"Matthew Bourne's New Adventures - The Midnight Bell"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

There's just something very special about Matthew Bourne's shows that create a sizzling tingle in the air, and this show is no different.

"The Midnight Bell" is a 1930's fictional London hostelry where ordinary people emerge from cheap boarding houses nightly to pour out their passions, hopes and dreams in the pubs and fog-bound streets of Soho and Fitzrovia. It's  a tavern where one particular lonely-hearts club gather to play out their lovelorn affairs of the heart; bitter comedies of longing, frustration, betrayal and redemption.

It's inspired by the English novelist Patrick Hamilton who created some of the most authentic fiction of his era; stories borne out of years of social interactions with the working man and woman at his favourite location – the London Pub.

This production though is quite different to any other show that I've seen from New Adventures because it includes many of the performers lip-synching to 1930's classics. Think of Dennis Potter style, who Sir Matthew confirmed to me after the show that he was a fan, and you'll get a hint of how different this particular style is.

The feel is quite cinematic, especially the way that the scenes and props are changed over; the fluidity of both dance and execution of the scenes are a lesson of how a show like this should be done.

There's a lot going on with the various characters in "The Midnight Bell". Singletons pick up other singletons, with varying degrees of success, we see the put upon bar staff, the sleazy cad, as well as repressed sexuality - in public anyway, and also the protection of this to keep job status and recognition. Remember, same sex relationships in public or in private were illegal at this time. It's one of those productions that you'd be able to see something that you may have missed from seeing the show previously.

There's also a lot of sensuality depicted at various levels, but everything done in the very best possible taste.

The cast features some of New Adventures’ finest leading actor/dancers; Cordelia Braithwaite, Reece Causton, Glenn Graham, Michela Meazza, Andy Monaghan, Liam Mower, Dominic North, Bryony Pennington, Danny Reubens and Ashley Shaw.

I really don't need to say individually how talented this cast is as it goes without saying that if they're good enough for Sir Matthew Bourne, then they are the best performers on stage.

Directed and choreographed by Sir Matthew Bourne. Beautiful choreography with trademark humour interspersed throughout, plus the added element of lip-synch.

The music has been composed and orchestrated by Terry Davies. Combined with some classic 1930's songs, the new compositions feel like they should have been written at the same time as the originals and dovetail perfectly.

The sets for New Adventures are always fantastic and this is no different. Designed by Lez Brotherstone they segue smoothly from Midnight Bell bar room to bedroom to exterior scenes and back to different bar room sections. This gives opportunity for couples to meet, dance and contact others via a telephone section and the equivalent of the lions in the Market Square, a park bench.

The Lighting Designer is Paul Constable and the sound design is by Paul Groothuis. Both areas add to that cinematic feel of the production and are completely faultless.

Every time I see anything from Matthew Bourne I know that I've seen the best of the best, but then every time I see a new production, it feels as if again I have seen a new favourite. This production is very different to any other New Adventures production, but is as humorous and as entertaining as anything seen before. It's my new favourite, until the next one. 

The Midnight Bell premiered in 2021 and received five nominations at the 2022 National Dance Awards, with Matthew Bourne winning the award for Best Modern Choreography and Michela Meazza for Outstanding Female Modern Performance.

You can revel in the delights of this gorgeous piece of dance theatre at the Nottingham theatre Royal until Saturday 6 September, which also includes matinee performances on Thursday and Saturday with an audio described and pre show touch tour performance on the Saturday matinee.