The Plastic Bag Awards 2019

It's time for annual awards fest in the Plastic Bag so let's jump right into the Baggies 2019!

Best Shakespeare

There's normally a good selection of productions of Shakespeare plays to choose from but this year I've only seen one play, 'Romeo and Juliet', and then again, it's not even the Shakespeare play, but two dance versions and a film version. The nominees are:

* 'Romeo and Juliet' @ the Royal Opera House
* Matthew Bourne's 'Romeo & Juliet' @ Sadler's Wells
* 'West Side Story' @ British Film Institute

The award must go to Kenneth MacMillan's wonderful choreography and the dancing of the Royal Ballet in 'Romeo and Juliet'. The joyousness of it, the spectacular sword fencing, the leaping and flying of the cast and the Happy Strumpets all make this production a winner.

Best Drama

I saw quite a few plays over the year, many of which were good but lacked that certain something that would put them in the Baggies as nominees. The successful nominees are quite varied in subject matter, from a fantasy full of special effects to a Jamaican wake to life in a northern town and a glitzy West End farce to a one-woman play about a young secretary working for the nazis during the last war. The nominees are:

* 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' @ The Palace Theatre
* 'Rutherford and Son' @ the National Theatre
* 'Nine Night' at the Trafalgar Studios
* 'Present Laughter' @ the Old Vic
* 'A German Life' @ the Bridge Theatre

The Baggie goes to the one-woman powerhouse of Dame Maggie Smith and 'A German Life', a strange tale in which the character has convinced herself that she knew nothing about the Holocaust despite working as a secretary in the nazi high command in Berlin. A powerful performance for a powerful play.

Best Musical

This has been a good year for musicals, with a  wide variety produced over the year. The long list went beyond the five nominations allowed so these are the really stand-out productions. The nominees are:

* 'Blues In The Night' @ Kiln Theatre
* 'Fiddler On The Roof' @ Playhouse Theatre
* 'The Bridges Of Madison County' @ the Menier Chocolate Factory
* 'Come From Away' @ Phoenix Theatre
* 'Girl From The North Country' @ the Gielgud Theatre

None of the nominations are particularly cheerful. A down-at-heel hotel in 'Blues', the oppression and forced migration of 'Fiddler', the chosen migration of 'Bridges', the terrible background to 'Away' and the 'depression of 'Girl' - none are a bundle of laughs. The Baggie goes to 'The Bridges of Madison County' for it's tale of love and loss with the marvellous Janna Russell leading the cast.

Best Entertainment

I classify 'entertainment' as something that happens on a stage (big or small) but isn't necessarily a play, musical or dance. This year there are three nominees:

* Tracey Thorne interview and Q&A to launch her latest book @ Waterstones
* 'A Room of One's Own', a Virginia Woolf reading @ Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
* Amanda Palmer 'There Will Be No Intermission' @ Union Chapel

It's always a delight to hear Tracey Thorn talk since she's articulate and intelligent and only a couple of years younger than me so we share lots of similar memories. 'A Room of One's Own' was a delight to hear of rate wide-ranging ideas discussed and a reminder of the book I last read decades ago. But the Baggie must go to Amanda Palmer for her nearly four show on her 'There Will Be No Intermission' tour. Amanda would normally go into the 'Gigs' category but this wasn't a gig, it was something else, something powerful in which she shared intimate moments of her life unselfishly to tell us we're not alone. A very brave show on so many levels. Well done Amanda.

Best Gig

Not many gigs this year but I had the joyous madness of The B-52s, the poptastic bouncing of Alphabeat and the soaring voice of the lovely Kelli O'Hara (although hers was definitely a concert rather than a gig).

* B-52s @ Hammersmith Apollo
* Alphabeat @ Hackney
* Kelli O'Hara @ Cadogan Hall

The Baggie can only go to those B-52s, to Fred, Cindy and Kate and their great band for giving me such a fun night out and a chance to relive all those great hits from yesterday that still stand up.

