'Casino Royale' in Concert

Overview

The espionage antics. The shaken-not-stirred martinis. The suits. The theme song. Think James Bond, and all four come to mind. Indeed, they've all played a part in the long-running franchise, which first started back in 1962 — and they're all now coming to Hamer Hall with a live score.

Following in the footsteps of the Star Wars and Harry Potter films, Bond is bringing one of its spy instalments back to the big screen with help from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. It's the first time in Australia that the franchise has been shown in this way, and it'll hit Melbourne on Thursday, May 23 and Friday, May 24. Audiences will relive Daniel Craig's 007 debut while hearing the music behind as they've never heard it before, all as part of Casino Royale in Concert.

For those in need of a refresher on the 2006 flick, it takes the franchise back to the beginning of Bond's career. He's newly licensed to kill, and he's soon falling in love with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) while trying to hunt down terrorist financier Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). Directed by Martin Campbell, it was a huge hit — the biggest Bond film, box office-wise, ever released at the time, a mantle that was later overtaken by 2012's Skyfall.

As the film hops from the Bahamas, to Montenegro to Venice's Grand Canal, the MSO will perform composer David Arnold's music. Yes, the classic theme track that's served the franchise so well for more than half a century now also features.