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Articles
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2002 - A Year of ChangeBy Philip FisherDateline: 6th January, 2003There was a lot of good and interesting theatre produced in 2002. The main categorising factors were the slow recovery from the devastating impact of September 11 the previous year and, for some not immediately fathomable reason, the decision of almost every major artistic director to leave their posts. The consequence of the latter is that there will be a great deal of interest and excitement in 2003 as new incumbents take up the reins. The undoubted star last year was the Donmar. Sam Mendes had clearly decided that he wanted to leave the theatre that he had directed for the last ten years with a bang. He managed that and then some. First, there was the second American Imports season, which contained a good assortment of plays. The absolutely superb Take Me Out by Richard Greenberg was the pick of the bunch and is now playing off-Broadway and about to move on to Broadway. In terms of quality, this was very closely followed by Stephen Adly Guirgis' Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train. These two plays were many people's picks for play of the year. In addition, the season also included a sell-out run of Proof, a rather weaker play containing a very good performance from Hollywood superstar Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero. He also had another play produced in the West End, the teen star vehicle This is Our Youth. This would have been enough for any other theatre as the output of a single year, but Mendes was not finished. His last two productions, both of which sold out approximately a month before the start of their runs, were the truly wonderful Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night. They both starred probably the best actor around, Simon Russell Beale, who gave delicious performances. He was very well supported, especially by Emily Watson and Helen McCrory. Michael Grandage then took over from Mendes and his first production there was The Vortex a black, Tennessee Williams-like play from Noel Coward, starring Francesca Annis and Chiwetel Ejiofor, which suggested that the Donmar is in good hands. Gwyneth Paltrow was not the only superstar in town this year. In the West End, Madonna made her London stage debut in David Williamson's Up For Grabs; David Hare's latest play, Breath Of Life, starred two theatrical dames, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench; Sean Bean was a muscular Macbeth and Glenn Close appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire at the National. The conclusion that one is forced to reach is that, far too often, vehicles for big-name stars are very expensive productions that are almost always doomed to disappoint all those who do not see their heroes through rose-tinted glasses. This is not entirely the case, as will be demonstrated by memories of plays starring two theatrical knights who have also graced our stages this year. The Royal Court has been distinguished by a number of excellent plays, categorised by its usual adventurous programming. A Number by that great playwright, Caryl Churchil, starring Sir Michael Gambon and Daniel Craig, was many people's selection for best play of the year. In fact, it won the Evening Standard award and the play, the acting and the overall production will live in the memory for long long time. The young Russian playwright Vassily Sigarev's Plasticine won the Royal Court a second Evening Standard award for best new writing. It was a nightmarish trip through the underworld of St Petersburg with actors playing drug-crazed low-lifes, mingling with the great and the good in a remodelled Theatre Upstairs at Sloane Square. Also in the small auditorium was one of two excellent imports from the Traverse programme at the Edinburgh Festival, David Greig's touching story of coming-of-age, Outlying Islands. This was an old-fashioned tale with the ability to move, which is somewhat unusual at the Royal Court. Other Court highlights included three very black comedies, Michael Wynne's The People Are Friendly (dado rails will never seem the same again), Nick Grosso's Kosher Harry and Anthony Neilson's The Lying Kind. The RSC had a rather strange year, giving up their tenancy at the Barbican in the spring. Before that, they had put on one of three Twelfth Nights this year, possibly rather unluckily because of the strength of the other two, and a season of new plays, the best of which was David Edgar's always intriguing The Prisoner's Dilemma. They then had a season at the Roundhouse, which was a very odd venue for them to play, cavernous and unfriendly. Their American-set Winter's Tale was very enjoyable, with Douglas Hodge particularly strong as Leontes. They moved from there to the Theatre Royal Haymarket for Much Ado and Antony and Cleopatra, both enjoyable without setting the world alight, and then to the Gielgud where they saw out the year with the five plays that had started in Stratford, toured to Newcastle and finally made it to London. These were a mixture but particularly The Malcontent starring Sir Antony Sher and Edward III, a "new" Shakespeare with David Rintoul in the title part, were well worth a visit. The National started an interesting, if not wholly successful experiment in the Lyttelton this year as they split it in two, putting on plays there were intended to appeal to the young in each. For this reviewer, The Powerbook was one of the plays of the year, with Saffron Burrows and the wonderful Fiona Shaw, the latter currently starring in Medea on Broadway. It was based on Jeanette Winterson's novel and directed by Deborah Warner. This is a stunningly good team and the production quality was very high. That season also allowed a number of young playwrights to show off their work at the National and Matthew Bourne to make a debut appearance there with Play Without Words, something between a play and a ballet based on Joseph Losey's film of the early 1960s, The Servant. The biggest play of the year for almost every viewpoint was Tom Stoppard's new trilogy, The Coast of Utopia. While sometimes it seemed rather rambling, it was an intellectual delight and the design by William Dudley deserves to win awards as it showed us a glimpse of the future of British Theatre Design. In the Cottesloe, one oddity that turned out to be a great success was Pamela Gien's The Syringa Tree, a heart-warming South African tale. There was also Nicholas Wright's very successful Vincent in Brixton, which later transferred into the West End. At the National, the year finished with Out Of Joint's She Stoops To Conquer paired with a new play that was almost a great success, April de Angelis' A Laughing Matter. The Hall family has generally had a good year. Edward has been prolific in directing Rose Rage and Macbeth, interesting takes on Shakespeare, the first far more successful than the second, as well as Maugham's The Constant Wife. Sir Peter has directed The Bacchae at the National and a lovely version of Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession, starring Brenda Blethyn and, making a West End stage debut to remember, his daughter Rebecca. Elsewhere in the West End, shows that are well worth a mention include the revival of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg starring Clive Owen and Victoria Hamilton with Eddie Izzard taking over from Owen for the end of the London run and a potential American transfer. The Globe had a good year, as is always likely to be the case with Mark Rylance in charge. The highlight was the year's second production of Twelfth Night, with Rylance in cracking form as Olivia. Phil Willmott's Steam Industry Company has also had a good and prolific year with his fresh looks at old plays. He managed to breathe life into Henry VIII, Measure for Measure and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. An achievement that would have seemed impossible to many. On smaller stages, Hampstead has closed its temporary accommodation that survived some 30 years with one of its most successful productions, David Grindley's wonderful revival of Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party. This has subsequently successfully transferred to the West End. Hampstead also allowed its press officer, Charlotte Eilenberg, the opportunity to put her first play on stage. The Lucky Ones was a good old-fashioned drama that benefited from a tremendous cast and good direction and showed that its playwright is multi-talented. The Bush transferred Antony Neilson's Stitching, a searing play of love and hate between a husband and wife, from the Traverse and also put on a successful season of new writing which included Simon Burt's Untouchable. Moving a little further west, Hammersmith has been the home to much good theatre at both at the Lyric and the Riverside Studios. While not perfect, Frantic Assembly's Peepshow at the Lyric showed more imagination than many far more lauded productions. They also put on Heavenly at Soho earlier in the year, a play with a very different character but much charm. Soho had an interesting year with another of the highlights, Kerry Hood's very touching Meeting Myself Coming Back. The Riverside has specialised in international and experimental programming. As always, there have been hits and misses both commercially and artistically. Pat Cumper's The Key Game, Willmott's Measure for Measure Malaya and Justin Butcher's Scaramouche Jones starring Peter Postlethwaite were among the best. The Tricycle in Kilburn has had another good year with its mix of programming. It has always specialised in Irish and black writing and has good examples of both this year. In particular, it was lucky enough to secure the British premiere of August Wilson's King Hedley II, an absolutely superb almost Shakespearean tragedy which must transfer to a larger stage in 2003. They also secured Athol Fugard's Sorrows and Rejoicings and Billy Roche's Cavalcaders, starring the playwright himself. Many apologies to all of those that have been missed in this review of a very full theatrical year. It will be interesting to see what 2003 brings, particularly as the musical chairs amongst artistic directors will mean that there are many people with something to prove. Articles Indices: Articles from 2004
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