A Decade of Musicals 2010-19

The end of the decade is a good time to look back at theatre trips over the last ten years and assess which were the best musicals I've seen. I saw a lot of musicals over the decade and many were good, very good indeed, but didn't have the certain something to get it into this list of favourites. So, in chronological order, here they are...

'Hair' @ The Gielgud Theatre 2010

I first saw 'Hair' in New York on the eve of Snowmageddon in February 2010 and, luckily, virtually the whole company transferred to London for a season at the Gielgud Theatre over the summer of 2010. I saw this joyous musical several times, getting up on the stage to dance with the hippies at the end. Gavin Creel, Caissie Levy, Will Swenson, Alison Case, Kacie Sheik and all those spaced out hippies singing and dancing their hearts out every night was fabulous. I still listen to the cast recording regularly.

'South Pacific' @ The Barbican 2011

I first saw 'South Pacific' on the evening of Snowmageddon in New York in February 2010 and remember floating down Broadway from Lincoln Centre on waves of a tropical love story between Nellie and Emile. I bought the cast recording with Kelli O'Hara singing (the original Nellie) and listen to it regularly. That production transferred to the Barbican for a short season before going on tour so I had to see it.

'The Color Purple' @ Menier Chocolate Factory 2013

This musical introduced me to the fabulous Cynthia Erivo as Celie, the central character in the play. Great acting and an astonishing voice coming out of Cynthia and a great cast generally - I thought their singing voices were so much better that the actors on the cast recording from America. I saw Cythia the following year in the all-woman 'Henry IV' at the Donmar and then in 'Songs For A New World' in 2015 and then she went off to reprise her role as Celie on Broadway and now she's been nominated for two Oscars...

'A Chorus Line' @ The London Palladium 2013

I slightly surprised myself by having 'A Chorus Line' in my top of the decade list but it was a great production. I've never liked the film (or seen it all the way through ) so I came to this production quite new since it's rarely performed - it needs a big stage and that's what the Palladium gives you. Scarlett Strallen played Cassie who utters the immortal line, 'God, I'm a dancer and dancers dance!'.

'Grand Hotel' @ Southwark Playhouse 2015

I first saw 'Grand Hotel' at the Donmar Warehouse in 2004 and fell in love with it's tale of 1930s Germany, Berlin, love and escape. Julian Ovendon played the Baron, Daniel Evans as Mr Kringelein and Mary Elizabeth Mastranatonio as the ballerina. The Southwark production made me fall in love with the musical all over again. Scott Garnham was the Baron, Victoria Serra was Flaemmchen and Valerie Cutko as the maid.

'Kinky Boots' @ The Adelphi Theatre 2015

'Kinky Boots' is the musical of the film of the same name, a tale of friendship and understanding and how red is the colour of sex and you can never have too much heel. I first saw it in preview but had to go back to see it again, a feel-good show with a happy ending, ideal to see after a hard week at work and let your imagination loose.

'Xanadu' @ Southwark Playhouse 2015

Another play I first saw on Broadway before it eventually got a London premier at Southwark Playhouse, 'Xanadu' tells the tale of the 1980s film of the same name with Olivia Newton-John in the main role. The musical is so much better than the film since it's played entirely for laughs, poking affectionate fun at the film and at the '80s, great songs by ELO, sparkles and love (obviously) plus hundreds of disco glitter balls. What more could you ask for? I saw it multiple times.

'The Threepenny Opera' @ The National Theatre 2016

I never thought I'd have a Brecht show in a list of favourites but I loved this production of 'The Threepenny Opera' at the National Theatre, with it's tale of sex and violence, crime and love. It was a new translation by Simon Stephens set in an imaginary time in London at the time of the King's jubilee. Rory Kinnear played Mack the Knife, Haydn Gwynne as Mrs Peachum, Rosalie Craig as Polly (aka Pirate Jenny) and Nick Holder as a menacing Peachum. I loved the wooden rotating set and can't help wonder how much brown paper they got through.

