The Plastic Bag Awards 2016

The awards season has arrived again so it's time for the Plastic Bag Awards for 2016. The judging panel has been locked away scrutinising the nominations and they're ready for the big announcement. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Baggies 2016!

Best Theatre - Shakespeare

2016 was the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare so there was lots of Shakespeare all over the place, not only productions of his works but also exhibitions and a host of events. I saw quite a few and saw big productions at The Globe but it was productions at the small Sam Wanamaker Playhouse that got the most nominations. The nominations are:

Cymbeline @ Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Richard III @ the Almeida
The Winter's Tale @ Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
The Tempest @ Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
King Lear @ The Old Vic

The judges were split between 'Lear' with the astonishing performance from Glenda Jackson and 'Richard III' with Ralph Fiennes in the title role but it came down on the side of Richard for the instant menace he seemed to be able to turn on at the drop of a hat. He was scary!

Best Theatre - Drama

There doesn't seem to be much 'drama' in the West End at the moment - or, at least, drama the appeals to me to buy tickets, so these nominations span the far east and west on London as well as the Southbank.

The Philanderer @ The Orange Tree Theatre
Kenny Morgan @ The Arcola Theatre
Ivanov @ The National Theatre
The Plough and The Stars @ The National Theatre
Amadeus @ The National Theatre

The Orange Tree Theatre at Richmond is doing a good job of introducing me to old plays that are rarely performed and the Arcola came up with a gem of a play in 'Kenny Morgan'. The National Theatre's short Chekov season was worth a visit over the summer and it's another National Theatre production that wins the Baggy - 'The Plough and The Stars' at the Lyttelton. The Sean O'Casey play was hard work and emotionally exhausting and I regret only seeing it once.

Best Theatre - Musical

There were lots of musicals on in 2016 and it looks like there'll be more in 2017. I could easily have added 'Kinky Boots' to the list but I think that was nominated last year. This years' nominees are:

Billy Elliot @ Victoria Palace
Showboat @ The Crucible
The Threepenny Opera @ The National Theatre
Titanic @ Charing Cross
She Loves Me @ Menier Chocolate Factory

'Billy Elliot' has been on for a decade or more but I finally saw it in 2016 shortly before it closed in Victoria. The other four nominees are much older and that makes me wonder what's happened to the modern musical (but not too much). I loved 'Showboat' and 'She Loves Me', both classic musicals, and 'Titanic' is a show that should be on in the West End at some point, it really is that good. But the Baggy goes to 'The Threepenny Opera' for it's songs and plot, it's menace and threat and all the rolls of brown paper used in the sets - well done people, I loved it!

Best Entertainment

An 'entertainment' is something that doesn't really fit into any of the other categories and this year we have one-woman shows, poetry readings and walks up and down the Southbank and Bankside to see short videos of all Shakespeare's plays. And mad juggling and acrobatics, obvs.

Ellen Terry With Eileen Atkins @ Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Poems That Make Grown Women Cry @ The National Theatre
The Complete Walk @ Southbank & Bankside
Barbu by Cirque Alphonse @ Wonderground
Longing Last Longer by Penny Arcade @ Soho Theatre

The award goes to Penny Arcade for her latest show, 'Longing Last Longer' at the Soho Theatre. Challenging, scary and familiar as Penny paints a picture of modern living I recognise and, in parts, abhor as she leads us through her urban jungle with words and performance. Well worth seeing.

Best Gig

I only went to four gigs this year and all were 'oldies':

Pet Shop Boys @ Royal Opera House
Petula Clark @ Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Suzanne Vega @ Cadogan Hall
The Human League - Royal Festival Hall

Pet Shop Boys and Suzanne Vega were promoting their new records and it's nice that they're still recording. However, the Baggy must go to the Pet Shop Boys for a truly spectacular show at the Royal Opera House with lasers shooting all over that grand old building and me wondering if the balconies would survive the bone rattling volume.

Best Live Performance

This award is for an individual performance that leaves you feeling 'wow!' Spoken word, song, dance... anything that moved me.

