, , ,

Hamnet at the RSC

Maggie O’Farrell’s 1.5mn selling plague-driven novel explores the loss the Shakespeare family experiences when eponymous son Hamnet dies, aged 11.

The boy’s short life is, effectively, subordinated to the legacy of a Great Man, felt only in the shadows it may or may not have cast on the Bard’s most beloved plays.

Now, Lolita Chakribati’s honourable adaptation reopens the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan theatre after a three-year closure.

Hamnet tells the story of 18 years of Shakespeare’s life from the point of view of Anne Hathaway, the countrywoman who was left behind with three children. 

Erica Whyman’s gentle Elizabethan production and 14-strong ensemble glide over Tom Piper’s simple set of wooden beams and ladders. 

The audience is alive to it.

The remarkable and young Madeleine Mantock, in her second stage credit, as Agnes (“but the ‘g’ is silent”) Hathaway has great chemistry with family Latin tutor, William (Tom Varey). She grows herbs and keeps bees “in hemp-woven skeps, which hum with industrious and absorbed life”.

The whole thing is an efficient show — not a great show but one that will probably stir audiences’ emotions and join the ranks of such Shakespeare inspired spin-offs as Shakespeare in Love& Juliet, and also Emilia

The trap Whyman and Chakrabarti sets for the audience, baiting it with a historically famous figure, is unfortunately, a trap we can’t get out of. There is a lot of exposition. 

There is a memorable soundscape featuring Oğuz Kaplangı’s compositions and Xana’s serene sound design; birdsong, the flapping of wings, sporadic knocking.

Still, Whyman has made the English heritage women heroically, mythically alive on the stage. The treatment is certainly on a high level. I was impressed by adult Hamnet, Ajani Cabey 

Although Hamnet is moderately elegant and literate and expensive, and the female driven creative team gussies things up with what may or may not be the key to something or other, it’s basically a traditional tragedy. But the show doesn’t wear its conspicuous cleverness lightly.

Disappointingly, despite a rousing Act 2, the whole thing doesn’t quite come off, and we’re always too aware of the sensitive qualities it’s aiming at.

Yet Hamnet is a reasonably good evening that misses being a really memorable one. This atmospheric show is entertainment, which doesn’t require it to be justified in the light of historical theory. 

Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, are said to be in talks to star in Chloe Zhao’s movie version. A West End run looms.

Hamnet runs at the Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until 17 Jun. It transfers to the Garrick theatre, London, from 30 Sep to 6 Jan

, , ,

Olivier Awards 2023: the winners in full

My Neighbour Totoro has scooped six wins at the Olivier Awards 2023, with Jodie Comer and Paul Mescal winning best actor and actress.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s My Neighbour Totoro had the most wins, triumphing in six out of the nine categories it was nominated in, including best entertainment or comedy play and best director.

Rebecca Frecknall’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre won three awards, including best actor for Mescal, best revival and best actress in a supporting role for Anjana Vasan.

Other acting winners included Katie Brayben, Beverley Knight, Arthur Darvill and Will Keen.

The National Theatre’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge won best new musical, while Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! won best musical revival.

The winners in full

Best revival

Winner: A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre|

Also nominated:
The Crucible at the National Theatre
Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre

Best actor in a supporting role

Winner: Will Keen for Patriots at the Almeida Theatre

Also nominated:
Mark Akintimehin, Emmanuel Akwafo, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Darragh Hand, Aruna Jalloh and Kaine Lawrence for For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre
Elliot Levey for Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre
David Moorst for To Kill a Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre
Sule Rimi for Blues for an Alabama Sky at the National Theatre

Best actress in a supporting role

Winner: Anjana Vasan for A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre

Also nominated:
Rose Ayling-Ellis for As You Like It at @sohoplace
Pamela Nomvete for To Kill a Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre
Caroline Quentin for Jack Absolute Flies Againat the National Theatre
Sharon Small for Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Best set design

Winner: Tom Pye for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre

Also nominated:
Miriam Buether for To Kill a Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre
Ben Stones for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre
Mark Walters for Jack and the Beanstalk at the London Palladium

Best costume design

Winner: Kimie Nakano for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre

Also nominated:
Frankie Bradshaw for Blues for an Alabama Sky at the National Theatre
Hugh Durrant for Jack and the Beanstalk at the London Palladium
Jean Paul Gaultier for Jean Paul Gaultier Fashion Freak Show at Roundhouse

Best actress

Winner: Jodie Comer for Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Also nominated:
Patsy Ferran for A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre
Mei Mac for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre
Janet McTeer for Phaedra at the National Theatre
Nicola Walker for The Corn Is Green at the National Theatre

