Review: Matthew Bourne's The Car Man, Glasgow King's Theatre | UK Tour
Matthew Bourne's New Adventures company bring their award-winning dance thriller The Car Man to Glasgow this week. It plays at the King's Theatre until Saturday 31st October. Read my review of this scorching hot piece of dance theatre below.
Matthew Bourne's The Car Man ★★★★★
Review: 27 October 2026 | The King's Theatre, Glasgow
Matthew Bourne is the master of dance theatre. His revolutionary productions offer the perfect blend of exciting choreography, iconic music and remarkable storytelling through dance. His twenty-six-year-old dance thriller The Car Man has been revived for a UK tour this year (its first tour since 2015), and with it, a new generation of New Adventures dancers brings the legendary story and characters to Glasgow this week.
Based loosely on Bizet's opera Carmen, The Car Man takes the iconic score from Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite with additional music and arrangements from Terry Davies, and sets it ablaze with a tale of lust, murder and revenge. Inspired by the original opera, Bourne tells his tale with an intense, gritty realism, through scorching hot, frenzied dance.
Bizet's 19th-century cigarette factory has gone; instead, Bourne's story takes place in 1950s small-town America, where handsome stranger Luca (a magnetic Harrison Dowzell) turns up at Dino's dusty car repair garage and diner. Luca instantly causes a stir among the locals, and ultimately, he enters into a passionate affair with Dino's wife, Lana (the divine Ashley Shaw), with deadly consequences.
The Car Man is a masterclass in how to convey a fast-paced, dramatic plot solely through energetic dance and facial expressions. Unlike classical ballets, Bourne's production is full of explosive, rhythmic choreography and his trademark cheeky, funny notes. The company of gorgeous dancers gyrate their way through the bold, sexy choreography, and through it, the narrative is impressively crystal clear.
Lez Brotherston's epic, heavy, cinematic set and Chris Davey's atmospheric lighting elevate the storytelling. With multiple layers, locations and fluid transitions, the sweltering mid-west town is brought to life. With the dynamic staging often bathed in deep red colours, the heat of the town and the desire of its people are palpable.
The Car Man may be the most graphic of Bourne's productions, never shying away from shocking violence, raw desire or nudity. It's deliberately provocative at times and explicitly for an adult audience, but it all sits perfectly within the film-noir nature of the thrilling plot.
The original show may now be twenty-six years old, but this revival production still feels fresh. With stunning creativity, dramatic storytelling and impeccably precise dance, The Car Man is a sublime piece of dance theatre. ★★★★★
Matthew Bourne's The Car Man is at the King's Theatre, Glasgow, until Saturday 31st October.
MORE: Looking for spooky theatre and things to do in Glasgow this Halloween? Check out my guide to what's on in Glasgow theatre and beyond here: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/whats-on-glasgow-halloween
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