Vertigo Theatre looks to audiences to crack The Da Vinci Code in theatrical adaptation of Dan Brown bestseller

Vertigo Theatre is presenting the stage adaptation of the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code through June 8

Vertigo Theatre’s final show of the 2024-25 season is an adaptation of a mystery that became one of the best-selling books ever.

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code was the book of 2003, selling over 80 million copies. It was translated into 44 languages and a few years later, into a 2006 film starring Tom Hanks and French actress Audrey Tautou.

Now, inspired by both the book and the film, Vertigo is staging the theatrical adaptation (by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel), which tells the story of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and a French cryptologist named Sophie Neveu who are enlisted to solve a murder that takes place one night in the legendary Louvre Museum in Paris.

They find themselves in a race against time as they decipher a succession of codes that reveal a revisionist version of religious history that has all sorts of global, historical implications.

It’s also one of those multi-location stories that jump from one iconic location to another, which is always a challenge for theatre, where there’s one stage that must represent everywhere the story travels to.

“The biggest question is, how are we going to be able to stage a show like this?” said Vertigo artistic director Jack Grinhaus, in a media release. “To answer this, we have assembled some of the best artists that Calgary has to offer.

“The Da Vinci Code is an adventure story that spans vast landscapes and iconic locations, from Paris to London and beyond.

“It’s a challenge we all wanted to take on here at Vertigo, and we think it will be a highly entertaining and epic piece of theatre.”

The Da Vinci Code is being directed by former Downstage artistic director Simon Mallet and stars Graham Percy as Langdon, the role played by Tom Hanks in the film and Isabelle Pedersen as Sophie, the role played by Audrey Tautou in the 2006 film.

The Da Vinci Code runs through June 8 at Vertigo. For more information, go here.