Intoxicated tales from darkest Soho.
UK tour opens at Cheltenham Everyman on 9 September 2021.
New Adventures is delighted to announce the World Premiere of Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell opening at
Cheltenham Everyman on 9 September 2021, as part of a UK tour to 13 venues including a season at Sadler’s Wells
from 4 to 9 October 2021.
Exploring the under-belly of 1930s London life where ordinary people emerge from cheap boarding houses nightly to
pour out their passions, hopes and dreams in the pubs and bars of fog-bound Soho and Fitzrovia. Step inside The
Midnight Bell, a tavern where one particular lonely-hearts club gather to play out their lovelorn affairs of the heart;
bitter comedies of longing, frustration, betrayal and redemption.
Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell is inspired by the great English novelist Patrick Hamilton (Twenty Thousand
Streets Under The Sky, Hangover Square) who created some of the most authentic fiction of his era; stories borne
out of years of social interactions with the working man and woman at his favourite location – the London Pub.
Matthew Bourne said today “Patrick Hamilton’s literary world could be seen as the flip-side of his
close contemporary, Noel Coward, whose witty and glamorous world of cocktails and high society made him so
fashionable and successful. Hamilton, on the other hand, wrote about the lives of everyday people, full of pathos,
comedy and thwarted romance. Indeed, his own personal setbacks and increasingly serious drinking problem
became the source from which he created his finest and most individual work. More than any other author of the
time, Hamilton’s characters speak with the authentic voice of the era and it’s the raw passion and secret lives that lie
beneath the conventional exterior that appeals to me so much.”
Master storyteller Bourne, once again joins forces with the Olivier and Tony award-winning team of Terry Davies
(music), Lez Brotherston (set and costume design), Paule Constable (lighting design) and Paul Groothuis (sound
design) for this brand new production.
The cast will feature twelve of New Adventures’ finest performers in roles that will challenge and reveal the darker
reaches of the human heart. The cast for The Midnight Bell are Paris Fitzpatrick, Glenn Graham, Bryony Harrison,
Daisy May Kemp, Kate Lyons, Michela Meazza, Andrew Monaghan, Liam Mower, Danny Reubens, Christopher
Thomas, Richard Winsor and Bryony Wood.
This is a Dance Theatre event not to be missed!
New Adventures is a National Portfolio Organisation supported using public funds by Arts Council England.
The show will be at The Orchard Theatre from Monday 27 – Wednesday 29 September 2021. Pre-show dining is also
available before the show. The Orchard Theatre’s Restaurant provides a delicious range of, unique and memorable
dishes, using the freshest local produce and prepared daily by the Head Chef. Reserve your table when booking your
show tickets.
To book tickets or for more information visit orchardtheatre.co.uk
Ticket Office: 01322 220000