Based on the novels of Patrick Hamilton, Matthew Bourne’s Midnight Bell started life as the country was coming out of the Covid pandemic and now has the chance to be seen more widely on a UK tour. Set in the 1930s, the Midnight Bell in question is a London pub, frequented by a range of ordinary people whose lives have their own individual adventures, relationships, power struggles and catastrophes; and Bourne’s choreography draws our attention to each of them separately as they weave their way through various London locations, overlapping with each other or going their separate ways.
It is deliberately not an adaptation of any one of Hamilton’s works but is instead inspired by them all to create an atmosphere and suggestions of stories partly observed, partly obscured. And if there is a problem with the show, that’s just it; there isn’t one story that’s fully told or fully explained. In most cases you’re left to infer what happens, and for me that felt frustrating. Bourne is a brilliant storyteller through dance; and whereas the narrative in the first Act is easy to follow – even though we’re introduced to so many characters at breakneck speed – the storytelling is hard to follow in the second Act.
The usual New Adventures creative team are out in force. Lez Brotherton’s set immaculately recreates that 1930s London gloom and faded glamour, and his costume choices reflect the characters perfectly; Paule Constable’s lighting is evocative and intriguing, and Terry Davies’ original music gives you that 30s feel without ever being a pastiche and still feeling modern and creative, driving the dance forwards. However, I felt the decision for the dancers to lipsynch the words of the recorded songs added nothing to our understanding of the characters, and, if anything, detracted from their dancing. Nevertheless, Bourne’s choreography for the show is full of his usual trademarks and is always assertive and dynamic, creating some excellent duets for his characters, whether they be intimate, comic, shy or brash.
As always in a New Adventures production, the cast dance superbly throughout and give great performances. The dancers mix and match roles on different days, so I can only tell you about the performance on 16th July. The Act Two park bench scene with Dominic North as Bob and Hannah Kremer as Jenny is a true highlight, clearly bringing out each character’s personalities as well as giving us a truly entertaining dance. Cordelia Braithwaite’s Miss Roach is also superb, a terrific combination of the frustrated, the determined and the downtrodden, matched with Edwin Ray’s mischievously deceptive cad Gorse.
Also outstanding are Andy Monaghan and Glenn Graham as Frank and Albert, tentatively then wholeheartedly finding love, only for one of them to reveal a secret later. There’s a nicely observed on-off relationship between barmaid Ella and tedious customer Mr Eccles, danced by Bryony Pennington and Danny Reubens, and a disastrous relationship between the fickle actress Netta and the disturbed George, danced by Daisy May Kemp and Alan Vincent.
Despite all these excellent ingredients, the overall result still feels light on emotion and not especially memorable. Comparisons are odious, but when you know the kind of passion and agony that Bourne’s best dance can stir in your heart, that passion feels notably lacking here. It all feels just a little safe, a bit mild, a tad bland. If this was a half-hour dance in a mixed programme of three, and all the narrative was told much more quickly, I can see how this could feel very satisfying. But as a series of threads without a strong definitive central narrative, there’s just not enough here to sustain an entire evening.
Three-sy Does It!