Over the years, Rosslyn Chapel has featured in books, inspired paintings and even starred in a Hollywood blockbuster; now it is set to take to the stage when the Da Vinci Code comes to Scotland this spring.
The stage adaptation, based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, will feature Nigel Harman, Danny John-Jules and Hannah Rose Caton in the leading roles, as they follow a set of intriguing clues leading them from Paris to London and finally to Rosslyn Chapel.
Oliver-award winning actor Nigel Harman (best known for EastEnders and Downton Abbey), Danny John-Jules (best known for Red Dwarf and Death in Paradise) and Edinburgh actress Leigh Lothian all visited Rosslyn Chapel, a key location in the book and film, this week to launch the production’s Scottish dates.
Ian Gardner, Director of Rosslyn Chapel Trust, said: ‘The Da Vinci Code had a profound impact on visitor numbers to Rosslyn Chapel, as they rose from 38,000 to 80,000 when the book was published and then jumped to 176,000 in 2006 when the film, featuring Tom Hanks, was released. This enabled a far-reaching conservation project at the Chapel to be completed and the future of the building, which was founded in 1446, to be secured. Tom Hanks later wrote that ‘few locations on a film are more delightful, and few destinations live up to their billing, but Rosslyn was all that one could imagine or hope for’. It’s great to see the story now coming to the stage and we hope that it will inspire more visitors to come and visit the Chapel for themselves this year.’
The Da Vinci Code will be at
Glasgow’s Theatre Royal from 28 March to 2 April
King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, from 5th to 9th April
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, from 19th to 23rd July.
(Photos: Greg Macvean)