The Ocean at the End of the Lane to embark on major UK and Ireland tour

The National Theatre's acclaimed production of The Ocean at the End of the Lane is heading out on a major UK and Ireland tour later this year.

The stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel, which received a five-star review from WhatsOnStage's Sarah Crompton during its late 2019 world premiere at the Dorfman, plays its final West End performance at the Duke of York's Theatre this Saturday, 14 May.

Gaiman commented: "The Ocean at the End of the Lane is about memory, magic, family. It's about who you were and who you are. It's not like anything else I've ever been involved in. It's not like anything else you'll ever see at the theatre. The Ocean at the End of the Lane has its own theatrical magic. It's why happy people tell you that they cried while watching it, it's why it becomes a dreamlike experience in memory, it gets bigger the further inside you follow it. Like a duck pond that contains an ocean that holds the universe…"

Adapted by Joel Horwood and directed by Katy Rudd, the production features set design by Fly Davis, costume and puppet design by Samuel Wyer, movement direction by Steven Hoggett, composition by Jherek Bischoff, lighting design by Paule Constable, sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph, magic and illusions direction and design by Jamie Harrison and puppetry direction by Finn Caldwell.

Casting is by Sarah Hughes CDG and will be announced in due course.

The tour is set to launch at The Lowry in Salford for the festive season (12 December 2022 to 7 January 2023), before heading to New Victoria Theatre, Woking (24 to 28 January), Leicester Curve (31 January to 11 February), Theatre Royal Plymouth (14 to 25 February), Sunderland Empire (28 February to 4 March), Theatre Royal Bath (7 to 18 March), Grand Opera House, Belfast (21 to 25 March), Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin (28 March to 1 April), The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (4 to 8 April), New Wimbledon Theatre (11 to 15 April), Edinburgh Festival Theatre (18 to 22 April), Liverpool Empire (2 to 6 May), Sheffield Lyceum Theatre (9 to 20 May), The Alexandra, Birmingham (23 to 27 May), Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (30 May to 3 June), Nottingham Theatre Royal (6 to 17 June), New Theatre, Oxford (20 to 24 June), Milton Keynes Theatre (27 June to 1 July), Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (4 to 8 July), Newcastle Theatre Royal (11 to 22 July), Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (25 to 29 July), Cliffs Pavilion, Southend (8 to 12 August), Bristol Hippodrome (15 to 19 August), His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen (22 to 26 August), King's Theatre, Glasgow (29 August to 2 September), Norwich Theatre Royal (5 to 9 September), Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent (12 to 16 September), Hall for Cornwall, Truro (19 to 23 September) and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (26 to 30 September).