'Follies' @ The National Theatre 2017

There are many ways to do a show and this was a monster of a show, with a huge cast and set, glamour and glitz and the plain awfulness of the 1970s costumes, led by stellar performances by Imelda Staunton and Janie Dee. I loved the simple storytelling and having the young characters on stage whenever their older counterparts took the lead. Failed marriages, disappointing lives, happy lives, depression and almost madness, such a colourful show with some very powerful songs.

'Hamilton' @ The Victoria Palace Theatre 2018

'Hamilton' was laden with so much hype from it's Broadway run when it finally landed in Victoria that it couldn't possibly live up to it but you know what? It did. I avoided all reviews and avoided hearing the cast recording so I could experience it with fresh eyes and ears and was rightly rewarded for my efforts. The thing that really impressed me was the pace and movement in the show - it was never still. Well done people.

'Caroline. or Change' @ Hampstead Theatre 2018

A show I saw purely because Sharon D Clarke was in it, first up at Hampstead and then again when it transferred to the Playhouse. The story of a maid in the south of the USA in the '60s with civil rights going on in the background but Caroline's life revolves around the washing machine, the transistor radio, her children and the white Jewish family she works for. I've seen Sharon in various things over the years and you always get a great performance from her but her big song at the end of this play is truly a show-stopper, a masterclass in how to deliver a song. I'll remember that for a long time.

'Fiddler on the Roof' @ The Playhouse Theatre 2019

I've seen the film (an early '70's Sunday afternoon staple) and a version with Harvey Fierstein as the lead on Broadway years ago but this new production brought the show right up to date. It's a tale of minorities trying to blend in without losing their culture, of forced migration, of what happens to families forced apart. It felt so right for the times. The set spilled off into the audience which was probably much more powerful in the small surroundings of the Menier Chocolate Factory where it was first performed before transferring to the Playhouse.

'The Bridges of Madison County' @ Menier Chocolate Factory 2019

I've never seen the film this musical is based on so I was seeing it afresh when I took my seat at the Choccy Factory in the summer of 2019 - I'd booked it to see Jenna Russell in the lead role. It's the story of Francesca, a war bride who raises her family in small town America and then, out of nowhere, she meets the love of her life but it can't be. It's a tale of joy and sadness, of accepting, of memories, and Jenna was great as our heroine. I loved it.

There could have been so many other entries into this list but these are the stand-outs for me. I couldn't limit it to a top ten since they all deserve a mention. I wonder what joys the 2020s will bring?

'Macbeth' at the National Theatre

'Macbeth' at the National Theatre on the Olivier Stage? Rory Kinnear as Macbeth? Well, obviously I had to go and see it. It's one of those awkward plays where I've yet to see a great production so maybe this will be it? 'Macbeth' is one of those plays where there's a lot going on and the director really needs to decide which avenue to take the production down and what story he really wants to tell. Rufus Norris directs this production and, since he's the current Artistic Director of the National Theatre, then this is really his baby.

I've seen Rory Kinnear in loads of things over the years (except his 'James Bond' role) and he's done the 'greats' of Shakespeare - Hamlet, Iago and now Macbeth, all on the Olivier stage - and I look forward to seeing his Lear one day when he's older. I really enjoyed his most recent roles in 'The Threepenny Opera' and 'Young Marx' and was looking forward to seeing what he would do with 'Macbeth'.

There's always that moment when you first walk into the Olivier Theatre and see the stage and the initial set - the stage is too big to be curtained off - and that sets the pattern for the thought processes. In this case, we had a funny looking bridge with totem poles and a backdrop of black plastic bags stuck together to create a rocky grotto or a waterfall (I'm not sure which). I quite liked it at first. What's all this meant to be then? It doesn't look like Scotland to me but I'm sure it'll all become clear at some point. Then, without any notice and while the audience was still chattering, a few people ran down the bridge followed by enemies and while some run off another is beheaded. And then the wyrd sisters arrive to open the dialogue. I wasn't quite sure why one of them kept running round and round the stage but why shouldn't she be on speed? She's a witch after all.

