Love From a Stranger

Love from a Stranger, Cambridge Arts Theatre, 2018.

Cast: Justin Avoth, Elizabeth Bouckley, Helen Bradbury, Sam Frenchum, Nicholas Fretwell, Alice Haig, Holly Logan, Crispin Redman, Nicola Sanderson, Gareth Williams.

Writer: Agatha Christie & Frank Vosper

Director: Lucy Bailey

I'd completely forgotten I'd seen this although when I thought about it perhaps the set involved sliding screens. It's another Christie play directed by Lucy Bailey who really has become the Queen of this kind of thing. I hope they find her more to do as they work really well.

Macbeth

Macbeth, National Theatre, 2018.

Cast: Nadia Albina, Michael Balogun, Stephen Boxer, Anne-Marie Duff, Trevor Fox, Andrew Frame, Kevin Harvey, Hannah Hutch, Nicholas Karimi, Rory Kinnear, Joshua Lacey, Penny Layden, Anna-Marie Nabirye, Amaka Okafor, Patrick O'Kane, Hauk Pattison, Alana Ramsey, Beatrice Scirocchi, Rakhee Sharma, Parth Thakerar.

Writer: William Shakespeare

Director: Rufus Norris

I hated this so much it convinced me that the National Theatre should stop doing Shakespeare completely. We've got the RSC and the Globe doing it full time plus commercial theatres doing it too so it's not like Shakespeare would disappear if they stopped, but at least we'd be spared awfulness like this. The problem is that I can't remember now why I hated it so much. What a waste of good leads.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Kiss of the Spider Woman, Menier Chocolate Factory, 2018.

Cast: Samuel Barnett, Declan Bennett, Grace Cookey-Gam

Writer: Manuel Puig

Adapted by: José Rivera & Allan Baker

Director: Laurie Sansom

I miss the Chocolate Factory but post-pandemic they don't seem to have got their groove back so it's been a long while since I was there. I thought this was a one man show, but clearly not, although I do vividly remember Samuel Barnett lying on a bed in the corner of the space in a silk dressing gown.. He's so good he deserves a really big role in something.

The York Realist

The York Realist, Sheffield Crucible, 2018.

Cast: Jonathan Bailey, Ben Batt, Lucy Black, Brian Fletcher, Lesley Nicol, Katie West, Matthew Wilson.

Writer: Peter Gill

Director: Robert Hastie

I saw this at the Donmar Warehouse and loved it so much I saw it again when it transferred to Sheffield a few months later. It was a great thing to do as I realised that Sheffield is quite easy to get to, it is a lovely city, and the theatre is amazing. I've been back since and would definitely go back again.

As for the play, I'd never heard of Peter Gill before but it turns out that he's written loads of stuff. It was incredibly beautiful and the cast were amazing.

The Band

The Band, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2018.

Cast: Rachel Lumberg, Alison Fitzjohn, Emily Joyce, Jayne McKenna, AJ Bentley, Nick Carlsberg, Curtis T Johns, Yazdan Qafouri, Sario Solomon, Faye Christall, Katy Clayton, Rachelle Diedricks, Sarah Kate Howarth, Lauren Jacobs, Martin Miller, Andy Williams.

Writer: Tim Firth

Director: Kim Gavin

This was the first tour of the musical using Take That songs before it became a film and then toured again as Greatest Days. I didn't see that tour but I did see the film which sticks in my head more than this. I remember there being a bed on the set and maybe the band appearing out of it, but that does fit with the film so perhaps I've completely misremembered it. 

It's a nice idea for a musical - the enduring power of music - but it does rely on you having some connection to Take That to get a big audience so I'm not sure it will endure. It's interesting reading in the programme how the five actors playing the band were going to be a band and record an album in their own right, which I imagine never happened although I'm too scared to look on Wikipedia and find out.

Working A Musical

Working A Musical, Southwark Playhouse, 2017.

Cast: Gillian Bevan, Dean Chisnall, Krysten Cummings, Siubhan Harrison, Peter Polycarpou, Liam Tamne, PAtrick Coulter, Nicola Espallardo, Izuka Hoyle, Luek Latchman, Huon Mackley, Kerri Norville.

