Theatre Review – The Midnight Bell Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

The Midnight Bell is the first novel in the trilogy that makes up the collection ‘Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky,’ by the popular English Novelist Patrick Hamilton. This adaptation is produced by Matthew Bourne and features actors and dancers from the New Adventures company. Hamilton’s 20000 Streets trilogy focuses on the overlapping stories of the patrons of the Midnight Bell pub in Soho. Hamilton himself worked in pubs before becoming a writer. He eventually died of liver failure. 

 The staging and costume design by Lez Brotherston are substantial to the experience. The cleverly arranged set is constantly on the move, flipping from smoky bar to seedy bedroom and through the foggy streets of Soho. The costumes reflect the era and the personalities of the characters. The lighting is perfectly timed to focus the eye-line to follow the storyline and distract from the fluid set changes.

 

Paul Groothuis provides the sound and music that transports the audience back to the 1930s.  The combination of sound, set and Paule Constable’s lighting provides the authenticity necessary for the dialogue-free dance extravaganza to work. The only narrative provided is in the form of mimed song dialogue to a cracking gramophone-style music. The dancing is collectively graceful and spectacular from the New Adventures cohort.

 

It is reported that the relationship between Bob the waiter and Jenny the prostitute is based on Hamilton’s own infatuation with a prostitute during his time as a barman. The variousstories of the pubs often intoxicated occupants skirt around homosexuality, infidelity, desperation, unrequited feelings and a whole gamut of emotions which surface in the agonising presence of love. 

 

The protagonists' paths both intertwine and avoid each other until Leslie Hutchinson’s recording of ‘What Is This Thing Called Love,’ pulls the ill-fated characters together for the finale.

 

Although the first half of the show is slow-paced and difficult to fully connect the dots, the second half successfully ties the production together. If the show were a giant jigsaw puzzle, the first half would be collecting the edge and corner pieces, whilst the second half would be the fulfilling task of slotting in the missing pieces.

 

The perfectly paced Midnight Bell is visually spectacular, but be warned. As several different stories are focused upon both individually and omnisciently, if your eyes stray from the stage, you may find yourself frustratedly looking for missing jigsaw pieces at the end.

 

Production run (Lyceum Sheffield):​Tuesday 23 September – 27 September 2025

 

https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/matthew-bournes-the-midnight-bell-2025/dates

 

Production run (Alhambra, Bradford):​Tuesday 30September – Saturday 04 October 2025

 

https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/matthew-bournes-the-midnight-bell

 

 

Reviewer: Matthew Burgin

On :  ​23 September 2025