Eileen Atkins as Juliet in 'Ellen Terry With Eileen Atkins' @ Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Petula Clark singing 'I Can't Live Without Your Love' @ Drury Lane
Rebecca Trehearn singing 'Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man' in 'Showboat'
Itziar Mendizabal as Paulina in 'The Winter's Tale'
Victoria Serra singing 'Lady's Maid' in 'Titanic'
The Human League singing 'Love Action (I Believe In Love)'

Eileen Atkins playing a 13 year old girl and making me believe she really is Juliet and the sheer elegance of Itziar Mendizabal as Paulina were both astonishing. The sad truth of Rebecca singing about love and the simplicity of Victoria as she throws her arms wide in joy at the prospect of becoming a maid were heartbreaking moments. Petula and the Human league singing their classics were a joy to behold. There has to be one winner however and, after  tie-break, the panel awarded the Baggy to Rebecca Trehearn for her marvellous and tragic performance in 'Showboat' and, in particular, *that* song.

Best Dance

This is only the second year for this award since I discovered the beauty of classical ballet and the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House. I was also lucky to see four productions by the Bolshoi Ballet that took over the Opera House for a three week season over the summer. The nominees are:

Giselle by the Royal Ballet @ the Royal Opera House
The Winter's Tale by the Royal Ballet @ the Royal Opera House
Jekyll & Hyde by the McOnie Company @ The Old Vic
Swan Lake by the Bolshoi Ballet @ the Royal Opera House
The Red Shoes by Matthew Bourne/New Adventures @ Sadler's Wells

I loved the drama of 'The Winter's Tale' and the freshness of 'Jekyll & Hyde' but the Baggy must go to 'The Red Shoes, the new Matthew Bourne production that I saw just before Christmas (and have booked to see it again at Wimbledon on tour). The sheer originality of the thing, the characterisation, the marvellous dancing and the great sets all make this an instant favourite.

Best Exhibition

I saw lots of exhibitions in 2016 due to having the time to visit them. From a fascinating exhibition about the history of Sicily at the British Museum to a small Punk exhibition at the British Library to a lovely little exhibition of the paintings of Caillebotte at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. Exhibitions about all sorts of things so it's a little bit strange that all the nominees are exhibitions  about paintings.

Painting the Modern Garden - From Monet to Matisse @ the Royal Academy
Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art @ the National Gallery
Georgia O'Keeffe @ Tate Modern
Paul Nash @ Tate Britain
Impressionists and Moderns @ CaixaForum Madrid
A Thyssen Never Seen @CaixaForum Barcelona

The O'Keeffe and Nash exhibitions helped me to explore artists I wasn't particularly aware of and both were really good, giving me a glimpse into the artists in a way I haven't had before. The two CaixaForum exhibitions were excellent - brilliant paintings well laid out in light and spacious surroundings and I'll certainly keep my eyes on CaixaForum in future for interesting exhibitions. The Baggy, however, must go to 'Painting the Modern Garden', the best exhibition I've seen at the Royal Academy for years, gorgeous painting after gorgeous painting, a marvellous flower tent and Kandinsky in shorts tilling his garden. What more could you ask. I'll treasure memories of that exhibition for a long time to come.

So there we are, The Plastic Bag Awards 2016. Some of the winners are a bit of a surprise but all deserve it. Let's see what 2017 brings!

'Showboat' at The Crucible, Sheffield

I've never seen 'Showboat' before, either on stage or the films and even though I know one song from the show (let's face it, we *all* know that song) I've never quite grasped the connotations. It's Daniel Evans' last season at The Crucible - and he directed this production - so it was worth hopping on a train and heading to wintry Sheffield for the matinee performance full of oldies and groups of women on a girls' afternoon out.

I didn't really know what to expect but I was sort of expecting Hollywood and Broadway glamour and glitz and, while that's exactly what we got, we also got racism, alcoholism, gambling addiction, an inter-generational story and sacrifice. The business that is show doesn't live in it's own safe little world, it's part of the world we all live in with smiles plastered on the faces.

The show moves along at a good pace, never dwelling on anything for too long. It opens on the docks with bales of cotton being moved before the show boat arrives and we meet the cast of the show in all their teasing glamour, performing scraps of the play to entice in paying customers. We get a glorious version of 'Old Man River' with the stevedore's loading cargo, and, in the end, helping each other, which was quite touching. We then learn from a jealous lover who reports her to the sheriff, that Julie, the star of the show boat is considered black since her mother was black. Her husband cuts her hand and drinks her blood so that he now has 'black blood' in him. This gives Magnolia, the daughter of the captain and Julie's great friend, her big chance to be a riverboat star.  By a strange coincidence, her leading man turns out to be the gambler she'd met earlier on the docks and they fall in love and get married.

