The Midnight Bell
- Steve Griffiths
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
Sir Matthew Bourne, music Terry Davies
New Adventures Dance
Lowry, Salford
July 1-5, 2025;1hr 50mins
(also at Newcastle Theatre Royal, July 8-12; Liverpool Playhouse, September 16-20; Sheffield Lyceum, September 23-27, and Bradford Alhambra September 30-October 4)
One of the pleasures of reviewing dance is to be able to give an unambiguous five-star rating to a
performance that shines. The Midnight Bell is one of those occasions.
Creator Mathew Bourne has an unrivalled track record in providing artistry and popularity in the same production. And he has done so again.
Based loosely on the work of 1930s writer Patrick Hamilton - best known for Rope and Gaslight - the show demonstrates that underneath that low, dishonest decade was a vibrant, louche world in which lonely spinsters Miss Roach, danced by Micela Meazza, are cozened by rogues such as Ernest Gorse (a cad), danced by Glen Graham.
The work's performers are all graduates of Bourne's New Adventures programme which shows the value of a long-term approach to developing artistic talent. All the dancers here are commendable; even walking across the stage they show that even a simple movement can be made with style and panache.
The show has comedy, too. Watch Andy Monaghan and Liam Mower get it together for the first time on a bench, all angular limbs and anguish. Or Hannah Kremer, a barmaid, marrying despite herself; or Danny
Reuben, a regular customer, showing all the gauche charm of a virgin. The cinema scene with Micela and Glen brings to life Ginger and Fred, but in a cut price, seedy, Britain before World War II.
The surroundings are beautifully created by the music (Terry Davies) and set design (Lez Brotherston); for those of a certain age, the drab surroundings of the past are all too real. The production is set at a time when the on-site catering was a pickled egg if you were lucky; pork scratchings if you weren't.
The coup de theatre here is provided by the use of vocal music from the period. Al Bowlly makes a powerful impact when voiced by wonderful dancers and actors. And the final Dancing with Tears in
my Eyes brought - yes - tears to my eyes.
More info and venue ticket links here