So. Quite a dramatic start and I'm all approving - drama, spectacle, blood, magic and weirdness. That's what I want. Then the play's off and running and we see characters all dressed a bit steampunk except the king who's in a cheap red suit. Then we see Macbeth's castle which seems to be a few concrete bunkers and I start wondering what's going on. Why would a great lord who commands an army dress and live like that? It makes no sense. Throughout history rich people dress richly, not in a hodge-podge of bits and pieces like anyone else. Otherwise, why be rich and powerful?

There seems to be a trend at the moment for 'ugly' productions. I saw 'Julius Caeser' a month ago which features Mark Anthony, one of the richest men in the world, wearing a cheap flannel hoody and I sat there thinking 'why would he wear that?' rather than listening to the text. Ugly productions can be very distracting and it didn't really help this production of 'Macbeth'. It must've been great fun to be let loose with the dressing-up box but isn't there more to putting on a great play on one of the nations great stages?  Doing a steampunk version might sound attractive in a rehearsal room but does it really work?

I also wasn't too keen on some the '90's elements of the production, like the boisterousness of the men at some points, banging tables and shouting 'oi! oi! oi!'. Really? That just struck me as lad culture gone to the extremes. This was particularly galling in the banquet scene in a  Nissen hut with folding tables and spindly chairs (exactly what you'd expect in a king's castle) and the queen dressed in pink bits and pieces. Are these people squatters or what?

I suspect part of the problem is directors and producers wanting to make Shakespeare 'relevant' to a modern audience, to young people, and attract people to the theatre. What they seem to forget is that Shakespeare's plays are being put on because they are great plays with universal themes and great poetry and don't need to be adapted. Let the play tell the story because, let's face it, it's a great story. Trust the material you've got in front of you, it's been around for 500 years and still works.

Overall, I think I quite liked this production - or, rather, some elements of the production - but wouldn't go back for seconds. I liked the weird witches in all their witchiness but I'm not sure why they climbed the totem poles in the final scene, I liked the main characters (until Banquo became a zombie rather than a ghost) and some of the acting was great but, I think, held back by the overall design of the production. Bits of the play seemed to have been switched around and cut for some reason but it flowed well enough.

I liked Kevin Harvey as Banquo (until he became a zombie), Trevor Fox as the porter and Amaka Okafor as Lady Macduff, all great performances. I was less impressed by Patrick O'Kane as Macduff who came across as 'Belfast thug' rather than anything else.

Anne-Marie Duff was fine as Lady Macbeth and seemed to push her way through the awful patched rags she wore as a steampunk queen to give us some real emotion. And so did Rory Kinnear, especially in the quieter scenes. They both know how to speak Shakespeare.

There you are. I'm pleased I've seen it but I won't be going back to see it again. I'm still waiting for the great 'Macbeth'. One day ....

'Young Marx' at the Bridge Theatre

'Young Marx' is a new play being performed in a new theatre so we had to go, obviously. The Bridge Theatre is right beside Tower Bridge (City Hall side), hence the name. It has a nice big open foyer and cafe/bar, lots of bare wood and, for a change, lots of toilets. The auditorium has good sight lines and feels comfortable, with the seats on the sides angled towards the stage. It'll be interesting to go back and see it all settled down - it has a 'new' feel to it with everyone settling in and on best behaviour so it'll be good to go back when it's properly relaxed into itself.

The play itself is great fun, telling a tale of Marx's early years before he'd settled down to being the great political thinker he became. He's in London, living with his family in Soho, penniless but still managing the odd pint here and there, surrounded by spies and rivals, but also surrounded by admirers and his good friend Engels. Money is a problem, keeping his family together is a problem, hiding in cupboards from his creditors is a daily occurrence but, we don't see him climbing up a lamppost as shown in the poster. After the madness of his life I liked the final scene where he finally buckles down to begin to write his first great work.

