By Joy McKay.
Star rating: 5/5
Matthew Bourne’s dance company New Adventures have returned to Mayflower Theatre as part of tour the UK for a new production of The Car Man. Although premiering in 2020 New Adventures have never bought this particular show to Southampton before and so it was entirely new to me.
I always enjoy the productions of ‘Goth Daddy’ to the ballet world Matthew Bounre. His reimaginings of classical ballets bringing an ethereal gothic charm, usually alongside some switching-up of the gendered roles. Sometimes relocating the stories in time and space there is still usually a signature Bourne aesthetic.
He is also a fan of cinema and one of his talents is to make his shows a bit punchier, more relevant to those how may not be typical ballet goers – indeed sometimes alienating the ballet aficionados.
As we enter the auditorium things are already different; the curtain is up and we can see Dino’s; A hot, dusty, mechanics workshop with a greasy looking diner attached. The cars tell us the era and location straightaway; a couple of classic American sedans are being worked on, I’m not close enough to work out what they are but we must be in the late 50’s or early 60’s. Girls are hanging around the diner, watching the mechanics at work between orders. Gradually there is more movement, more music, less light. It has started.
Unlike most of Bourne’s work this isn’t a retelling of a classical ballet, or a film transposed onto stage. It’s a bad dad pun; The Car Man is set to music from Bizet’s opera Carmen. And the similarity really stops there. You could compare some of the characters to those in libretto written to accompany Bizet’s score by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. But really in so much as they are storytelling archetypes.
As the choreographer of the ballet of Edward Scissorhands it isn’t surprising Bourne is often compared to Tim Burton. However with cars, guns and trigger warnings galore for full frontal nudity, domestic violence, sexual violence, rape, graphically implied (albeit clothed) sex. This felt more like a Quentin Tarrantino production.
This show is wild! I had no idea what to expect from scene to scene from naked showers to a full on hoedown, plenty of sex and violence. The choreography is a patchwork of dance styles, the music is a series of arrangements based on just 40 minutes of Bizet’s work. It’s a riotous whirlwind of mad ideas and somehow it works.
Special mention has to be made of Lez Brotherston’s set and props. Using real cars (with windscreens intact) chopped in half which are reinforced enough for dancers to pile onto and into, whilst keeping them light enough to move around the stage smoothly cannot have been easy. Such a simple sliding set made alive by Chris Davey’s lighting design. You really get the sense of a shared vision.
This show is not for everyone, check out those triggers, as you won’t be getting classic Carmen, or even one of Bourne’s ethereal delights. But if you are up for some Tarrantinoesque sex, violence and 50’s movie homage then this is for you.
Tickets for Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man (Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 September 2026) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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