Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell Review 4*
Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell brings the denizens of 1930s Soho to Sadler’s Wells in an evocative work
There is a world of difference between 21st century Soho, being developed to within an inch of its life as a “clean family neighbourhood”, and the Soho of 100 years ago, a seedy, often dangerous part of London, populated by hustlers and life’s losers.
That was the Soho of Patrick Hamilton’s early 20th century novels; and they proved fertile ground for Matthew Bourne, who picked characters from various Hamilton works to populate his own The Midnight Bell. Created during lockdown, it premiered in 2021 and is now back at Sadler’s Wells as part of an extensive UK tour.
The moment you enter the auditorium you are plunged into early 1930s Soho courtesy of Lez Brotherston’s smokey, atmospheric set, smoggy air blurring the edges of buildings with their grimy window panes, streets dimly lit by gas lamps and set against a baleful night sky.
The set is hugely versatile, sliding effortlessly to become the inside of the eponymous pub, a room in shabby hotel, a park in a deserted London square, a Lyon’s tea shop and even a cinema, the film projection cleverly conjured by Paula Constable’s imaginative lighting.
The Midnight Bell, though, is the fulcrum of the action. That’s where the characters converge to trick their solitude with vast quantities of cheap whisky and the hope of fleeting closeness to other equally damaged human beings.
Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell. Liam Mower. Photo: Johan Persson
Miss Roach, poignantly danced by Michela Meazza, is the very epitome of aching prim loneliness, and as such easy prey for the cad Ernest Ralph Gorse, danced with coarse effectiveness by Glenn Graham, who beds her and robs her, but (Spoiler Alert!) eventually gets his comeuppance.
Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell. Glenn Graham and Michela Meazza. Photo: Johan Persson
Alan Vincent’s George Harvey Bone is hopelessly in love with Netta, an out of work actress, spikily danced by Daisy May Kemp; late in the action a serial killer on the loose is hinted at. And Ella, the plain, sweet barmaid (Bryony Pennington) is in love with the waiter, Bob (Dominic North), but he is besotted with the young prostitute Jenny (Ashley Shaw).
Terry Davies’s rich score is complemented by wistful period songs – The Man I Love, The Nearness of You, Solitude – lipsynched by the dancers, the lyrics fleshing out the movement.
Bourne reserves some of his most impassioned choreography for the duet between Liam Mower’s Albert and Andrew Monaghan’s Frank. That Frank is a policeman at a time when homosexuality was illegal, adds spice and urgency to their ephemeral encounter.
Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell. Andrew Monaghan and Liam Mower. Photo: Johan Persson
For me The Midnight Bell is Matthew Bourne’s best work in a long time. It not only captures the spirit of the time, but it lovingly creates very human characters whom we can recognise, almost touch and feel invested in. I had to stop myself punching the air when Miss Roach summoned up the scraps of her dignity and got her own back on the hustler Gorse.
In the end, life goes on much as before, except for bright-eyed Bob, whom we last see escaping The Midnight Bell for the great elsewhere. Wonderful.
© Teresa Guerreiro
(Banner image credit: Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell. Andrew Monaghan, Liam Mower and company. Photo: Johan Persson)
Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell is a Sadler’s Wells 10 – 21 June 2025. Details and tickets here
The Midnight Bells tours the UK until 4 October 2025. Full info and tickets here
Casts vary according to date.