''Batman Live'' is a touring stage show, including theatrical, circus and stage-magic elements, that focuses on the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

. It debuted on July 19, 2011 at the Manchester Evening News Arena, with two and a half years in the making at a reported cost of about £7.5 million.

History

Producer Nick Grace conceived the idea of "Batman Live" following his successful animatronic project of

Walking With Dinosaurs − The Arena Spectacular ''Walking with Dinosaurs − The Arena Spectacular'' was a live adaptation of the award-winning television series ''Walking with Dinosaurs''. Like the TV series, ''The Arena Spectacular'' has to recreate dinosaurs to the point of the viewers accep ...

. The story was written by Stan Berkowitz,

Alan Burnett Alan Burnett (; born February 17, 1950) is an American television writer-producer particularly associated with Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions, DC Comics, and Walt Disney television animation. He has had a hand in virtually ever ...

, and

Allan Heinberg Allan Heinberg (born June 29, 1967) is an American film screenwriter, television writer and producer and comic book writer. Heinberg is the screenwriter of the 2017 film ''Wonder Woman'', directed by Patty Jenkins. His television writing and p ...

. The show began its tour in the UK in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in summer 2011. The

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

part of the tour includes venues in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. It then launched in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in Summer 2012, and ceased touring in December 2012 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. In September 2012, "Batman Live" began touring

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, starting in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

at the

Honda Center The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, ...

Cast and crew

The production was mounted by acclaimed professionals, and was co-directed by James Powell, who has worked on Les Miserables and

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Houseman ...

. The crew included

Anthony Van Laast Anthony Van Laast is a choreographer, mainly for the stage, concerts, television and film. His works have appeared in the West End and on Broadway. Career Anthony Van Laast was born 31 May 1951Sussex, UK.Mamma Mia!, as the creative director, and renowned

car designer Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The functional design and development of a modern motor ...

Prof.

Gordon Murray Ian Gordon Murray (born 18 June 1946 in Durban, Union of South Africa), is a South African-born British designer of Formula One racing cars and the McLaren F1 road car. He is the founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Automotive. Early life Born t ...

, who crafted the Batmobile especially for the show, as well as composer

James Seymour Brett James Seymour Brett (born 3 April 1974) is an English composer and conductor. Early career After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 1997, Brett was immediately hired by composer Michael Kamen. Brett's further contribution to film ...

, who created and arranged the

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

Es Devlin Esmeralda "Es" Devlin (; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms. Early life Devlin was born in Kingston upon Thames, ...

as the

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

, Luke Halls and Sam Pattinson as the

video designer Video design or projection design is a creative field of stagecraft. It is concerned with the creation and integration of film, motion graphics and live camera feed into the fields of theatre, opera, dance, fashion shows, concerts and other live ...

s and Patrick Woodroffe as the lighting designer. The crew also included Jack Galloway as costume designer, Jake Berry as

technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. This person usually has the highest level of skill within a specific technical f ...

and Simon Baker as sound designer. The circus sequences were created and managed by Bryan Donaldson and Juliette Hardy-Donaldson. The Cast included Nick Court and Sam Heughan as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Emma Clifford as

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...

and Martha Wayne, Kamran Darabi-Ford and Michael Pickering as

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

/ Dick Grayson, Mark Frost as the Joker,

Alex Giannini Alexander von Giannini (6 June 1958 – 2 October 2015) was an English stage, television and film actor and singer. His work included comedy, musicals and drama. Life Giannini was born in Northamptonshire in 1958; his father was born in Rome, hi ...

Commissioner Gordon James W. "Jim" Gordon, Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane as an ally of Batman, the character deb ...

and

The Penguin The Penguin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #58 (December 1941) and was created by Bob ...

, John Conroy as Alfred Pennyworth, Poppy Tierney as Harley Quinn and

Mary Grayson Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, Christopher Price as John Grayson, Joe Chill and The Riddler, Garry Lake as Ringmaster and

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...

(also portrayed by Christopher D Hunt), Jack Walker as

Tony Zucco Anthony Zucco is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in ''Detective Comics'' #38 (April 1940), Zucco is a mobster responsible for murdering the parents of Dick Grayson, which leads to Gra ...

, Darrell Brockis as Dr. Thomas Wayne, Valerie Murzak as Poison Ivy, Benos Noble and Ian Henderson as The Scarecrow and Erin Anna Jameson as young Bruce Wayne. The rest of the cast included: Marina Abdeen, Michelle Antrobus, Alice Capitani, Darryl Carrington, Sam Cater, Danny Chase, Beth Coleman, Stephan Dermendjiev, Sammy Dinneen, Liam Durbidge, Jono Fee, Ben Habgood, Maria Hippolyte, Jack Jefferson, Lee Matthews, Gemma Michael, Tamzen Molding, Valérie Murzak, Danuta Ramos, Kate Sanderson, Jessica Sherman, Antony Somers, Océane Sunniva, George Turvey, Mike Zwahlen."Batman Live World Tour ", à Paris Bercy, du 21 au 25 décembre
musicalsineurope.com

Plot summary

The plot concerns the origin of

and of the Batman and Robin team. It begins with the murder of

Bruce Wayne Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

's parents in the past and then shows how in the present day he has become the masked vigilante, Batman, as a result. After the circus acrobat parents of Dick Grayson are murdered by a gangster during a performance in Gotham City, the orphan is put into the care of Bruce Wayne and his faithful butler

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

. As the various villains of Gotham team up to defeat their nemesis, Wayne reveals his identity to Grayson and eventually teaches him properly to channel his anger—to seek justice, not revenge. The new pairing is sorely tested when the Joker reveals his master plan to release the inmates of

Arkham Asylum The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane (), commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital/prison, named after the city of Arkham which appeared first in the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, and later appear ...

into Gotham, and to use Grayson as bait in a final deadly trap for Batman. With the

Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in Oc ...

the Penguin The Penguin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #58 (December 1941) and was created by Bob ...

, Poison Ivy,

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...

, Harley Quinn and even Batman's potential love, the thief

, all ranged against them as well, the new 'Dynamic Duo' faces the ultimate showdown.

References

External links

Official site

BBC News Behind the scenes at Batman Live
{{Batman in popular media Batman in other media 2011 plays