Theatre in 2016

I’ve been insanely busy with work this year and there hasn’t been much free time for theatre so I was surprised to see I’d managed to see 57 shows. There’s been some fabulously inventive and interesting productions with the NT standing out as having a particularly successful year. So in alphabetical order, here are my top picks of 2016.

Amadeus
by Peter Shaffer
at National Theatre

Lucian Msamati as Salieri with the Southbank Sinfonia. Photo by Marc Brenner.
Lucian Msamati (Salieri) with the Southbank Sinfonia. Photo by Marc Brenner.

The original 1979 production starring Paul Scofield and Simon Callow has achieved iconic status and I have a feeling that this revival will also be talked about for many years. Top marks to the sound team – it sounded as wonderful as it looked. Lucian Msamati was superb as Salieri and while some reviewers found Adam Gillen’s performance as Mozart rather over-energetic, it felt in keeping and necessary for the character to me. The Southbank Sinfonia brought a dazzling vitality to the whole production which made the most of the Olivier’s stage. The production will return in January 2018.

 

Blue Heart
by Caryl Churchill
at Orange Tree Theatre

Alex Beckett, Amelda Brown and Amanda Boxer. Photo by Richard Davenport.
Alex Beckett, Amelda Brown and Amanda Boxer. Photo by Richard Davenport.

Carly Churchill may be the ‘Marmite of playwrights’ but I’m very firmly on the “love” side. This double-bill of Heart’s Desire and Blue Kettle, was the first major revival in 20 years with a superbly tight production by David Mercatali. Both plays are technically challenging for actors but the cast of nine gave hugely impressive performances.

 

Escaped Alone
by Caryl Churchill
at Royal Court

Linda Bassett as Mrs Jarrett, Deborah Findlay as Sally, Kika Markham as Lena and June Watson as Vi. Photo by Johan Persson.
Linda Bassett (Mrs Jarrett), Deborah Findlay (Sally), Kika Markham (Lena) and June Watson (Vi). Photo by Johan Persson.

The second Caryl Churchill play in my selection, Escaped Alone is brilliantly funny, inventive, thought-provoking and refreshingly short with four superb performances. It returns for a second run from 25 January 2017 before heading to Broadway.

 

Iphigenia in Splott
by Gary Owen
at National Theatre

Sophie Melville as Effie. Photo by Mark Douet.
Sophie Melville (Effie). Photo by Mark Douet.

Gary Owen made last year’s selection with Violence and Son and he features again with this powerful and moving monologue about Effie in South Cardiff who lives at the sharp end of austerity cuts. An astonishing performance from Sophie Melville.

 

Jess & Joe Forever
by Zoe Cooper
at Orange Tree Theatre

Nicola Coughlan as Jess and Rhys Isaac-Jones as Joe. Photo by Richard Davenport.
Nicola Coughlan (Jess) and Rhys Isaac-Jones (Joe). Photo by Richard Davenport.

Two talented young actors tell the story of the relationship between Jess and Joe as they grow up together through meeting on summer holidays. Simply staged and charmingly performed with a moving and unexpected twist in the tale.

 

Kenny Morgan
by Mike Poulton
at Arcola Theatre

Simon Dutton as Terry and Paul Keating as Kenny. Photo by Idil Sukan.
Simon Dutton (Terry) and Paul Keating (Kenny). Photo by Idil Sukan.

Perfectly pitched by all of the cast, this was a captivating riff on Terrence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea which I loved as a movie but seeing it at the NT this year left me unmoved. Not so with this beautifully designed production with strong performances all round but particularly from Paul Keating.

 

Les Blancs
by Lorraine Hansberry
adapted by Robert Nemiroff
at National Theatre

Siân Phillips as Madame Neilsen and Danny Sapani as Tshembe Matoseh. Photo by Johan Persson.
Siân Phillips (Madame Neilsen) and Danny Sapani (Tshembe Matoseh). Photo by Johan Persson.

The wonderful Siân Phillips (still going strong at 83 years old) was the matriarch of this sensationally-staged play. smoke and the smell of incense. Scent is very underused in theatre but this production was incredibly engrossing and atmospheric.

 

Pine
by Jacqui Honess-Martin
at Hampstead Theatre

David Mumeni (Sami), Hannah Britland (Gabby), Ronak Patani (taj), Lucy May Barker (Betty) and Matt Whitchurch (Joe).
David Mumeni (Sami), Hannah Britland (Gabby), Ronak Patani (taj), Lucy May Barker (Betty) and Matt Whitchurch (Joe).

A perfect post-Christmas pick-me-up, this very sweet and cosy new play about a group of young people working selling Christmas trees was staged brilliantly in the downstairs space. Not everything rang true in the plot department, but it was all done with such warmth (with some carol singing thrown in) that it won me over.

 

Red Velvet
by Lolita Chakrabarti
at Garrick Theatre

Adrian Lester (Ira Aldridge).
Adrian Lester (Ira Aldridge).

Only the second time I’ve seen Adrian Lester on stage (the first was 23 years earlier in Sweeney Todd at the NT) and he was utterly captivating in this fascinating play about actor Ira Aldridge.

 

The Children
by Lucy Kirkwood
at Royal Court

Ron Cook (Robin), Deborah Findlay (Hazel) and Francesca Annis (Rose). Photo by Johan Persson.
Ron Cook (Robin), Deborah Findlay (Hazel) and Francesca Annis (Rose). Photo by Johan Persson.

Lucy Kirkwood does it again with a slow-burner about a couple living near a nuclear power station who receive an unexpected visit from an old work colleague. Three fantastic performances, made this a real treat.

 

The Flick
by Annie Baker
at National Theatre

Louisa Krause and Jaygann Ayeh. Photo by Mark Douet.
Louisa Krause and Jaygann Ayeh. Photo by Mark Douet.

I remember loving The Aliens by Annie Baker at the Bush Theatre many years ago and loving it. The Flick had a hugely successful run on Broadway in 2015 and it arrived in London with a string of hype and anticipation. It didn’t disappoint. Simply brilliant.

 

The Red Barn
by David Hare
at National Theatre

Hope Davis (Ingrid Dodd) and Mark Strong (Donald Dodd). Photo by Manuel Harlan.
Hope Davis (Ingrid Dodd) and Mark Strong (Donald Dodd). Photo by Manuel Harlan.

The critics were quite divided on this new play from David Hare based on the novel La Main by Georges Simenon. Many thought that the slick staging by Robert Icke and designer Bunnie Christie was more “movie than theatre” but I thought it was amazingly well done.

 

The Solid Life of Sugar Water
by Jack Thorne
at National Theatre

Genevieve Barr (Alice) and Arthur Hughes (Phil). Photo by Patrick Baldwin.
Genevieve Barr (Alice) and Arthur Hughes (Phil). Photo by Patrick Baldwin.

Every once in a time, a production comes along that seems to redefine what theatre is. This is one of those productions. The most powerful and moving performance of a speech I’ve ever seen on stage from Genevieve Barr retelling the loss of the couple’s baby.

 

Yen
by Anna Jordan
at Royal Court

Jake Davies (Bobbie) and Alex Austin (Hench). Photo by Richard Davenport.
Jake Davies (Bobbie) and Alex Austin (Hench). Photo by Richard Davenport.

On paper, watching two teenage brothers whiling away the hours in a squalid flat on a diet of video games and porn with their dog named Taliban doesn’t sound too appealing, but Anna Jordan’s Bruntwood prize-winning play grabs the audience by the neck and doesn’t let them go. Brilliantly-written, with a couple of raw, honest and spellbinding performances from Jake Davies and Alex Austin.