Matthew Bourne’s darkly dazzling dance drama, where lovers meet and part in a pub in foggy Soho, is a masterclass in non-verbal communication, says Georgina Brown

The Midnight Bell (Touring)

Verdict: Through a glass darkly

Rating:

 

At one point in Matthew Bourne’s darkly dazzling dance drama, a character lip-synchs to the tune of Cole Porter’s ‘What Is This Thing Called Love?’.

None of the ten sharply realised characters says a single word, but their unspoken feelings about longing, lust and love are expressed with an astonishing eloquence as they tentatively reach out, hoping to make a lasting connection and feel less alone.

He has gathered them from Patrick (Rope, Gaslight) Hamilton’s lesser known novels and set them adrift in a foggy Fitzrovia in the Thirties, vividly realised by Les Brotherston’s design of an unglamorous London pub, The Midnight Bell, where they flit in and out, or stand cheerfully behind the bar.

Just the way they drink their tumbler of whisky speaks volumes. For some it is simply solace, emptied and thumped on the table. 

For the man who knocks it back in a gulp, it’s a shot of Dutch courage before setting out to hook up with a stranger. 

For the tense, buttoned-up woman who wraps the glass with both hands, it’s a prop while she kills time, waiting for her date to show up. 

Another swivels it, beaming, already one too many and not giving a damn.

Most of the hook-ups finish up in a seedy hotel bedroom where the precise nature of the various relationships are often brutally, occasionally tenderly, exposed.

The spivvy chancer in a checked suit steals cash from his companion’s handbag — though next time round, she gets her revenge.

For the gay lovers, it’s a blissful release of pent-up desire.

Richly atmospheric, it flows beautifully, the astonishing dancing always a delight, by turns sexy and soulful.

Bourne, who devised, choreographs and directs, makes movement and music (by Terry Davies) much subtler than mere words.

Ring this Bell, if it comes anywhere near you.

For tour details visit new-adventures.net

GEORGINA BROWN