The Car Man

Published Monday 16 July 2007 at 09:50 by Katie Colombus

For those whose initial thoughts were “oh no not another one”, get down to Sadler’s Wells asap, and leave your doubts at the door.

Whilst you might think you are sick to the back teeth of various balletic offerings, Mats Ek’s psycho-analytical efforts, or the full length opera, Matthew Bourne’s Car Man has enough of the recognisable elements of Georges Bizet’s original, with a whole lot of contemporary content that makes it exciting all over again. Terry Davies’ percussive score updates the music. He uses chiming bells for the opening refrain we know so well, which strikes a poignant chord from the onset. In the bleak Italian-American town of Harmony - population 375 - ordinary folk go about their daily, small town lives. The men work in the car plant, then hang out with their girls at Dino’s Diner. They go through the daily motions and mundane tasks in the sweltering heat, mopping brows and lounging around, fighting and flirting for kicks. A steamy shower scene shouldn’t fail to grab attention from the get-go, especially with an unexpected full frontal. Nor the dancers going hell for leather in the opening scenes. Masculine moves of stomping and muscle pumping combine with girly unison of sweeping skirts and swooping arms. But what happens when a burly stranger arrives in town? A bit of slow motion effect and a whole lot of trouble. The girls want to be with him and the men want to be him. But in another unexpected twist, one of the boys wants to be with him too. What ever this roaming car man’s secret, he ignites a passion lying dormant in the people of Harmony and in the blink of an eye, twilight fornication at the car plant becomes rife, with rampant scenes of rutting, humping, orgies and threesomes. A dramatic murder scene throws up more plot twists and allows for brilliant blood dripping gore effects. Michela Meazza plays a perfect Lana, the most Carmen-esque character of all - passionate, beautiful and sly; whilst Alan Vincent is well suited as the staunch, mysterious stranger, Lucas. The whole cast is more or less faultless, but Drew Mconie is definitely one to watch - he shines in this performance.

Whilst good doesn’t exactly triumph over evil and morals are left slightly askew, the sting in the tale makes for great dance theatre with cinematic visual and aural scope.