Best Dance

It's been a funny year for dance, with more revivals by the Royal Ballet, a welcome revival by Akram Khan and a new Matthew Bourne. The nominees are:

* Akram Khan's Giselle @ Sadler's Wells
* Matthew Bourne's Romeo & Juliet @ Sadler's Wells
* Emociones @ Teatro Alfil, Madrid
* The Suit/Ingoma by Ballet Black @The Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House

The winner is obvious to me and I'm pleased that the judging panel agreed - the flamenco at Teatre Alfil in Madrid! It was a stunning sight, feet pounding the floor a thousand times a second, dramatic shapes, passion and lots of sweat. I want to see more flamenco - no, I need to see more flamenco - and I look forward to the summer season at Sadler's Wells.

Best Performance

Best performance is an award given to someone for doing something that little bit special in acting, singing, reciting, whatever. Interestingly the nominees this year are all women: Jenna Russell as the Italian immigrant to America; Maggie Smith as the German women fooling herself over working for the nazis; Cordelia Braithwaite as a feisty Juliet jumping on Tybalt's back to protect Romeo; and Amanda Palmer telling the truth of her life.

* Jenna Russell in 'The Bridges of Madison County'
* Maggie Smith in 'A German Life'
* Cordelia Braithwaite in 'Romeo and Juliet'
* Amanda Palmer @ Union Chapel

The award goes to Amanda Palmer for her astonishing show 'There Will Be No Intermission' in which she's on stage for just shy of four hours baring her soul and telling us about the most intimate things, about abortions and miscarriages, about first loves and the death of a close friend. There are laughs in the show as well as sadnesses, it's well paced and well constructed, sprinkled with songs but mainly Amanda talking to us. Well done!

Best Exhibition

This has been a bumper year for exhibitions and I could easily add more to the nominations - Bonnard at Tate Modern, Sorolla at the National Gallery, William Blake at Tate Britain - but the nominees were a cut above the rest for different reasons. We have early Renaissance masters, imaginative print-makers, magically weird installations and colourful cartoons with a message.

* 'Florence' @ Alte Pinakothek, Munich
* 'Cutting Edge: Modernist British Printmaking' @ Dulwich Picture Gallery
* Olafur Eliasson @ Tate Modern
* 'Fra Angelico and the Rise of the Florentine Renaissance' @ the Prado, Madrid
* Keith Haring @ Tate Liverpool

In most years, the Alte Pinakothek exhibition of 15th Century Florentine works would win hands down for the sheer range of works and artists, the recreated altarpieces using available predella panels, the choice of little-seen paintings, large and small. An outstanding and carefully curated exhibition. But it's been pipped at the post by the astonishing Fra Angelico exhibition over the summer at the Prado. There aren't enough superlatives to praise that exhibition which presented little known works from around the world as well as the gloriously restored 'Annunciation' as the centrepiece of the exhibition. Truly astonishing. Well done Prado!

Best Film

I saw more films than usual this year, from the grand expanse and effects of 'Avengers Endgame' to the small but razor sharp documentary about Suzi Quatro, from the old of 'Goodbye Mr Chips' (that I;'m including since I've never seen it before) to the latest Almodovar film.

* 'Avengers Endgame'
* 'Suzi Q' documentary
* 'Pain & Glory'
* 'Goodbye Mr Chips'

The Baggie goes to Almodovar and Banderas for 'Pain & Glory', a marvellous film about an ageing film director with health problems getting his mojo back. Maybe it was the raging thing that touched me but I loved it. I loved the colours, the story telling, the characters, the sunshine and light of Madrid, it all worked for me. Well done!

And there you have it, the peak of culture and art in my world in 2019. I wonder what will happen in 2020? We'll see...

'Pain & Glory' - Pedro Almodovar

I don't see many films these days since there's rarely anything that grabs my attention, but a new Almodovar film is the exception. His films are funny, sad, worrying, colourful and always worth watching. His latest film stars an old collaborator in Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz as well as a cast of old memories, old boyfriends, childhood recollections and the sunlight of Spain. And a watercolour painting of a boy sitting reading.

