Did someone ask for a hip-hop stage adaptation of The Matrix? Of course not, but Danny Boyle is giving us one anyway.
As Variety reports, Boyle will turn the 1999 sci-fi smash into a “large-scale immersive performance” titled Free Your Mind. Its logline reads as follows: “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.”
Licensed by Warner Bros. Theater Ventures, Free Your Mind is also scheduled to be the inaugural performance at Factory International, a new arts venue in Manchester, UK, in October 2023: “This eye-opening production will stretch across the building’s ultra-flexible spaces, responding to them and harnessing the collective energy of the moment,” the logline adds.
We’re not sure exactly what to expect from Free Your Mind, aside from something in the vein of Hamilton with sleek suits, tiny sunglasses, and possible kung-fu. From the beloved black comedy Trainspotting, to the flop that was Yesterday, and the divisive miniseires Pistol, Boyle’s filmography is a bit all over the place — we’ll just have to wait and see if he can successfully make us take the dance pill.
Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante is composing the music for Free Your Mind while Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy is choreographing. Boyle’s longtime collaborator Tracey Seaward will produce. Poet playwright Sabrina Mahfouz (“Noughts & Crosses”) and artist Es Devlin are also on board to write and provide large scale sculptures, respectively.
Keanu Reeves reprised his iconic role of Neo in last year’s sequel The Matrix Resurrections.