Review of The Da Vinci Code at The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

​Having seen the film ‘The Da Vinci Code’ 3 times and being a big fan of Danny John-Jules (most famous for his role as Cat in Red Dwarf) and Nigel Harman (who I remember best from his Eastenders role as Dennis), I was eagerly waiting to see the stage adaptation at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

The tone was set immediately, as the usual pre curtain instructions were announced in French, a clever touch to set the ambiance for the first scene of the Louvre museum in Paris where we discover the murder of its Curator.

The scene soon goes even more sinister as Joshua Lacey plays a gripping portrayal of self flagellating monk Silas.

Professor Robert Langdon (Nigel Harman) soon meets with Cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Hannah Rose Caton) and learns he is an accidental suspect of the murder and the duo must work together to solve cryptic clues that have the potential to change history as we know it!

Whilst the show does mount in tension, this was broken in places by a bit of gentle humour which was balanced very accurately.

The sets were absolutely amazing as was the subtlety and speed at which they were changed.

Although I was particularly looking forward to seeing Nigel Harman and Danny John-Jules, I was very impressed with the acting of Hannah Rose Caton as Sophie and was hanging on her every word in suspense.

Danny John-Jules proved there was more to him than ‘Cat’ with his slightly humorous portrayal of eccentric Sir Leigh Teabing. Nigel Harman was also good as a geeky, awkward Robert Langdon.

As I am very familiar with the film adaptation and story/twists it was fascinating to see how this was transformed into a gripping stage adaptation that worked incredibly well.

I would definitely recommend this as a highly original and exhilerating theatrical experience.
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The Da Vinci Code is running at the Wolverhampton Grand until Saturday March 12th 
(https://www.grandtheatre.co.uk/whats-on/thedavincicode/)
Karen Hill