It's a knock-about comedy about Marx and there's nothing wrong with that. I really liked the set which was on a revolve on the stage, moving round to give us a different setting for each scene - a pawn shop, a meeting room above a pub, Marx's living room and the setting for a dual for the honour of his wife. All sorts going on here.

I really liked Rory Kinnear as Marx - he's really becoming one of our must see actors despite the supporting roles in James Bond films and elsewhere. He worked the floppy wig really well and was suitable manic and serious by turns, giving a great performance as a man of goodwill down on his luck with no idea how to turn his life around. Nancy Carroll was fine as his wife, the calm centre that keeps the family and his life together and I liked Oliver Chris as Engels, Marx's chief cheer-leader who gets frustrated that his hero refuses to prove what a great thinker he is and prefers booze to ink.

I liked this play and the performances and it's a worthy early play for a new theatre. It's going to be broadcast through NTLive on 7 December so you will be able to see it all over the place. I'm going back to the Bridge Theatre in the new year to see 'Julius Caesar' and I'm looking forward to that.

'The Threepenny Opera' at the National Theatre

A new production of 'The Threepenny Opera' has opened at the National Theatre and I was lucky enough to see it in preview and again last week. Yes, I've already seen it twice and it's only been playing for a few weeks. Does that give you a clue?

This is a new version of the Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill play translated by Simon Stephens and brought up to date  and stars Rory Kinnear as Macheath, aka Mack the Knife. It also proudly boasts that it 'contains filthy language and immoral behaviour'. Ooo-er, I did hope so!

The show opens with the Balladeer introducing us to Mack the Knife who has returned to London in time for the King's jubilee (and we see some of his handiwork, liberally slaughtering the populace), introduce us to Mr Peachum and his troupe of beggars and miscreants and learn that his daughter has gone missing. O dear, where can Polly be now that Mack is back? He's only married her to get his leg over but when his gang also want her she sings 'Pirate Jenny' to show how foolish they'd be if they went down that route!

We meet Mrs Peachum coming home in the early hours after a night on the town (she seems to have 'an understanding' with Mr Peachum) in her Otto Dix red dress, Jenny the drug addict and prostitute who loves the dashing Captain Macheath, and, later the chief of police. A more disgraceful bag of ne-er-do-wells it would be hard to find. And it gets worse because Peachum has given his gang of beggars a cause and something to believe in and he could bring down the establishment... seems rather current given the referendum.

This version of the play is fast moving and quick-witted and it's certainly found its feet. It almost felt like these actors were their characters, there's a belief in there somewhere that was most impressive. Dashing around the stage, up and down the ladders and platforms, every now engaging the audience as if we're part of the crowd on the street watching the shenanigans, all of it kept the pace going, moving swiftly through the scenes.

I loved the set made largely of plywood and brown paper (they must have a huge roll of brown paper backstage to replace the number of panels people crashed through), starting off sparse and gradually becoming thick with panels as the actors brought more 'walls' on stage and later when a huge set emerged from below and whoosh! we have a complex stage to reflect the back streets of the East End. The staging and the lighting all worked, moving from simple to complex and back, actors moving the set around the stage as needed for the next scene. Well done to Rufus Norris and Vicki Mortimer for that.

It was great fun to see Rory Kinnear take on the role of Captain Macheath, milking it for all it's worth and he can really sing. Rory has a great list of Shakespeare under his belt (and I saw him try comedy  in 'Last of the Hausmans') so he can act but it was great to see how versatile he can be. It was also good to see Haydn Gwynne as Celia Peachum careering round the stage in her tight red frock giving as good as she gets and Nick Holder does good sinister as Peachum. Meet him in a dark alley? I don't think so! Rosalie Craig was very good as young Polly who brought a nice sense of menace to 'Pirate Jenny'. George Ikediashi (aka Le Gateau Chocolat) set the scene nicely when he opened with 'Mack the Knife' and Debbie Kurup was great fun as Macheath's lover (one of many, obviously) in her sing-off with Polly in the jail scene.

