NOTE:
I haven’t listed all the shows I’ve seen this year simply because it’s a long
list. I’ve nominated a selection of the top shows for Trend Fem.
Best Musical Awards 2014: Dogfight - Review here
Best Shakespeare Award 2014: King Lear, National Theatre-Review here
Best Fringe Theatre Award 2014: Chicken Shop - Review here
Best West End Award 2014: Handbagged - Review here
Best Comedy Award 2014: The Play That Goes Wrong - Review here
Best Experimental Theatre 2014: How A Man crumbled - Review here
Best Script 2014: A Streetcar Named Desire - Review here
Best Show 2014: Orpheus - Review here
Best Theatre 2014: Rose Playhouse
Best Beautiful Theatre 2014: 'Tis Pity She's A Whore - Review here
Nominations: Made in Dagenham, Miss Saigon, Memphis,
Dogfight, Avenue Q, Sweeney Todd, Lion King
It
was ridiculed for its wartime misogyny but I was too engrossed by its talented
cast members, the dance choreography and, foremost, the best sing-along-songs
to give a damn - I should have got the sound track! The Southwark Playhouse isn’t the largest of theatres, but it was suitably sized for this cosy experience full of emotions,
laughs, physical excitement and memorable melodies.
Nominations:
Richard III (Rose Theatre), Henry IV (RSC), Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC), King
Lear (National Theatre), The Merchant of Venice (Almeida Theatre), Othello
(Leicester Square Theatre), Lear (Union Theatre), Richard III (Greenwich
theatre), Comedy of Errors (Globe), Julius Caesar (Globe) Othello (Riverside
Studios)
It was
incredibly tough to make a decision especially having watched so many of Shakespeare’s
best works from top theatres - large and small-scale. They were all equally valuable
and deserve the same creative credit. Some productions were made up of a few
skilled cast members; some had master 14 roles, whilst others tried to
catapult Shakespeare’s work to the 21st century with audacious
eclecticism and kitschy staging, which is also prize-worthy. But the Best
Shakespeare Award goes to King Lear at the National Theatre even if
everything wasn't perfect, in my opinion. Lear is one of my top, but not
favourite, Shakespeare plays, in general, but the clever direction and
precision acting made this psycho-thrilling drama one that stuck in my head.
Nominations
Notes from Underground (Print Room), Ring Cycle (Scoop), Chicken Shop
(Playhouse Theatre) Cinderella and the Beanstalk (SleepingTrees), Massacre of
Paris (Rose Playhouse Theatre) Autobahn
(Savio(u)r)
My
editor emailed me saying that he needed someone urgently to review a show called Chicken
Shop and, without much research into this bizarre title, I decided to give it some attention. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon and to my surprise, after
the show, I came out a different person – I was shocked to see that there were
only a handful of people with me in the audience. It was an absorbing and emotionally
crushing play with a plethora of disturbed characters with secrets and peculiar
struggles. The script was exceedingly gritty but never away from the truth. The suspense took audiences through corners and roads they would not have expected.
I just hope that they show this play again, soon.
Nominations:
Memphis, Made in Dagenham, Forbidden Broadway, Let The Right One In, King Lear,
1984, The Play That Goes Wrong, Handbagged, Lion King
When
a fringe show manages to get the OK from major West End theatres to transfer,
it is a blessing in theatreland; Handbagged deserved to be one of those
productions as Jeff Rawles told me in an interview. I still have fond memories of the press night:
being surrounded by celebrities, television personalities and tabloid critics.
The show itself had us giggling, all night, until we wanted to throw up. It’s such
an innovative idea; to showcase a satire of Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth
reflecting on history via afternoon tea with a thrilling cast to add the icing
on the cake (and scones.)