Best actor

Winner: Paul Mescal for A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre

Also nominated:
Tom Hollander for Patriots at the Almeida Theatre
Rafe Spall for To Kill a Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre
David Tennant for Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Giles Terera for Blues for an Alabama Sky at the National Theatre

Outstanding achievement in opera

Winner: William Kentridge for his conception and direction of Sibyl at the Barbican Theatre

Also nominated:
Sinéad Campbell-Wallace for her performance in Tosca by English National Opera at the London Coliseum
Antony McDonald for his design of Alcina at the Royal Opera House

Best new opera production

Winner: Alcina by Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House

Also nominated:
Least Like the Other by Irish National Opera and Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House
Peter Grimes by Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House
Sibyl at the Barbican Theatre

Best new play

Winner: Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Also nominated: 
For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy at the Royal Court Theatre
Patriots at the Almeida Theatre
To Kill a Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre

Best director

Winner: Phelim McDermott for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre

Also nominated:
Rebecca Frecknall for A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre
Robert Hastie for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre
Justin Martin for Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Bartlett Sher for To Kill a Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre

Outstanding achievement in affiliate theatre

Winner: The P Word at the Bush Theatre

Also nominated:
Age Is a Feeling at Soho Theatre
Blackout Songs at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs
Paradise Now! at the Bush Theatre
two Palestinians go dogging at the Royal Court Theatre

Best entertainment or comedy play

Winner: My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre

Also nominated: 
Jack and the Beanstalk at the London Palladium
My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) at the Garrick Theatre and the Ambassadors Theatre
One Woman Show at the Ambassadors Theatre

Best family show

Winner: Hey Duggee the Live Theatre Showat Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre

Also nominated:
Blippi the Musical at the Apollo Theatre
Midsummer Mechanicals at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe
The Smartest Giant in Town at St Martin’s Theatre

Outstanding achievement in dance

Winner: Dickson Mbi for his choreography of Enowate at Sadler’s Wells

Also nominated:
Manuel Liñán for his choreography of ¡VIVA! at Sadler’s Wells
Raquel Meseguer Zafe for her dramaturgy of Ruination by Lost Dog at the Royal Opera House
Catrina Nisbett for her performance in Family Honour by Spoken Movement at Sadler’s Wells

Best new dance production

Winner: Traplord by Ivan Michael Blackstock at 180 Studios (The Strand)

Also nominated: 
Light of Passage by Crystal Pite at the Royal Opera House
Pasionaria by La Veronal at Sadler’s Wells
Triptych: The Missing Door, The Lost Room, and The Hidden Floor by Peeping Tom at the Barbican Theatre

Best musical revival

Winner: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Young Vic

Also nominated:
My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum
Sister Act at the Eventim Apollo
South Pacific at Sadler’s Wells

Best original score or new orchestrations

Winner: Richard Hawley and Tom Deering – music and lyrics by Richard Hawley and orchestrations by Tom Deering – for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre

Also nominated:
David Yazbek, Jamshied Sharifi and Andrea Grody – music and lyrics by David Yazbek, orchestrations by Jamshied Sharifi and additional arrangements by Andrea Grody – for The Band’s Visit at the Donmar Warehouse
Joe Hisaishi and Will Stuart – music by Joe Hisaishi and orchestrations and arrangements by Will Stuart – for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre
Daniel Kluger and Nathan Koci – orchestrations and arrangements by Daniel Kluger and additional vocal arrangements by Nathan Koci – Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Young Vic
Best theatre choreographer

Winner: Matt Cole for Newsies at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

Also nominated:
Lynne Page for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre
Kate Prince for Sylvia at the Old Vic
Basil Twist for puppetry direction for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre

Best lighting design

Winner: Jessica Hung Han Yun for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre

Also nominated:
Natasha Chivers for Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Lee Curran for A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre
Tim Lutkin for The Crucible at the National Theatre

Best sound design

Winner: Tony Gayle for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Theatre

Also nominated:
Bobby Aitken for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre
Drew Levy for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Young Vic
Ben and Max Ringham for Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Best actress in a supporting role in a musical

Winner: Beverley Knight for Sylvia at the Old Vic

Also nominated:
Maimuna Memon for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre
Liza Sadovy for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Young Vic
Marisha Wallace for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Young Vic

Best actor in a supporting role in a musical

Winner: Zubin Varla for Tammy Faye at the Almeida Theatre

Also nominated:
Sharif Afifi for The Band’s Visit at the Donmar Warehouse
Peter Polycarpou for The Band’s Visit at the Donmar Warehouse
Clive Rowe for Sister Act at the Eventim Apollo

Best actor in a musical

Winner: Arthur Darvill for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Young Vic