Book, music & lyrics: Stephen Schwartz

Book: Nina Faso

Music & lyrics: Craig Carnelia

Music & lyrics: Micki Grant

Music & lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Music: Mary Rodgers

Lyrics: Susan Birkenhead

Music & lyrics: James Taylor

Director: Luke Sheppard

I've seen so many musicals at the Southwark Playhouse now that I can't remember this one. Perhaps there was a dance where they say on desks and were twirled around (it would certainly fit the title) but apart from that I'm clueless, 

Follies

Follies, National Theatre, 2017. 

Cast: Gary Raymond, Jordan Shaw, Imelda Staunton, Janie Dee, Philip Quast, Fred Haig, Peter Forbes, Josephine Barstow, Bruce Graham, Dawn Hope, Adrian Grove, Di Botcher, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Zizi Strallen, Alex Young, Adam Rhys-Charles, Tracie Bennett, Billy Boyle, Norma Atallah, Liz Izen, Julie Armstrong, Gemma Page, Alison Langer, Aimee Hodnett, Sarah-Marie Maxwell, Kate Parr, Christine Tucker, Leisha Mollyneaux, Emily Langham, Anouska Eaton, Barnaby Thompson, Emily Goodenough, Edwin Ray, Ian Mc:Arnon, Liz Ewing, Jeremy Batt, Michael Vinsen.

Book: James Goldman

Music & lyrics: Stephen Sondheim

Director: Dominic Cooke

Despite the ridiculous size of the cast the first performance of this I saw was an amateur one in Cambridge in 2008. That it took nearly ten years for me to get the opportunity to see it again was probably also down to the size of the cast. So many great names in this and the big stage at the National was used to full effect, but nearly ten years later and having seen things that really changed the way musicals are made and presented I wonder if it wasn't slightly old-fashioned. Classy, of course, and brilliantly performed.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2017.

Cast: Scott Reid, Lucianne McEvoy, David Michaels, Emma Beattie, Debra Michaels, Eliza Collins, Oliver Boot, Bruce McGregor, Joel Harper-Jackson, Crystal Condie, Emma-Jane Goodwin, James Parkes, Jams Thomas, Danielle Young.

Writer: Simon Stephens

Director: Marianne Elliott

I'm not sure how many times I've seen this so I'm hoping this process will clarify that, but whatever the number is it won't be enough - this is one of the best pieces of theatre I've ever seen. It's quite a small story but the scale of its telling is amazing - it looks incredible on the stage, and moments like getting on the Tube train genuinely make you hold your breath. And it's got a very complicated central character to cast so it's impressive how well each of the actors I've seen play it have done it. Probably the best adaptation of a book ever.

Angels in America

Angels in America, National Theatre, 2017. 

Cast: Stuart Angell, Mark Arnold, Arun Blair-Mangat, Susan Brown, Laura Caldow, Andrew Garfield, Denise Gough, Kate Harper, John Hastings, Claire Lambert, Nathan Lane, Amanda LAwrence, James McArdle, Becky Namgauds, Mateo Oxley, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Russell Tovey, Paksie Vernon, Stan West, Lewis Wilkins.

Writer: Tony Kushner

Director: Marianne Elliott

This was the second production of this I've seen - the first was a touring production that came to Cambridge, something that simply couldn't happen now. I wonder if I'll get to see it a third time anywhere?

I don't remember much about it really other than it made good use of the big stage at the National. I imagine the cast were excellent, and I do remember Russell Tovey was naked (inevitably). I'd somehow forgotten that Andrew Garfield was in it. And it made me wonder what Marianne Elliott was doing now, which turns out to be a film, so that should be interesting.

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2017.

Cast: Hannah Bristow, Matthew Churcher, Nadia Clifford, Tim Delap, Alex Heane, Melanie Marshall, Evelyn Miller, Paul Mundell, David Ridley, Lynda Rooke.

Writer: Charlotte Bronte

Director: Sally Cookson 

My memory of this is now mixed up with a production of Tess of the D'Urbervilles last year which was dance. This wasn't but it possibly had a similar set with lots of wood. I do remember liking it enough to let a friend persuade me to see it again this summer.