyle, whose films include Oscar Best Picture winner “Slumdog Millionaire,” most recently brought “Pistol,” a limited series about iconic punk band the Sex Pistols, to FX earlier this year.

Also Read:
Golden Globes 2023: Jesse Collins Named Showrunner and Executive Producer