We round up the reviews for Matthew Bourne’s production inspired by the novels of Patrick Hamilton running at Sadler’s Wells until the 21st June.
Broadway World: ***** “There is a sultry, smouldering quality to Bourne’s choreography in this production. Intimacy is ever present, but it is laced with risk and sadness. Bodies lean in close, only to recoil and hands stretch toward each other but do not touch. Each one of the dancers brings stunning depth and character to each of the evocative passing interactions.”
The Independent: **** “Feted production returns, as lively and thoughtfully realised as ever.”
Theatre Vibe: “I was blown away by the atmosphere, the play without words or accents and yet being immersed in another era with the same issues of lovelessness and loneliness as today. Bourne’s lightness of touch allows us to laugh in places. The Midnight Bell is a dance production that fires the imagination and empathy for its dancers.”
West End Best Friend: **** “It’s a slow burn, and some narrative threads remain more impressionistic than complete but that can be forgiven. The Midnight Bell doesn’t ask to be felt nor solved, and it feels like a cigarette smoked alone at closing time.”
Jonathan Baz Reviews: *** “Terry Davies’s evocative music, pre-recorded by an eleven piece orchestra with a singer, fits the mood of the piece perfectly. He deploys an effective use of voice, sailing over the top of the musical texture, to create mystery, sadness or wistfulness. Like Bourne, Davies is very good at evoking mood with, for example, a minimalist percussion rhythm accompanying a sex scene in a seedy hotel that is aurally arresting. Less successful is the use of characters miming 1930s songs which simply feels lazy. Dance in general, and ballet in particular, is a non-verbal medium and the songs are a jarring interruption. “
The Stage: *** “Bourne brings a glossy veneer to Patrick Hamilton’s tales of dreary despair.”
Stage to Page.co.uk: ***** “The production is emotive, powerful and is a show you’ll be thinking about long after you leave the theatre. Matthew Bourne proves once again that he is a force to be reckoned with. While it’s not an uplifting piece of theatre, it’s thought-provoking, compelling and brimming with passion.”
The Upcoming: **** “Still, this is Bourne at his most sensitive and precise. He finds heartbreak not in melodrama but in the pauses between gestures – in the glance that goes unanswered, the touch that never lands. The Midnight Bell’s story may be steeped in vintage gin and pre-war gloom, but its emotional charge is utterly present. Though you arrive at Sadler’s Wells for the show, you’ll leave feeling as if you’ve just stepped out of a Soho backstreet pub.”
The Standard: “The choreography shows how love leaves characters butterflied and spatchcocked. Bodies fold and warp around each other. There’s a flickering dance hall tango, an unwelcome proposal in a Lyons Corner House, a desolate pub Christmas. Among a strong cast, Mower, Meazza and Vincent are outstandingly, if wordlessly, eloquent – you’d swear they were speaking.”
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