by Sarah Becker
Tuesday’s performance was followed by a Q and A with Matthew Bourne.
In The Midnight Bell, choreographer and director Matthew Bourne masterfully captures the gritty melancholy essence of Patrick Hamilton’s novel set in the late 1920s.
Set against a backdrop of dimly lit streets, smoky pubs, and seedy boarding houses, the piece is a haunting portrayal of fleeting connections and fractured relationships.
The show opens with a single spotlight picking out a jubilant waiter Bob (Dominic North), twirling into his shift at The Midnight Bell pub ; in all its bottly glitter, the narrative heart of the production.
This central location becomes a meeting point for a cast of deeply flawed characters whose lives briefly intersect in moments of desire, obsession, rejection, and regret.
Bourne’s trademark ability to tell compelling stories without words is at its finest here.
Accompanied by refrains of ghostlike Gershwin-style melodies, the vignettes unfold like a moving series of cinematic snapshots. We see the waiter, Bob (Dominic North) fall for a prostitute, Jenny (Ashley Shaw) only to be cruelly jilted; a heartbroken barmaid Ella (Hannah Kremer) who likes Bob but can only watch anxiously from the sidelines as he flirts shamelessly; a cad played by Ernest Ralph Gorse seducing and discarding; and two men (Andy Monoghan and Liam Mower) cautiously navigating a forbidden romance.
What unites these ill-conceived romances is their poignant lack of resolution.
Full credit to the dancers that together they deliver such a seamless performance; the whole piece feels cohesive with each character contributing to the final piece as if from a L. S Lowry painting.
The dancers communicate with precision and emotional nuance—through gestures, anxious glances, and graceful touches, they evoke emotional worlds without saying a word. The pained expressions of the lonely spinster Michela Meazza, and Hannah Kremer as Ella, glowed in the darkness.
Lez Brotherston’s set design and Paule Constable’s lighting create the grim atmosphere; dingy street corners, rain-slicked pavement and bawdy boarding house.
The post-show Q&A with award-winning director Matthew Bourne gave the audience a chance to ask him directly about his inspirations, creative choices, and what drew him to the production.
For example, Mathew explained that he was drawn to this story because of the richness and complexity of its characters. In dance, he noted, characters are often portrayed in simplistic terms—either good or bad—but he appreciated the opportunity to delve into the subtleties and contradictions of more nuanced personalities.
The Midnight Bell is an atmospheric watch rich in evocative detail. It lingers after the final bow like the memory of a night you can’t quite forget, or like a one night stand shrouded in the haze of too much alcohol. For those that like dance, it’s a spectacle not to be missed.
The Midnight Bell runs at the Royal & Derngate until Saturday 19th July.