Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Dear All
Well from a theatre and film point of view it has been a mad year I have done nearly double the number of productions this year that I did last. In true critic style I thought I would give you my top five plays of the year.
Theatre (in no particular order)
Wicked - I loved this when I saw it in Chicago in 2005 but I was not sure how well it would transfer to a West End stage as it is kinda sweet and saccarine, however Idina Menzel's performance elevates this into something special. She makes Elphaba all angles and awkwardness but some where along the line she steals your heart.
Rock'N'Roll - I adored Tom Stoppard's latest so much I saw it three times. I first saw it in its original venue at the Royal Court which I confess I preferred. However I also saw it twice in the West End as well. Rufus Sewell was amazing he pulls the Czech accent off perfectly and manages to age well without it seeming forced. This is one I am going to remember for a long time - Ahoy!!
Period Of Adjustment - A rare staging of a Tennessee Williams comedy at the Almeida Theatre in Islington. I went to see this with Beryl and it was one of those plays which stayed with you long after you saw it. I think this is thanks to two outstanding performances from Lisa Dillon and Benedict Cumberbatch, they play Isabel and George two very complicated people. Lisa Dillion in particular had an amazing set of mannerism which should have been annoying but in fact completely made the play, when she bowed at the end she even looked different.
A Midsummer Night's Dream - A simply brilliant staging from the RSC, this is not a play I like very much but this production changed my mind. I think it was the fairies that lifted this from your ordinary Shakespeare faire; they were dark and malevolent eager to draw the humans into the wood and confuse them. Puck played by Jonathan Slinger in particular was very cleverly done part schizophrenic part eco-warrior making him mischivious and dangerous.
Nights at the Circus - A near perfect adaptation of the Angela Carter novel this production at the Lyric Hammersmith manages to convey the weird world of Fevvers, Lizzie and Walser in a moving and quite wonderful way. This has the most amazing ending I think I have ever seen at the theatre one that made me want to laugh and cry.
Turkey of 2006: Antony and Cleopatra at the Globe was about as awful as a production can get.
Well from a theatre and film point of view it has been a mad year I have done nearly double the number of productions this year that I did last. In true critic style I thought I would give you my top five plays of the year.
Theatre (in no particular order)
Wicked - I loved this when I saw it in Chicago in 2005 but I was not sure how well it would transfer to a West End stage as it is kinda sweet and saccarine, however Idina Menzel's performance elevates this into something special. She makes Elphaba all angles and awkwardness but some where along the line she steals your heart.
Rock'N'Roll - I adored Tom Stoppard's latest so much I saw it three times. I first saw it in its original venue at the Royal Court which I confess I preferred. However I also saw it twice in the West End as well. Rufus Sewell was amazing he pulls the Czech accent off perfectly and manages to age well without it seeming forced. This is one I am going to remember for a long time - Ahoy!!
Period Of Adjustment - A rare staging of a Tennessee Williams comedy at the Almeida Theatre in Islington. I went to see this with Beryl and it was one of those plays which stayed with you long after you saw it. I think this is thanks to two outstanding performances from Lisa Dillon and Benedict Cumberbatch, they play Isabel and George two very complicated people. Lisa Dillion in particular had an amazing set of mannerism which should have been annoying but in fact completely made the play, when she bowed at the end she even looked different.
A Midsummer Night's Dream - A simply brilliant staging from the RSC, this is not a play I like very much but this production changed my mind. I think it was the fairies that lifted this from your ordinary Shakespeare faire; they were dark and malevolent eager to draw the humans into the wood and confuse them. Puck played by Jonathan Slinger in particular was very cleverly done part schizophrenic part eco-warrior making him mischivious and dangerous.
Nights at the Circus - A near perfect adaptation of the Angela Carter novel this production at the Lyric Hammersmith manages to convey the weird world of Fevvers, Lizzie and Walser in a moving and quite wonderful way. This has the most amazing ending I think I have ever seen at the theatre one that made me want to laugh and cry.
Turkey of 2006: Antony and Cleopatra at the Globe was about as awful as a production can get.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas
Dear All
I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas.
After a mad December despite all my best intentions I am looking forward to a few days in front of the television doing nothing but eating and sleeping.
Hope everyone has a great time and remember don't kill any members of your family it is illegal!
I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas.
After a mad December despite all my best intentions I am looking forward to a few days in front of the television doing nothing but eating and sleeping.
Hope everyone has a great time and remember don't kill any members of your family it is illegal!