This show is great fun and deserves a sell-out run. It is dark and menacing, laugh-out loud at times, full of great songs and performances and a lovely set that really works. Well done people, I'll be back!

'Hamlet' at The Barbican starring Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch playing Hamlet was announced over a year ago and tickets went on sale a year ago and finally there we were, in the front row of the Barbican Theatre waiting for 'Hamlet' to begin last week. I've seen quite a few Hamlet's over the years and my first was Derek Jacobi in 1978 while he rode the wave of the success of 'I Clavdivs'. More recently I've seen Jude Law and Rory Kinnear play the role as well as Michael Sheen in an awful production at the Young Vic. And now it's Benedict's turn.

What is it about 'Hamlet' that makes playing the role mandatory for an actor of any stature once he reaches a certain age? You can't play it as an older man so I suppose you need to play it when you're in your 30s or early 40s at the latest - any later would just be silly. But it does seem to have become a star turn for actors when they reach a certain level and I'm not sure that's good for the play. It draws in the crowds (and Benedict did the other night) but do new audiences for stars go away having learned anything?

We follow the psychological trauma and drama of the young prince of Denmark whose father has recently died and his mother married his uncle for the sake of the realm. But is that all that's happened? Soldiers see the ghost of Hamlet's father on the battlements of Elsinore, young Fortinbrass of Norway is threatening war, Laertes goes back to university while Hamlet remains at home and Ophelia is ripe to go mad. So much is going on in this play but you know the story - can anyone looking at this blog not know the story? The question is how well is it re-told in this new star vehicle and it is re-told very well indeed.

I half expected not to like it since it is clearly a star turn rather than a more 'standard' production (if you see what I mean).  It could so easily have been a one-man show with a few minor supporting characters to allow the star to bounce off them but it wasn't like that at all. While not quite an ensemble piece, it wasn't that far off really. And I'd mention the set as an astounding piece of work that helped the action to flow. The first half was set in a baroque banqueting hall with staircases and balconies that could transform into the castle ramparts with a slight change in lighting. In the second half it's a scene of desolation and destruction with the action taking place in what seems to be rubble of the once grand castle. I winced when Gertrude came on barefoot but later realised the craggy rubble was really cork. I loved the set in the first half and would happily live there.

Anastasia Hille and Ciaran Hinds as Gertrude and Claudius were very effective as the king and queen, bringing some sympathy to the characters. I also liked Jim Norton as Polonius, a difficult role to get just right but he managed it as did his son Laertes, played by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (although I was less keen when he pulled out a gun). I wasn't keen on Leo Bill as Horatio who didn't quite get the role of Hamlet's one true friend right and didn't get the 'flights of angels' speech right either. Very workmanlike but not entirely convincing. And Sian Brooke as Ophelia... I liked giving her a camera to play at amateur photographer but the motif didn't last very long and was soon forgotten. I've no idea why she was given a small trunk to drag down the staircase in her final scene. And then, of course, there's Mr Cumberbatch.

I thought Benedict was excellent and brought real believability to the character he was playing. We could feel sympathy for this poor lost soul not knowing what to do for the best, and the changes in mood and pace were well judged as were the interactions with the other characters. I saw him in 'Frankenstein' at the National Theatre a few years ago and he's a class act. But I didn't like him playing with his toy castle or wearing a hoodie for the graveyard scene - I mean, c'mon... But it must be very strange for him to be dishing out serious poetry with deadly connotations and have his fans laugh in the wrong places which they did with annoying frequency. Someone has just been killed - it's not funny and it's not meant to be. One could argue the laughter was to ease the tension but I doubt it.

All in all the production gets the thumbs up from me. I'd say go and see it but tickets sold out a year ago although it's always worth looking out for returns. I've no idea why they've cast children in the roles for the poster and the front of the programme - sorry, souvenir brochure - but I think it's silly. I was also surprised to see a merch stand selling souvenir mugs and stuff. You know there's a star around somewhere when you get a merch stand in a theatre!