It's the tale of the film writer and director Salvador who is crippled with pain and self-doubt who has withdrawn from the film world and rarely does anything these days. When his first big hit is re-mastered and is to be shown again he meets the former star of the star who introduces him to heroin to help with his pain. That leads to Salvador giving him permission to use the script of a story he's written about a former boyfriend in the '80s who was a heroin addict for a dramatic performance. By coincidence, the former boyfriend is visiting Madrid from South America and sees the show and gets back in touch with Salvador after 30-odd years of silence. As a result Salvador sees his doctors again to get himself sorted out and during this he is invited to a gallery opening that uses the painting of a boy reading a book on the invitation. That stirs deep memories.

It's a wonderfully constructed film, flashing back and forth through Salvador's memories. Penelope Cruz plays his impossibly beautiful mother in the flashbacks. One of my favourite scenes was when she chased after the young Salvador as a boy and the way she was running was almost exactly like they teach you not to run in Hollywood, ungainly and almost lumpen, a worried mother chasing after her upset child with no other cares. I was also very impressed by Antonio Banderas and how he played pain, not with exaggerated movements but with very careful movements when he sat or got into or out of a car, such delicate and precise movements that brought the pain to life.

The film is also a visual beauty, with rich colours and light and the colour red seemed to feature heavily, particularly in Salvador's fantastic apartment. I could happily live there. It's a great ensemble piece and an astonishing feat of storytelling. The last 30 seconds of the film, O yes, those seconds make everything clear... I won't tell you what they make clear, you'l need to see the film for yourself.

'Wild Tales' by Almodovar

Last week I was taken (not quite at gunpoint) to see a new Argentinian film called 'Wild Tales'. How many Argentinian films have you seen? Yes, exactly.

This film was co-produced by a certain Señor Pedro Almodovar so that was the reason for seeing it. It's like a book of short stories - five or six stories told in order throughout the film with nothing really binding them together. They all have a level of shock value but that's about it, no consistent themes or compelling stories leading from one to another. In a sense they're all about "the individual" except sometimes the individual is sometimes two individuals.

The first story sees a young woman hurrying to check in at the airport and boarding the plane, only to sit beside the music teacher of one of her old boyfriends. The lady in front turns out to be one of his primary school teachers and then, a few rows away, is his former 'best friend' from school. What's going on? O yes, he turns out to be the captain of the plane which seems to flying directly for his parents house and it gets closer and closer as his parents start to cower… and then the opening credits roll!

Another tale is about the urban myth of a city slicker driving in the wild and empty desert when a country bumpkin maniac won't let him overtake on an empty road. He finally manages to overtake and calls him an 'asshole' when he does so. Then one of his tyres gets a puncture… O yes, then the madness ensues and I do mean madness! It's not pleasant and there were some people laughing with the nervousness of it all - it wasn't terribly scary but when the bumpkin lowers his trousers to defacate on the windshield then it's definitely not normal.

Another weird one was the little man fighting corporate power when his car keeps getting towed away for parking violations and he has to keep paying to get it back. Then one time is too much and he resorts to his work skills to get even and make a point. His job? O yes, he's an explosives expert for a demolitions company and he blows up buildings for a job. It was pretty obvious that he'd blow something up at some point but I couldn't guess how the story ended at all - very clever!

The final story (and I haven't mentioned them all since you need some surprises) is set at a wedding reception. What a happy occasion, what could possibly go wrong? You had to ask…

I was pleasantly surprised by the film - it was all terribly amusing where it was meant to be amusing and a bit creepy where it's meant to be creepy. It worked for me and was great fun. I've no idea how long it'll be available on the big but if it comes anywhere near you then I'd happily recommend it - provided you don't mind reading your films...

'I'm So Excited' by Almodovar

I was treated to a viewing of the new film from Pedro Almodovar on Friday, 'I'm So Excited', at the Ritzy at Brixton. We were taken to an 80s-style explosion of colour and campness that will keep a smile on your face throughout. It's funny, it's rude and it's a great, daft story with Cecilia Roth as a high class call girl with videos of her with the most important people in the Spanish-speaking world. It's all the fault (obv) of Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz. Trust me, go and see it.