Review: The Car Man at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Matthew Bourne’s Return To Newcastle’s Theatre Royal

A return to our Theatre Blog... Victoria Ling, from 137 Imaging (www.facebook.com/137imaging)  is guest reviewer:

The Car Man

Newcastle Theatre Royal

until Saturday 9 May 2015.

Most of us know of the Opera Carmen, a woman who seduces many men in her path.  It is a tale of love and lust and Matthew Bourne’s production is no different except we are led through the story with pure dance…and it was my first time seeing a full on dance performance.  On hearing the rave reviews of The Car Man I had to see what the fuss was about.

It is best to arrive for the show and be in your seat early. Although lights were due to come down at 2pm for this matinee I took my seat 20mins prior and there was already movement on the stage. Enough to get you intrigued to what was to come.

So, this is The Car Man.  A clever play on words. We are taken to a setting of a garage and a café. Men sweating and ripped and the women ogling them.  From the start we are literally in the heat of the action. Sex is oozing from every dancer. You can feel the passion from your seat. The ensemble is seducing you! And not only through the dancing. Two words: shower scene.

In Bourne’s production we see drifter Luca (Chris Trenfeld) get a job at Dino’s garage (Dino is played by Jonny Ollivier) who is then seduced by his wife Lana (Zizi Strallen).  The other story is of Angelo (Dominic North) who forms a relationship with Lana’s sister Rita (Katy Lowenhoff).

The main focus is of Luca and Lana but what I found most gripping was the story of Angelo.  He is the outcast and is harassed by the other mechanics. He is the hired helper and is not ‘one of the boys’. But he does get the attention of Rita and we see a shy-dance between the two as things hot up between Luca and Lana. There’s something about ‘hot weather’.  It makes you do crazy things. Crazy enough for Luca to also get Angelo under his…bonnet!

In most cases adultery does catch up and consequences are to be had.  There is no difference here. The choreography is so powerful especially with what unfolds in Act II for Angelo.  I felt the emotion, especially the pain, in his dance. And with history catching up on Luca you were also feeling his nightmares.

I have always wanted to watch a ballet.  It was a bit different to what I pictured for my first one. There was so much blood and so much seduction.  Bourne’s production is ripped raw with emotion and the added music from Terry Davies, including a nod to the famous piece, gives Carman a whole different lease of life. Thank you Bourne and the cast of The Car Man for the hot performance that will take me a while to cool down from.

Read the original Jowheretogo preview here
 

Tickets:

The Car Man is at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 28 April until Saturday 9 May 2015.

Tickets are available from £15.00 (Prices subject to change, a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

This review was written by Victoria Ling  for Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Victoria on twitter @LilVik or follow her photography on Facebook (www.facebook.com/137imaging)

Preview: The Car Man at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man Makes Explosive Return To Newcastle’s Theatre Royal  

The Car Man

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Tuesday 28 April - Saturday 9 May

The UK’s most popular dance theatre company, New Adventures, is returning to Newcastle Theatre Royal this Spring with one of its biggest hit shows – the gripping and explosive The Car Man.  Prepare to be electrified 28 April – 9 May.

Directed and choreographed by probably the ‘hottest’ choreographer in the world right now, Matthew Bourne, the show is loosely based on Bizet’s popular opera and has one of the most exciting and instantly recognisable scores in New Adventures’ repertoire, featuring Schedrin’s powerful Carmen Suite and new arrangements of Bizet's legendary score.

The Car Man was first seen in 2000, winning the Evening Standard Award for ‘Musical Event of the Year’ and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for ‘Best Choreography.’ The show follows the phenomenal world-wide success of Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker!, Cinderellaand Edward Scissorhands; from the UK’s most popular dance theatre company.  This revival marks the first time the production has been staged in eight years.

The familiar 19^thCentury Spanish cigarette factory becomes a greasy garage-diner in 1960’s America where the dreams and passions of a small-town are shattered by the arrival of a handsome stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.

Inspired by classic European and American Film Noir cinema and the Pulp Fiction novels of James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler; Lez Brotherston’s epic design, Chris Davey’s evocative lighting and Matthew Bourne’s vivid storytelling, create a dangerous and uncompromising vision of small-town America.

The leading characters created by Matthew Bourne for The Car Man are among his most challenging both physically and emotionally. For this revival a new generation of New Adventures’ stars will be making their debuts in the iconic roles.

The title role of ‘Luca, The Car Man’, will be played by Jonathan Ollivier and Chris Trenfield; both recently acclaimed as ‘The Swan’ in Bourne’s Swan Lake. The role of ‘Lana’ will be danced by Ashley Shaw (currently enjoying great success as ‘Kim’ in Edward Scissorhands) and Zizi Strallen, who joins us direct from the West End production of Cats. Zizi was last seen with New Adventures in Cinderellain 2011. ‘Rita’, Lana’s older sister, will be performed by Katy Lowenhoff (also currently starring as ‘Kim’ in Edward Scissorhands) and Kate Lyons (Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, Early Adventures). The demanding role of ‘Angelo’ will be shared by rising company star, Liam Mower, and one of New Adventures most popular leading men, Dominic North. Dominic and Liam have both been receiving rave reviews for their moving performances as the title character in New Adventures’ Edward Scissorhands on its current UK Tour.

The Car Man fans will be delighted to hear that the original ’Car Man’, Alan Vincent will be returning to the company to play Lana’s violent husband, ‘Dino’.

Completing a stellar cast as the inhabitants of the fateful small town of Harmony USA are Cordelia Braithwaite, Tom Clark, Danny Collins, Pia Driver, Freya Field, Glenn Graham, Tim Hodges, Katrina Lyndon, Andrew Monaghan, Leon Moran, Danny Reubens, Katie Webb, Layton Williams and Dan Wright.

The Car Man is directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, with music by Terry Davies & Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen); designs by Lez Brotherston; lighting by Chris Davey and sound by Paul Groothius.  The project is supported by Arts Council England through the Grants for the Arts funding programme.

Tickets:

The Car Man is at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 28 April until Saturday 9 May 2015.

Tickets are available from £15.00 (Prices subject to change, a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk