In a year packed with good things it is perhaps surprising that three productions by a drama school, namely the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, should dominate the list which our reviewers have compiled of their favourite shows from the past twelve months.
Here, in no particular order, are our reviewers’ favourite shows from 2018 followed by our reviewers’ round-ups of the year
Dracula by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Elephant Man by Bristol Old Vic, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Diverse City
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk on tour at the Cheltenham Everyman
Someone Loves You, Drive With Care at Birmingham Rep
Taming of the Shrew by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School at Circomedia.
Périclès, Prince de Tyr by Cheek by Jowl at Oxford Playhouse
Touching the Void at Bristol Old Vic
Troilus and Cressida at Stratford
Height of the Storm at Bath Theatre Royal
Romeo and Juliet by Birmingham Royal Ballet
84 Charing Cross Road at Oxford Playhouse
Photo is of Dracula by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
SIMON BISHOP
My stand-out performance this year has to be the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s production of Liz Lockhead’s adaptation of Dracula, directed by John Walton.
Performed in the dark and dank basement tunnels of the Loco Klub beneath Brunel’s original Temple Meads station, the audience enjoyed an extraordinarily immersive experience thanks to the talented BOVTS team. Looking like a zombie army in the dim light of the tunnels, the theatregoers followed voices and beckoning lights through a series of dramatically-lit vaulted chambers: the dreamy peace of the Westerman sister’s garden; the horrors of Renfield’s incarceration in an asylum; the count’s chandeliered dining hall and doomed Lucy Westerman’s boudoir all appearing like tableaux from Madam Tussauds.
Taheen Modak, as Dracula, seethed with malevolent intent throughout. His arrival and subsequent appearances provided pinnacles of darkness as would befit a king of the undead. Later, in his blood lusts with sisters Lucy and Mina, Modak gave the role the imperiousness it needed to chill and thrill us in equal measure.
A step beyond theatre in the round, being this up close and personal to a vampire was an unforgettable experience!
Other highlights were the Birmingham REP’s production of The Winslow Boy at Theatre Royal, Bath, and a scintillating production of Don Giovanni by the Welsh National Opera at the Bristol Hippodrome, while the Wardrobe Theatre produced another night of gold-plated mayhem at the Tobacco Factory Theatre with its Rocky Shock Horror show.
MIKE WHITTON
The Elephant Man, a joint production from the Bristol Old Vic, the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Diverse City, was the best show I saw in 2018, not least because it featured superb performances in the two leading roles. Alex Wilson was excellent as Frederick Treves, the doctor who saved John Merrick from the degradation of being displayed as a fairground attraction, but who in turn exploited him as a scientific curiosity. Treves was revealed as a profoundly conflicted man, clinging desperately to a rigid moral code as his religious faith slips away. Disabled actor Jamie Beddard gave a stunning performance as ‘Elephant Man’ John Merrick. There were flashes of Merrick’s wit, intelligence and imagination, but what was conveyed most powerfully was his dignity. I found this deeply moving. The Elephant Man has generally been seen as either giving able-bodied actors a golden opportunity to display their ability to contort themselves or, as in the case of the John Hurt movie, to act under layer upon layer of prosthetics. By casting a disabled actor in the central role, this production took a very different approach that is surely much more in tune with the times, more honest and dramatically far more effective.
GRAHAM WYLES
Florian Zeller can apparently do no wrong and the latest of his plays to be translated by Christopher Hampton gave us what we have every right to expect each time we pass through the portals of a theatre: fine writing, intelligently directed and a cast with the skill and finesse to deliver the full emotional and intellectual experience. Jonathan Price and Eileen Atkins used their considerable skills to weave theatrical gold in Height of the Storm at the Theatre Royal Bath. When the planets align one is agog at the sublunary effect it is possible to achieve.
No less was the achievement of Laurence Boswell’s production of Donald Margulies’, The Model Apartment, in the Ustinov which looked at the way in which the depravity of the holocaust continues to have troubling effects down the generations. The same director coaxed Shuler Hensley to a mesmerizing performance in Whale, also at the Ustinov.
Wils Wilson’s production of Twelfth Night at the Bristol Old Vic set out to prove how elastic Shakespeare can be when it comes to finding a modern vibe and largely achieved it. Mike Tweddle announced his intention to keep the Tobacco Factory at the forefront of high quality drama with his intelligent directorial debut there of Miller’s, A View From the Bridge.
Michael Boyd’s production of The Cherry Orchard was a classy addition to the Old Vic’s tally of quality co-productions. Phyllis Logan (Ustinov) gave an acid etched portrayal of Patricia Highsmith in Switzerland, adding further to the Ustinov’s claim to be the home of great acting. The Theatre Royal, not to be outdone, was host to David Suchet’s unforgettable Solomon in Miller’s The Price. Finally, Rash Dash brought a welcome dose of satire in Three Sisters at the Tobacco Factory.
However my memory of the year is the rejuvenation of The Bristol Old Vic with the opening of its splendid new foyer and studio theatre. Tom Morris’ and Emma Stenning’s vision to turn the building into a cultural focus point for the city has been realized in thumping style with the hope that the mildly curious will be drawn in and fired up to become regular visitors and patrons. The Tobacco Factory in its own way has also stretched its legs artistically, with its own new studio which will be the incubator for local talent as well as a venue for some of the excellent smaller scale productions which tour the country and deserve a home worthy of the talent.
FENTON COULTHURST
2018 has given me a good array of performances to sink my teeth into, and I am spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a favourite. Birdsong which I saw at the Everyman in Cheltenham was a stellar literary adaptation and a fitting tribute to the centenary of the Armistice. English Touring Opera put on a stellar trio of performances, any one of which could be heartily recommended – at a push I’d call the double bill of Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi my favourite. Pressure did that most difficult thing of making an little-known and esoteric topic thoroughly engaging, and Naming the View was a pleasant surprise – a modest but incisive revisionist interpretation of The Taming of the Shrew.
However, if I were to recommend just one show from 2018’s offerings, it would be The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk. It’s a show I will be using as a regular benchmark for assessing future productions. One of the weaknesses of the review cycle is that you have to declare a definitive opinion rapidly after seeing a play, but in some cases you don’t realise how much a play has lodged inside your head until weeks after when you are still thinking about it. I continue to think back on Flying Lovers, though happily it made its virtues perfectly clear from the get-go. It’s affecting tale of the Chagalls’ realistic romance, artistic endeavour, and perseverance in the face of persecution offered a dense dramatic punch in a simple and varied performance. I hope theatre-goers will have a chance to see more productions of it in years to come. In the meantime, here’s hoping 2019 offers me as many delights as 2018.
JEREMY ULSTER
2018 has been a theatrically creative year. There have been many new concepts and fresh ideas brought to the stage, but the stand out show in my mind is Tom Cassani’s Someone Loves You Drive With Care. His mesmerising presence, peculiar set, and thought-provoking commentary made this an unforgettable show. Cassani is an artist truly willing to take risks and leave a lasting impression on the audience, and I sincerely hope he returns to Birmingham Rep with something equally riveting in 2019.
Honourable mentions at the Rep must also go to Taj Express: an explosive, high-energy hit that is sure to get you hooked on Bollywood; Napoleon Disrobed: an ever-evolving two-hander brimming with creativity and Python-esque wit; and The String Quartet’s Guide to Sex and Anxiety: a disturbing and inventive blend of music and theatre, the likes of which I’ve never seen before.
Looking at The Rep’s programme for 2019, there are some very exciting things to look forward to, but the play that has me most excited is A Moment of Madness: a “visceral new live experience” with the audience sat in a car. This could be a very interesting year.
ADRIAN MANTLE
Every now and then a piece of theatre will linger in your mind long after you’ve seen it. The North, The North at the Wardrobe Theatre in January 2018 was one such. A dark and contemporary account of the anguish and anger of family life; a boy in search of his wayward father. A visceral show from talented theatre maker Christopher Harrisson. Another favourite from the Wardrobe theatre was Nachos. A comedy show about tortilla chips. Lotte Allan played the naive and eager cop, Andrew Kingston was the drugs baron. They gave us surreal humour, slapstick comedy, visual gags… and cheese sauce. Think Narcos done in the style of the Airplane movies. Great chemistry between the two actors
My overall choice for best show of 2018 was Taming of the Shrew by The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School at Circomedia. The ‘play within a play’ was given an even more complex structure by director Bill Alexander. Watching a Shakespeare play can sometimes be a chore and you will probably have your own thoughts around the ethics, morals and merits of this play but I left feeling entertained, gratified and agreeably perplexed.
My dud of the year was Wicked: no plot, no genuine characters and no depth… It did nothing for me.
KARIN ANDRÈ
My favourite show of 2018 was Périclès, Prince de Tyr from Cheek by Jowl at Oxford Playhouse, an adaptation of the Shakespeare play, performed in French. This clever interpretation was set in a hospital ward with the patient becoming Pericles and the doctor, nurses and visitors taking on the other parts in the play. A bed became a ship, a straight-jacket a suit of armour, and Pericles’ epic journey was possibly just a hallucinatory drug-induced dream. Creative lighting and an eclectic soundtrack conjured up the many locations and really brought this lesser known Shakespeare play to life.
My other five-star choices were Air Play, a visually stunning treat of surreal absurdity and hilarious clowning by husband and wife team, Acrobuffos, and the fun-filled Oxford Playhouse 2018 pantomime, Dick Whittington. It is no coincidence that two of my choices are European/international and in these politically turbulent times, we have to hope that shows such as these will continue to travel freely, to remind us of the cultural riches beyond our shores.
BRYAN MASON
Touching the Void was a show about coming back from the brink which could be viewed as a metaphor for the transformation of the Bristol Old Vic. The Tom Morris production of thrilled by combining a very personal story with a dramatic set design along with a script providing a literal cliff hanger along with humour and ultimate redemption.
Runners Up: The Wedding; a furiously paced piece of physical theatre from Gecko Theatre directed by the fabulous Amit Lehav also at the Old Vic, which had me leaping to my feet to give my only standing ovation of the year.
Also a mention to the always brave and adventurous Wardrobe Theatre with the pick of the bunch the wonderfully wacky We are Brontë by Publick Transport’s superb performers Sarah Corbett and Angus Barr.
DEREK BRIGGS
It’s not always the most popularly prized works that create memorable productions: take Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida at Stratford.
It has been regarded as a problem play with many plots and no satisfactory resolutions, and is only performed on rare occasions. Located in the mythical morass of the Trojan War, it introduces high flown professions of romantic love and valiant chivalry, only to deflate them with cynical blasts of reality and violence.
Yet, here for the director who can release it, is Shakespeare’s mature wisdom, truth set free. And director Greg Doran most assuredly finds the key, re-setting it in a Mad Max version of our modern world, whose values are no less deluded, drawing it all together with sustained raw energy. It wins my 2018, RSC vote hands down, but not only for the reasons outlined.
For several years theatre has been playing a long delayed game of catch-up, casting across race and gender to reflect modern Britain. That has required creatives to bridge a learning gap, and audiences an acclimatising chasm. And a question always hovers. How can something as ruthlessly judgemental and meritocratic as great art, be reconciled with social experiment?
Time and familiarity are showing that it can be. And Doran’s production makes the question superfluous. He nullifies it with overall collective excellence, intelligent and flowing verse speaking, imaginative characterisation and overall belief in in his interpretation.
To take but one analytical example Adjoa Andoh is dynamically persuasive as Ulysses the sly ideas ‘man’, her femininity lending her performance a lithe intelligence. Questioning change and analysing its impact have their place, but if excellence is coming at you, acceptance and delight seem preferable.
ROBERT GAINER
Two very different but well established shows performed at Birmingham’s Hippodrome have won me over this year, one a musical and the other a ballet. The musical, Bill Kenwright’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita, is perhaps an obvious choice as an old and familiar favourite. It certainly didn’t take many chances, and was played straight. Nonetheless, it was the quality of the production, cast and direction that came through in the end, with a real star in the title role, and for about three weeks after seeing the show I kept finding myself reliving the experience whenever I afforded myself a daydream or two. I was, perhaps, even more familiar with Sergei Prokofiev’s score for Romeo and Juliet, though I had never seen it performed before as a ballet, only in a concert setting. I was utterly won over with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production of Kenneth MacMillan’s vision. The whole performance was breath-taking and magical, from the efforts of the wardrobe mistress to the dancers to the musicians to the lighting engineers. The show felt like a renaissance painting had come alive in every shade and hue and sucked me into it. At the end of the year, when I reflect back, it is Romeo and Juliet that comes out just ahead for me, narrowly pushing Evita into second place. Yet, I feel I shall remember both shows for many years to come.
@BOOKINGAROUND
Looking back on my shows of 2018, I think my favourite had to be the Cambridge Arts Theatre production of Helene Hanff’s lovely short novel, 84, Charing Cross Road. It was always going to be tricky to meet my exacting standards when creating a play of one of my most beloved books, but this wonderfully bookish production, with Stefanie Powers and Clive Francis as Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, handled the subject matter perfectly to create a warm, sensitive play that I enjoyed thoroughly. Other highlights included the always-superb Luke Wright, with his dark, political poem/play, Frankie Vah, and as usual, my favourite start to the summer – the Offbeat Festival, a week of theatre, comedy, poetry, and music co-hosted by the Burton Taylor and Arts at the Old Fire Station – an eclectic mix that I’m looking forward to again in 2019.