Goodnight sweet prince...

Shakespeare at 450

Last week saw the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, poet and playwright. Everyone knows his name but we know very little about him, including his actual birth date. He was baptised on 26 April 1564 so, presumably, was born a few days earlier and he died on 23 April 1616. He would have had no inkling that people all over the world would still be talking about him, reading his words and seeing his plays all these years later. I wonder what he would have thought?

I've seen and read many of Shakespeare's plays and poems but not all by any means. I used to have a hardback 'complete plays' when I was at university (it had a red cover I seem to recall) as well as individual editions of the plays I was studying. Some of his plays come round again and again on the stage while others seem to be rarely touched. I haven't seen many of the history plays because I've never been terribly interested in them but I ought to see them if only for the sake of completeness.

I've seen great productions of Shakespeare plays and others that were a bit ho hum. Sometimes it's the interpretation, sometimes it's the direction or the acting. And sometimes, frankly, it's the play that's the problem. Why, for example, have the daft wooing scene at the end of 'Henry V' and am I the only person in the world that doesn't like Bottom in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (or any of the rustics for that matter)? I'm sure there's a very valid reason for all the things I'm not keen on in Shakespeare plays but  that won't make me suddenly like them.

I have favourite productions and sometimes I leave the theatre elated and sometimes depressed. Productions that I should have liked have been very disappointing and it's sometimes difficult to pinpoint why that is. Last year's must-see production of 'Othello' at the National Theatre with the double-header of Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear (who won an Olivier Award for his performance) was an example of a production that left me cold. It should have been a massive favourite bit it wasn't, partly because of the staging and costumes even though the acting was excellent. I felt terribly let down by that one.

On the other hand, two versions of 'Much Ado About Nothing' live on in my mind. Firstly there was Zoe Wannamaker and Simon Russell Beale's version at the National Theatre which I will always remember for them both falling into the same pond. Then, a couple of years ago, the production billed as the 'Indian' version with that great Shakespearean actress Meera Syal who showed us no mercy by milking every possible laugh from every scene and laugh we did (even me). It most ably demonstrated that Shakespeare can be transplanted to any age or culture and it still works. I loved that production and wish I'd seen it again.

My first ever Shakespeare production was 'Hamlet' with Derek Jacobi in, I think, 1978. Other than a few panto's that was my first trip to the 'serious' theatre with 'serious' actors. Mr Jacobi was, of course, hot property at the time off the back of 'I Clavdivs'. His star status helped fill seats but I went because I was doing 'Hamlet' for 'A' level English. The most recent production that I'd praise is 'Henry V' with Jude Law who delivered an excellent St Crispin's Day speech (I saw Adrian Lester deliver this speech 11 years ago when he took the part). Jude is my king and my sword-arm is his, at least until I see another production of the play.

The most disappointing play was 'Timon of Athens' at the National Theatre a couple of years ago with Simon Russell Beale. It was a great productions, with excellent acting, direction and sets but what disappointed was the play. I'd never read it or seen it before so didn't know what to expect - I wanted to experience it raw and direct as a first time experience so I wasn't prepared for the downbeat ending. Why didn't Timon triumph over adversity at the end instead of crumbling? I don't want to see that play again.

The beauty of Shakespeare is that the plays can be interpreted in many different ways to suit the current mode and productions can mirror life in any way they want, from the prosaic to the magical. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'The Tempest' should always be done as magical in my mind, anything less is an insult to the text and to the audience. I want magic and wonder.

The current big Shakespeare production is 'King Lear' at the National Theatre with Simon Russell Beale in the title role. I saw another production of this a few years ago with Derek Jacobi (yes, the same names keep cropping up) and the excellent Gina McKee as a triumphant Goneril. You don't take her on lightly.