The second half moves the story along so that Magnolia and Gaylord (yes, that's his name) are now in Chicago where Gay's gambling and drinking are becoming a problem but they still send their daughter to the convent school. Gaylord leaves and one of the turns from the show boat, Ellie and Frank, turn up to view an apartment that Magnolia is having to leave and they get her an audition at the theatre where Julie works. She's down on her luck, husband long gone and seeking happiness in the bottom of a glass. She hears Magnolia sing and leaves recommending that Magnolia is given the star role. Again, Julie's sacrifice is good for Magnolia without her knowing. Years pass and we're back on the boat again  when Gay turns up, is reunited with Magnolia and sees his grown up daughter. Is it happy ever after? Who knows...

I was very surprised at the power of this musical, it direct confrontation with racism and the dangers of drink and gambling. I've only ever heard 'Old Man River' on variety shows in the 70s, never seen it in context and it's an incredibly powerful song with the men carrying bales of cotton, collapsing with the weight of the bales and sheer weariness while the river keep on flowing. It was a great performance from Emmanuel Kojo as Joe, leading the other lads in a powerful rendition of the song. It got - and deserved - a great ovation from the audience.

Two other performances deserve mention, firstly Rebecca Trehearn as Julie who can pass as white and does so until she's unmasked. She gave a lovely performance as Magnolia's great friend in the first half and a powerful performance as the drunken lush singer in the second half. She has a great voice, clear and powerful but very well controlled. I saw her a couple of years ago in 'City of Angels' at the Donmar and, if anything, her voice is even better.

In the same Donmar production I also saw Sandra Marvin who played Queenie, Joe's wife. I also saw her as singer/dancer in Kate Bush's 'Before The Dawn' show at Hammersmith a couple of years ago. She was great as the queen of the boat, feeding and controlling the men and capturing Joe as her husband. It was lovely to see them, after the passing of the years, still together at the end of the show, keeping things real and giving us the message about what's important in life. Sandra has a powerful voice and a commanding stage presence and I want to see more of her.

The stars of the show are Gina Beck as Magnolia and Michael Xavier as Gaylord. Gina has a great voice and was great as our heroine, easily getting the audience on her side and wanting her marriage to work. She gets some great songs which is more than Michael got. It's an odd role for the male lead - he gets one song near the start and all the others are either duets or ensemble pieces. Michael is a singer and has a great voice but this show doesn't really let him rip. I've seen him in 'Into The Woods' and 'The Pyjama Game' and know he can sing the socks off almost anything.

All in all, this was a great production that does all the cast proud. Colourful, fast-paced and well acted and sung - with some really good voices. I don't know if there any plans for it to go on tour or transfer to London but it should do - people should see this production. I'm pleased I did.

'City of Angels' at The Donmar Warehouse

We went to see the new production of 'City of Angels' at the Donmar Warehouse on Monday. I've seen a student production of this musical before at the Guildhall a few years ago (one of the graduation shows by the final year students) but other than it being about a private detective in Los Angeles in the 1950s I couldn't recall anything about it so I was seeing the show with fresh eyes.

There's a story within a story going on here, the tale of an American novelist transported to Hollywood to write his first  screenplay to one of his novels about a small-time private detective and the case he's asked to take on. The writer is having marital problems and his wife thinks scriptwriting is beneath him,  and his script keeps getting re-written by the film producer he's working for. The private detective faces problems with lack of work and being in debt until he's offered the case of a missing girl and a fee he can't turn down. And then the complications begin.

The action jumps back and forth between the two stories and the two leading men. Different characters are reflected in the two stories, such as the writer starting an affair with the secretary of the producer who also plays the secretary to the private detective in the sub-plot. Similarly, the producers wife plays the murderer in the sub-plot. As the story progresses the barriers between the 'real' world and the film story start coming down and the stories merge so that, in the final scene, the private detective takes over the typewriter from the novelist.

It's a fun production with lots of action, singing and dancing, twists and turns aplenty and great use of the set and stage. Peter Polycarpou (who I last saw in 'Guys & Dolls' at Chichester) played the producer, Tam Mutu as the detective and Hadley Fraser is the energetic writer, but much kudos goes to Rebecca Trehearn who plays the secretary in both scenarios. She has a nice, easy acting style and a lively rich, warm voice. Along with the vocal stylings of the Angel City Four, there were some nice sounds coming from the stage.

It's a fun musical, a solid production and hits all the right buttons. You could do a lot worse than grabbing a ticket to see it!