The Car Man ****

You can always rely on Matthew Bourne to deliver dance spectacle on another level. He knows how to entertain and startle his audiences at the same time. First seen back in 2000, The Car Man is now a much larger piece, reimagined for the Royal Albert Hall as part of the venue’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

With a bigger cast than the original production, and a live orchestra, this version fills the large space admirably. Part of the stage juts out to bisect the stalls allowing sections of the audience to feel part of the action…and what a lot of action there is.

While The Car Man uses some music from Bizet’s Carmen, the plot owes more to films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity. The testosterone-fuelled opening dance to the famous Gypsy Song brought to mind – in a good way – the energetic dances of the Jets and the Sharks in West Side Story.

Lez Brotherston’s set design creates a greasy garage diner in a small town called Harmony (oh, the irony) in 1960s mid-America, and clever lighting by Chris Davey contributes to the steamy, sizzling atmosphere. The dancing is earthy, sensual and at times, very explicit. Add in an on-stage murder with plenty of blood and brief nudity, and suffice to say, this is not one for children.

The choreography does lack variety at times – sweaty, heaving bodies in deep demi-plies can only take the narrative so far – but the dancers give it their all, and then some. There are also some welcome witty touches which are a hallmark of all Matthew Bourne’s productions.

At the performance I saw (and there are two alternate casts for the main roles) Will Bozier made a compelling Luca, the stranger who affects everyone’s lives, and Zizi Strallen oozed sexuality as Lana, the femme fatale at the centre of the action. Praise too, must go to Alan Vincent as Lana’s abusive husband; he danced Luca in the original production back in 2000 and still knows how to command the stage.

The Car Man is at the Royal Albert Hall until 19 June.