There's always another Shakespeare production and actors ready to step up and make their names in these classic roles. A play I'm looking forward to - and again, that I haven't seen or read before - is 'Titus Andronicus' at The Globe in a couple of months time. The Globe has a lovely big stage but the wooden bench seats are a challenge even with the cushions you can hire in the yard. Something else I'm looking forward to is a reading of all 154 sonnets by Simon Russell-Beale, Harriet Walter and others at the Royal Festival Hall. That's going to be an intense evening and I'm sure there'll be smiles and tears that night!.

There is always another side to Shakespeare and that is why he's great. There's a Sheakespeare for every age and every mode, you just need to dig. Happy birthday William, you'd be astonished at the shop at The Globe Theatre but I suspect you'd have a wry grin at the souvenirs when you walked round.

NT @ 50 = 46

As you probably know, the National Theatre is celebrating being 50 years old at the moment. There are celebratory talks at the National, documentaries on TV and radio, features here and there and even (gosh) a celebratory website.  The physical reality of the National Theatre is a 1970s concrete 'brutalist' building - before then it was based in The Old Vic.

I've attended a few of the celebratory talks with people who've played at the theatre over the years such as Imelda Staunton and husband Jim Carter, Julie Walters, Simon Russell Beale and Brenda Blethyn as well as former director, Richard Eyre. They've taken place in the early evenings in the National theatres before they open for the evenings punters. They've been great fun and a great idea.

The National Theatre is actually three theatres in the same building. It's made up of the Olivier Theatre, the Lyttelton Theatre and the Cottesloe Theatre (currently being renovated and will open in 2014 with a new name). With three theatres on the go it has the opportunity of putting on so many shows each year. My favourite theatre is the Olivier and I can't believe that it will ever change its name.  How could it?

My personal archivist pointed out the other day that I've seen 46 National Theatre productions (some more than once) in the last 10 years (and will be seeing an additional two before the year is out). So here's the last ten years of the National and me...

2003: Henry V, Jumpers, His Girl Friday, Play Without Words

I remember Adrian Lester as Henry V in a modern day Iraq-type scenario for the great war play but I don't recall anything about 'Jumpers' at all. Zoe Wanamaker was great in 'His Girl Friday' and 'Play Without Words' was sublime. We saw 'Play' with Dezur from New York and I saw the same production again last year at Sadlers Wells as part of the Matthew Bourne 25th anniversary celebrations.

2004: Jerry Springer: The Opera, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

Two big ensemble pieces with far more swearing in 'Jerry Springer' than is good for anyone and some good old fashioned smut in 'Forum'.

2005: The House Of Bernarda Alba, Once In A Lifetime

I still remember Penelope Wilton leading the cast of women in 'Bernarda Alba', wringing her hands at the front of the stage and putting on a brave face. I find it hard to believe it was that long ago.

2006: Pillars Of The Community, The Voysey Inheritance

Two Victorian plays in one year.

2007: The Rose Tattoo, Rafta Rafta, The Emperor Jones, War Horse

Zoe Wanamaker (again) in 'Rose Tattoo', the great Meera Syal in 'Rafta', the golden stage opening for 'Jones' and, of course, the brave horse that is Joey in 'War Horse' which I saw twice and, on one night, Steven Sondheim was a few rows in front of us, so who knows what might happen. Joey is so far from being a puppet, he is bravery personified.

2008: Much Ado About Nothing, Present Laughter, The Year Of Magical Thinking, August, Osage County

A great production of 'Much Ado' with Zoe Wanamaker and Simon Russell Beale speechifying from a deep pond on the stage, a tour de force from Vanessa Redgrave in 'Magical Thinking' and the sprawling complexity of the family drama of 'Osage'.

2009: Every Good Boy Deserves A Favour, The Pitman Painters, Burnt By The Sun, All's Well That Ends Well, Time And The Conways, Nation

'The Pitman Painters' was a revelation with art growing out of the mines of Northumberland between the wars - not quite class warfare but some powerful message nonetheless. I loved the almost fairytale nature  of 'All's Well' and the clarity of vision and writing of 'The Conways'.

