It has been announced today that keyboardist, composer and founding member of Loose Tubes Django Bates will be composing the score for the new stage production of Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days, running at the St James Theatre from November.

The novel has been adapted for the stage by playwright Laura Eason ( a writer on hit series House of Cards) and is directed by Lucy Bailey.

Bates has worked with Lucy Bailey on a number of different theatre projects including: Baby Doll (Birmingham Rep, National Theatre), Stairs to the Roof and Tonight at 8.30 (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Timon of Athens (Shakespeare’s Globe).

Django Bates is an internationally respected musician who has appeared alongside the likes of Ronnie Scott, Tim Berne and Wynton Marsalis. He is currently a professor of jazz at the University of the Arts in Bern, Switzerland.

The majestically mysterious, fabulously wealthy Phileas Fogg wagers his life’s fortune that he can circumnavigate the globe in just eighty days. Join Fogg and his loyal valet, Passepartout, as they voyage from the misty alleys of Victorian London to the exotic subcontinent and the wild west in a race against the clock. A cast of eight play more than 100 characters in this high-spirited, imagination-filled escapade for all the family. Pack your bags for a trip Around the World in 80 Days.

Around the World in 80 Days runs at the St James Theatre from the 26th November until the 17th January 2016.