It's the awards season again so it's time for the annual Plastic Bag Awards for 2022! Everywhere has been trying to get back to 'normal' after the past two years of the pandemic with varying levels of success.
Best Drama
There are only three nominees in this category:
'The Crucible' - National Theatre
'Jerusalem' - Apollo Theatre
'A Christmas Carol' - Bridge Theatre
'The Crucible' is a modern parable that I remembered from school but had never seen performed whereas 'Jerusalem' is a magic tale of modern life with throwbacks to the Faerie Queen and olde England and giants. But the winner is the new version of 'A Chris Carol' which was wonderful to see with its cast of three narrating the tale and acting all the roles.
Best Musical
It's always fun to see a show with singing and dancing to raise the spirits and this years' crop were all good. The nominees are:
'South Pacific' - Sadler's Wells
'My Fair Lady' - Coliseum
'Six' - The Vaudeville Theatre
'Hex' - National Theatre
'South Pacific' is an old favourite in which love triumphs despite adversity and this was a new production from Chichester that was running for a summer season at Sadler's Wells. 'My Fair Lady' is older than me but I'd never seen it on stage so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. 'Hex' is the new kid on the block and a great show for Christmas. The winner, however, is 'SIX', the tale of the six wives of Henry VIII and, consequently, one of the reasons we remember Henry. There's singing, dancing, sparkling, sass, banging tunes and clever lyrics. It's a very worthy winner.
Best Dance
I'm not sure why but I didn't see much dance this year. The nominees are:
'An Ode To Time' - Compania Maria Pages, Sadler's Wells
'The Jump' - Compania Jesus Cormona, Sadler's Wells
Aston Triple Bill - Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House
It's always good to see performances of ballets by Frederick Ashton, especially when it's danced by the Royal Ballet. Two of the three dances I'd seen before and loved and the third was a new one for me, all thoroughly enjoyable. I was delighted to go to the Flamenco Festival at Sadler's Wells over the summer and learn what 'modern' flamenco was. Compania Jesus Cormona explored modern masculinity with his all-male company of dancers, guitarist and singer but it was the wild exuberance of Compania Maria Pages that was the most exciting and captured me. The company gave an extravagant performance of passion and skill and they are worthy winners of the Baggy award.
Best Performance
There are always some performances that stick in the mind for some reason and this years' nominees are:
Julian Ovenden - 'South Pacific'
Mark Rylance - 'Jerusalem'
Maria Pages - 'An Ode To Time'
Simon Russell Beale - 'A Christmas Carol'
Julian was perfect for the role of Emile in 'South Pacific', the middle aged French plantation owner who falls in love with nurse Nellie and the thing that I really noticed was how he kept his French accent flawlessly while he sang. I was impressed. Mark Rylance can't fail to impress with the role of Johnny Byron, a performance he created and has played both sides of the Atlantic. Simon Russell made a perfect Scrooge as he develops his understanding of humanity and the spirit of Christmas but the Baggy goes to Maria Pages for her astonishing performance as a dancer and choreographer. Blending the passion of flamenco and movement, never knowing what might happen next, but knowing it will be spectacular as she danced through the different movements of the performance. Fabulous.
Best Exhibition
I visited many exhibitions this year but four stood out for me:
Raphael - National Gallery
Van Gogh Self Portraits - Courtauld Gallery
Carlo Crivelli: Shadows on the Sky - Ikon Gallery
Cezanne - Tate Modern
Raphael was one of the triumvirate of the High Renaissance with Leonardo and Michelangelo but, while they lived long lives Raphael died at the early age of 37. Who knows what he might have achieved if he'd lived? Van Gogh painted many self-portraits and the Courtauld brought about half of them together for this exhibition showing the many faces of Vincent. Carlo Crivelli should be much better known than he is and, I think, this was the first solo exhibition of his work in this country. His paintings are very stylised and beautiful. Cezanne said he would astonish Paris with an apple and instead he astonished the world. This was a big retrospective of his work with examples of the different subjects he focused on throughout his life.
The Baggy goes to the Raphael exhibition which was much larger than I expected. I saw it several times and each time I walked into the first room I could feel my spirit soar with the joy and privilege of seeing so many of his great works.
Best Film
I only saw one new film at the cinema in 2022. That, in itself, doesn't mean it automatically wins an award but this one does. The nomination and award goes to:
'Moonage Daydream' - The Garden Cinema and various.
Films will probably be made about David Bowie for many years to come, he was so culturally important. I dreaded the possibility of a series of talking heads going on about their memories but instead we got Bowie himself narrating his story with previously unseen video footage and stage performances. It was a beautifully made film with new remixes of some songs, colour swirling and then switching to black and white and back again. Well done to everyone involved in making this film.
There you are, the Plastic Bag Awards 2022. A funny year in some respects with venues opening again and struggling to get audiences back, removing the need for masks although some places kept masks for their front of house staff, and more people being vaccinated. It's been particularly difficult for the smaller venues and galleries. Here's to next year - Happy New Year!