2010: London Assurance, The White Guard, After The Dance, Spring Storm, Hamlet, Fela!

This was a good year, with Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw playing off each other in a most disgraceful and humorous way - how dare they be that outrageously funny! Rory Kinnear's 'Hamlet' is the play that cemented him in my mind as an actor and 'Fela!' was, largely, the same as the Broadway production of the life of Fela Kuti and Afrobeat.

2011: Twelfth Night, Frankenstein, The Cherry Orchard, The Comedy Of Errors

'Twelfth Night' remains one of my least favourite productions for many reasons (read the blog if you want to know more) and 'Comedy' sticks in my mind for the failings of the moving (or, rather, non-moving) bits of the set. Not the most successful year other than the great production of 'Frankenstein' with it's revolving lead players.

2012: Travelling Light, She Stoops To Conquer, Timon Of Athens, The Last Of The Hausmanns, Scenes From An Execution

A pick'n'mix year, with 'Travelling' and 'Timon' both unsatisfactory and 'She Stoops' and 'Hausmanns' as highlights. I loved 'Hausmanns' with Julie Walters as the still-hippy mother to two grown up children with Rory Kinnear playing gay by standing on one leg.

2013: Hymn/Cocktail Sticks, Children Of The Sun, People, Othello, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, The Amen Corner, Edward II 

Two plays by Alan Bennett, the powerful and moving 'Amen Corner' and my disappointment with 'Othello' (with Adrian Lester from ten years earlier and Rory Kinnear again) and the terribly disappointing 'Edward II'.

Still, I have tickets to see two more National productions in November and December - 'Emil & The Detectives' and 'The Light Princess', the Tori Amos musical. I'm looking forward to seeing both.

So there you have it, my own tribute to the National Theatre.  I wonder what's on next year ... ?

'The Last of the Haussmans' at The National Theatre

This week I went to see 'The Last of the Haussmans' in the Lyttelton in the National Theatre. It is an excellent play, an excellent production and with some excellent performances. Yes, I liked it! I even bought the programme.

When I first saw it advertised I liked the premise of an ageing hippy in the last of her days bringing her family around her one last time. I liked it even more since it starred Julie Walters who I'd never seen on stage before. Rory Kinnear played her son (Nick) and Helen McRory her daughter (Libby) with their complex web of memories,  relationships, needs and wants over the last 40 years. Nothing is satisfactory, nothing is straight forward and nothing is quite as it seems but it seemed real to me and I could recognise and remember some of the scenes and recollections.

There were some really delightful one-liners and the play was full of them. Nick talks about booze and drugs and says he can't blame anyone for him being a junkie, "well, except for David Bowie". When Summer, Libby's teenage daughter, comments that she  can't remember some things, Nick quips "you'd be surprised at what I can remember" referring back to his debauchery. And a great moment in the second half when 'Cum On Feel The Noize' has been played loud in the small hours and Libby says "it's too late at night to play SLADE" to which I (inwardly) replied that it is never too late to play SLADE.

I was particularly impressed by the three lead characters. Julie Walters was Julie Walters and Helen McRory was an excellent glue keeping the family together despite pain and distrust, but it was Rory Kinnear that I was particularly impressed by. I've seen him in various plays in the past (usually at the National and all serious) but not in a comic role and he was excellent. I'm not sure why he plays being gay as meaning he stands on one foot but he takes after his dad with the comic timing and the twists and turns of delivering a perfect comic line. He should do more comedy now that he has the classic dramatic roles under his belt. I would be quite happy to sit down with his character, Nick, for a chat over a beer or two and listen to his anecdotes.

The set is the house the family grew up in and it gradually spins round to show different rooms with the characters usually playing at the front of the stage. I thought it could've looked  bit more 'hippy' but it looked like a real house to me (and quite a nice one too, with a lick of paint).

I thoroughly enjoyed the play. I had a smile going on for most of the play and laughed out loud loads of times. Go and see it if you can, I don't think you'll be disappointed.