Ballet has always had a special place in my heart, since the age of 6. And Matthew Bourne is a very clever choreographer, bringing out his own style while respecting the story of the ballet itself and being a great storyteller. The Car Man will delight those who like his style. Sadly there is one big hindrance which is the camera work, which is rather slapdash in the quick cuts, too many close-ups that are not expansive enough, the want for better shots of the dancers and what they're dancing and also the want for the movement being not as excessively constant as it was. Everything else however is great. The production values match the passion and colour of the story and the Carmen music, not lavish but very appealing, kind of like West Side Story in noir-style. Bourne's choreography really shines, it is clever witty stuff while still looking very graceful and sexy at the same time. And the passion and energy that pulsates through Bizet's music is brought out in this choreography, the drama on stage and in the storytelling. The Car Man for music uses one of the all-time great French operatic masterpieces in Carmen, the music of course is fantastic and the orchestra play it with such verve, nuance and fire. The conducting is musical and has authority, the drama is allowed to resonate but the energy of the production is never lost. The dancing in impeccable and the performances strong. Will Kemp comes off best, he is a powerful dancer though capable of many elegant lines and acts and performs with a lot of expression, never coming off as clinical. To conclude, a very good production, often great, but one wishes that the camera work was better than it was. 8/10 Bethany Cox
