LUST, betrayal, fate, revenge and murder...it’s all unravelling on the Alhambra stage this week in Sir Matthew Bourne’s sultry dance thriller The Car Man.
Loosely based on Bizet’s opera Carmen, New Adventures’ sublime show is set in 1950s America, in a small Mid-West town called Harmony.
The show is performed by a terrific cast of young dancers
When a sexy, enigmatic stranger arrives at Dino’s garage diner and takes a job as a mechanic, the locals are dazzled.
Will Bozier lights up the stage as Luca
For Lana, Dino’s restless wife, the charismatic ‘Car Man’ is her escape from an unhappy marriage. And for Angelo, a troubled young mechanic, he’s an awakening. What follows is a dangerous love triangle, fuelled by heat, desire and greed, that leads to a devastating chain of events.
First staged in 2000, The Car Man was last seen in a revival at the Royal Albert Hall in 2022. Now it’s back on tour, for the first time in more than 10 years, and it’s a real treat to see it on the Alhambra stage.
As with much of Sir Matthew’s work, this sultry ‘dance noir’ oozes cinematic references, not least The Postman Always Rings Twice and West Side Story. Originally subtitled ‘an auto-erotic thriller’, it’s a highly charged show that goes to some dark places, while retaining the flashes of humour that set New Adventures apart from other dance companies.
Lez Brotherston’s sultry set creates the look and feel of small town claustrophobia, where life revolves around a greasy diner. You can feel the tinder box heat of a long hazy summer as the guys and gals swoon and strut to a mesmerising score.
Terry Davies’ re-working of Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite, and new compositions based on the famous opera music, is the perfect soundtrack for Sir Matthew’s terrific choreography, bringing passionate European flavours to this Americana thriller.
Cordelia Braithwaite as Luna, who seduces Luca and sets off a tragic chain of events
The story is told in a series of spellbinding dance numbers performed by a fabulous cast of young dancers - 69 per cent of them have come through New Adventures’ Talent Programme - and every movement, down to the clenching of fists and the stamping of feet, is perfectly timed to the music. The testosterone-fuelled garage is a backdrop to some thrilling routines, not least the steamy shower scene.
The dance thriller is set in a small town garage-diner
Will Bozier is excellent as Luca, the Car Man who shakes up Harmony. From the moment he appears on stage he’s a towering presence; an almost otherworldly fate figure who, as the action unfolds, evolves into a more complex, flawed man. Cordelia Braithwaite is brilliant as smouldering femme fatale Lana, the ‘Carmen’ figure, and Leonardo McCorkindale gave a beautiful performance as poor Angelo. The raw passion, and precision, in the dance scenes of all three characters is electrifying.
Anna-Maria de Freitas is heartbreaking as Rita and Adam Galbraith shines as Dino.
There is no other show quite like The Car Man. Buckle up - it’s a thrilling ride.
- Runs at the Alhambra Theatre until Saturday, October 24.