REVIEW | The Midnight Bell, Matthew Bourne

Photo by Johan Persson.

The Midnight Bell

Matthew Bourne & New Adventures Company.

★★★★

Matthew Bourne has been inspiring the next generation of dancers since his controversial restaging of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake was premiered back in 1995. His unique style and approach to interpretations of traditional ballet repertoires has created the foundations for some exciting work over the years, including this latest production with his company New Adventures, currently embarking on a UK Tour. 

The Midnight Bell is a fresh and exciting production for fans of Matthew Bourne to engross themselves in for a 2 hour production that is set to thrill and intrigue you. Lez Brotherston has collaborated with Matthew Bourne for a long time on staging productions and with The Midnight Bell its no difference in his brilliance in nailing the job at hand. The atmosphere of the 1930s oozes from that stage with minimal props, elevated by the lighting designed by Paule Constable. They collectively create a distinguished feel for the production before the company even begin their journeys moving through the space.

Photo by Johan Persson.

Photo by Johan Persson.

At the heart of 1930's London Soho is a gripping collection of stories from 10 low-hearted and lonely characters who are all connected together by being employees or regulars of 'The Midnight Bell' pub. The outstanding company of talented dancers weave six interconnecting stories or relationships throughout the piece, without telling the audience the full extent of each novel, creating an essence of Patrick Hamilton, the great English novelist whose work this production is based on. 

These exceptionally talented performers have a mesmerising ability to determine quickly who is who, by allowing their movement to do the storytelling. These world class dancers are the kings and queens when it comes to portraying a story through dance and they know how to do it perfectly every time. Their movement flows beautifully through the score right to their fingertips. For an individual like myself who used to dance, Matthew Bourne allows me to feel inspired to dance again. I know young aspiring dancers will be in awe of these performers whilst watching them move through a demanding, lengthy production like The Midnight Bell whilst managing to execute every movement with ease. 

Read more: Review of Matthew Bourne's production of Swan Lake.

The relationships are well crafted, the attention to detail in it is flawless! You could see how each of these characters developed within their individual journeys and alongside one another during the production, especially when it flows quite quickly. All of them were really thought-provoking and had a means to its importance amongst the bigger picture. For example, we see how barmaid Ella (Bryony Harrison) reluctantly accepts a marriage proposal by a regular customer, Mr Eccles (Reece Causton) whilst yearning for Bob, a waiter (Paris Fitzpatrick). 

Photo by Johan Persson.

Undoubtedly the most powerful relationship within The Midnight Bell is presented by Liam Mower and Andrew Monaghan. We witness a homosexual relationship develop within the walls of the pub. Around this time, homosexual acts between men, whether they were in private or in public, were actually illegal in the UK. These two dancers do a really sensational job at portraying the desperation to be together whilst forcibly keeping their relationship private.  There was a real important attention to detail in their relationship where flagging was represented. The colour coded system was used to communicate with other people of similar sexualities for the purposes of finding a partner. I thought this attention to detail was a poignant part of their story told really well. 

Overall, Matthew Bourne has done another superb job with his dancers to convey and bring to life a really intriguing story to life through the medium of movement. 

The Midnight Bell is touring across the UK until 27 Nov. You can find out further information and book your tickets by visiting their website here.