The Matrix Being Adapted Into Immersive Hip-Hop Show by Director Danny Boyle

Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality? You might now as Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle is adapting hit sci-fi film The Matrix for the stage, but not as a play. According to Variety, Boyle will direct Free Your Mind, described as a “large-scale immersive performance” that turns the hit Wachowski feature film into a show featuring “hip-hop choreography of hundreds of dancers.” The event will be performed at Factory International in Manchester in October of next year. This marks the first time that The Matrix property has been adapted into the medium of live-performance.

An official logline for the show describes it as “Combining the hip-hop choreography of hundreds of dancers with the latest immersive design, ‘Free Your Mind’ will take audiences on a thrilling journey through ‘The Matrix’ and into a new realm of possibilities…This eye-opening production will stretch across the building’s ultra-flexible spaces, responding to them and harnessing the collective energy of the moment.” Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante will write all-new music for the show which will be choregraphed by Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy with playwright Sabrina Mahfouz set to contribute to its script.

First released in 1999, The Matrix became a pop culture phenomena spawning parodies, video games, comic books, and three sequels across the franchise. Moving it into the realm of the live performance and dance may seem outlandish, but frankly considering the history of the Wachowski’s as filmmakers and storytellers it’s not that farfetched. Though Lana and Lilly Wachowski do not appear to be involved, the work is being licensed from Warner Bros. Pictures, so it’s official.

Though best known for directing movies like Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours, and winning an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle’s career hasn’t been limited to just the big screen. In the past Boyle has dabbled in live performance with quite a bit of frequency, having previously directed the “Isles of Wonder” aka the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics (which featured elements like an appearance by Daniel Craig as James Bond, plus the late Queen Elizabeth II).

Boyle’s work in live performance also notably includes the 2011 stage play adaptation of Frankenstein. Though there are a thousand versions of the Mary Shelley story, Boyle’s featured a unique approach with lead actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller swapping roles between The Doctor and The Monster between performances.