Nominations:
Cinderella and the Beanstalk, The Play That Goes Wrong, Handbagged, Forbidden
Broadway, Avenue Q, Shakespeare in Love,
It
was said to be similar to Noises Off (which I haven’t seen). It has all the slapstick comedy and
euphemisms you wouldn’t expect from a serious play. Guaranteed to make audiences jolly with all the nooks and crannies of TV programmes Monty Python and Blackadder. You don’t have
to like these shows to enjoy this comedy play - anyone can laugh at this shambolic display. As
mentioned in my review, it’s
like watching a very bad school play but on a bigger stage done professionally. At the interval the fun and games don’t stop – the director runs
after cast members who queue up for ice cream!
Nominations:
Marion Deprez, How A Man Crumbled, Briefs: The second coming, The Merchant of Venice Best Show of
the Year
I
don’t like clowns but I wasn’t sure what physical theatre was. I wasn’t
familiar with the Mimetic Festival either, which was tucked behind Waterloo
station. How A Man Crumbled is one of those turn-your-head-to-the-side shows to
understand it. I scratched my head and thought ‘what the f*** is going on?’ but
the incredible things Clout Theatre were doing in this warehouse space were
visually addictive. It was somehow sophisticated - perhaps for a particular
market. It was weird, zany, provoking and disgusting, but my mind was
challenged. Who wants to see boring theatre all the time any way?
Nominations:
Notes on Underground, Massacre of Paris, Three Sisters, Chicken Shop, A Streetcar named Desire, 'Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Accolade
The
Young Vic sold out very early on from the beginning of the production. I was
lucky enough to get a cinema ticket to see the encore before the production
ended and I’m glad that I managed to see it. Gillian Anderson was amazing – of
course! – and the dialogue was eye-piercing, which left a memorable impressions
in my mind. Those Southern bell accents, the complexity of human nature and its
sexual relationships. Although a long play, every second was moving. The
marvellous cast looked emotionally exhausted by the end of it. I salute, with an
imaginary glass of bubbly, to them and the production team for introducing an
interesting update of Tennessee Williams' breath taking work.
Nominations:
Dogfight, Notes from Underground, Henry IV, Accolade, 'Tis Pity She’s a Whore,
The Play That Goes Wrong, A Street Car named Desire, Orpheus, King Lear, Chicken Shop
I
received an email with a beautiful drawing of a production called Orpheus and
having just reviewed the opera (Orfeo and Eurydice) I was curious to see what
the Battersea Arts Centre had install. To my delight, it was more than I could ask
for (in a good way). It was a cross-fertilisation of genres: cabaret, classical
music, opera, acting, jazz and Shakespearean staging plucked out of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and
a dingy Parisian bar set in the 1900s. The smell of cooked camembert still
resonates in my mind as well as the Édith Piaf renditions. Some people loved Orpheus so much that they went again, and again, and
again - and I don’t blame them. When it shows again I’m going to get a
hot ticket and take all my friends with me.
Nominations:
Union, Adelphi, Noah Coward, National, Rose Playhouse Theatre, Southwark Play House, Old Vic, Kings Head Theatre, Almeida, PlayTheatre
My
opinion is based on the shows I have seen and my own personal experience of their
customer service. Perhaps it is slightly biased but this theatre has been
attentive and have shown some of the best Elizabethan plays that I wouldn’t
have known about unless they had showcased them. An excavation area behind
them, said to be the very earth that Shakespeare walked on, is a hidden gem, (despite
not having enough heaters). It encases cast members running to the end of the
cave, singing glorious arias, running to-and-fro and chucking blood (confetti)
at each other as well as projecting some of the most scintillating music from
classical and modern genres. If you haven’t visited yet, what are you waiting
for? Lots of shows are coming up in 2015. I can’t wait for Othello in
summer – my favourite Shakespeare play!
Nominations: Orpheus, The Merchant of Venice, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Shakespeare in Love
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
The Sam Wanamaker is beautiful, in its own right, but there was something that Michael Longhurst brought to this crystal jewel box with this Elizabethan play. It's visually stunning and aesthetically a pleasure to watch, which teleports you back in time. The candlelight is romantic even if one would think the incestuous storyline would sully the overall ambiance - luckily for us, this wasn't the case.
CONGRATULATIONS PRODUCTION TEAM: WELL DONE!
Thank you for the Entertainment and Best Theatre for 2014
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