Batman Live promises superhero spectacle at Echo Arena Liverpool
Batman has had many incarnations over the past 70 years, including The Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, the camp TV star, the Masked Manhunter, the World’s Greatest Detective and – most simply – Bats.
But, this year, Liverpool will host his latest and perhaps most exciting guise – as the star of Batman Live, a groundbreaking, multi-million dollar show coming to the Echo Arena for five nights in September as part of a five-year world tour.
The show will use groundbreaking technology and special effects to bring famous Gotham City locations like the Batcave and Arkham Asylum to life on a massive 60ft wide by 100ft long stage, backed by a giant video wall.
In front and around the scenery – which will rise and fall out of the stage itself – Batman will be joined by Robin as they take on a rogue’s gallery of deadly villains, including The Penguin, Poison Ivy and his nemesis, The Joker.
Given the enormous scale of the show and the iconic lead character’s history, the calibre of Batman Live’s creators shows they are leaving nothing to chance.
For starters, it has a specially- written story from the mind of DC Comics genius Geoff Johns, while superstar artist Jim Lee has designed the look of the show and its characters.
Other stand-out names include set designer Es Devlin, who has worked with Lady Gaga and Take That, and technical manager Jake Berry – the man currently masterminding U2’s world tour.
Bringing all these exciting strands together is executive producer Nick Grace, who first approached Warner Bros and DC Comics with the idea more than two years ago.
He says the show will be his biggest challenge yet – a big statement from someone who has been around the world with the touring juggernauts of Mamma Mia! and Walking With Dinosaurs.
He said: “You can’t get a bigger name than Batman, which is why we have such an ambitious show.
“This is a rock and roll tour – Batman is our rock star and we’re taking him on the road.“This is a high-quality live show with a thrilling and original Batman story, packed with stunts, pyrotechnics, illusions and the characters we know and love.
“People go to an arena show expecting an event. We will give them that – even from the first moment the audience enters the Arena, there will be blimps flying overhead and helicopter and police noises, with Gotham City looming on a giant stage.”
He added: “Then night falls and the show begins.
“I have to stress it is not a musical, but a fast-moving spectacle with something for everyone, be they a hardcore Batman fan or a family looking for fun.
“It is really exciting for me, too. I grew up watching and reading about Batman and making my own Batcave, but now I can do that for real.
“I’m living the dream!”
Chief Creative Officer for DC Comics, Geoff Johns, said Nick’s plans and vision for Batman Live blew him away.
He said: “I just wanted to be more involved and quickly saw that the story of Robin and how he became a hero really lent itself to the live environment.
“Batman’s origin comes out of the death of his parents. That is horrifying, but compelling, and, even though it is 70 years old, it still resonates today.
“To me, Batman represents loss, which is something we will all experience, and how to fight back from that loss.
“Through becoming a superhero, he has come to terms with the murder of his mum and dad and can claim some form of justice, but then he sees Robin, whose parents are killed, too. It re-opens all these wounds.
“Robin brings a whole other level to Batman, and putting that in a live story adds something else again.”
Johns’s excitement was shared by Jim Lee. Now the co-publisher for DC Comics, you don’t have to talk to him for long to pick up on the mix of reverence and childhood nostalgia he still feels for Batman.
“I started out drawing Batman on my kitchen floor as a kid,” he says, “and I still love telling stories and trying to tap into that sense of nostalgia.
“It is great to be involved in cool stuff like Batman Live.
“To me, Batman is a regular person we can identify with, but with all these skills and cool gadgets.
“These are all really theatrical characters with great costumes so they are ideal for a live show. To see them in person will be an awesome experience – something that Batman fans haven’t been able to see before.”
He added that he always enjoys the responsibility that comes on working on Batman stories.
“Batman has been around for more than 70 years – it is one of the greatest works of collaborative fiction there has ever been.
“All the great comic book writers and artists have worked on Batman, so we want Batman Live to be a fitting addition to a legacy that goes all the way back to Bob Kane, the man who invented Batman back in 1939.”
Batman Live is at the Liverpool Echo Arena between September 7-11, 2011. Tickets are available now and cost between £20-£45. For more information, visit www.batmanlive.com
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