Also nominated:
Alon Moni Aboutboul for The Band’s Visit at the Donmar Warehouse
Julian Ovenden for South Pacific at Sadler’s Wells
Andrew Rannells for Tammy Faye at the Almeida Theatre

Best actress in a musical

Winner: Katie Brayben for Tammy Faye at the Almeida Theatre

Also nominated:
Anoushka Lucas for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Young Vic
Miri Mesika for The Band’s Visit at the Donmar Warehouse
Faith Omole for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre

Best new musical

Winner: Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre

Also nominated: 
The Band’s Visit at the Donmar Warehouse
Sylvia at the Old Vic
Tammy Faye at the Almeida Theatre

, , , ,

Guys and Dolls, Bridge theatre – buckets of fun

Critic Kenneth Tynan described Guys and Dolls as “the Beggar’s Opera of Broadway”, which articulates how earnestly this least earnest of musicals is, and should be, taken. 

Frank Loesser’s legendary show may be a classic Broadway fairytale, but here it is, reimagined in a radically immersive production that is full of fun and intimate detail. (make sure you grab a pretzel and beer pre-show) 

So much of this perfectly calibrated machine hits the mark. 

Even the overture, played with gusto by the 14-piece swing band under Tom Brady’s baton, creates a sense of anticipatory excitement.

From the beginning, the delightful show just pulls you in. Everything is bursting with energy and full of panache. It’s fresh minted but old school and owes much to Arlene Phillips smashing choreography. It animates every scene, it’s exquisitely put together.

I especially liked Daniel Mays as crumpled and charming Nathan Detroit and Marisha Wallace a sizzling Miss Adelaide, ‘the well-known fiancée’. 

Wallace makes the often twee ‘Bushel and a Peck’ a raunchy strip tease – with carrots. As a performer, she has a special kind of chicness that takes the form of haste; she’s always ahead of everybody, and this snappy beat – this responsiveness – makes her more exciting to watch, as she was in the Young Vic’s Oklahoma! It is her show.

Elsewhere, Sister Sarah (Celinde Schoenmaker), falls hard for the smooth-talking gambler, Sky Masterson (Andrew Richardson) and they are compelling. 

As for the remainder of this large cast, they dance and sing themselves right into the top league of quality musical performances. Backed up with stunning arrangements and an expert technical team, dressed as New York cops, the actors and musicians really do justice to this outstanding score.

Powered by Bunny Christie’s effective bygone orange and scarlet 1950s in-the-round aesthetic, scenes are staged on hydraulic platforms that shift around a standing audience. There’s seating if you prefer. Stagehands jostle in the neon glow, guided by the gorgeous music, while the audience is swept along. It’s such a lifter. 

The Bridge theatre’s Guys and Dolls restored my faith in musical theatre. It’s a pure emotional high, and you don’t come down when the show is over. None of the big numbers disappoint, from the thrilling dancing of ‘Luck Be a Lady’ to an especially gold rendition of ‘Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat’ led by Cedric Neal.

Hytner’s production is a show that you can’t get out of your system.

I for one can’t wait to go again. 

Guys and Dolls

This review is dedicated to Bridge theatre PR Janine Shalom. Was she really that exacting? Yes. But she was able to laugh at herself, and I very much admired her for that.

Guys & Dolls is at the Bridge, London, until 2 September

, , ,

Olivier Awards Nominations 2023: Who Will Win & Who Should Win?

First: a great deal of joy in most nominated musical Standing At The Sky’s Edge for its tremendous successes on this year’s nominations list. 

Richard Hawley and Chris Bush’s hit show, about Sheffield communities, has a load of nominations including Best Musical, Best Set Design for Ben Stones and Best Actress in a Musical for Faith Omole.

Standing At The Sky’s Edge

Naturally, much acclaimed My Neighbour Totoro, the stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s 1988 animated film, takes pole position with 9 nominations in categories Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, Best Director, Best Theatre Choreographer, Best Original Score and a Best Actress nod for Mei Mac.

Donmar Warehouse’s production of The Band’s Visit gets 6 nominations and it’s good to see Katie Brayben land Best Actress in a Musical for her solid performance as Tammy Faye

However, the Best Actress category is impossible to call – though it could well be that Patsy Ferran will clinch it for her tremendous performance as Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire. Not backing Jodie Comer is now practically a treasonable offence, but a victory for her will happen at the expense of a subtler performance. 

Paul Mescal has added an Olivier nod for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire to his recent Oscar nomination. 27 actors are first-time Olivier nominees.

Jealous insecurities … Paul Mescal and Anjana Vasan in A Streetcar Named Desire. Photograph: Marc Brenner

Elsewhere, super producer Sonia Friedman is back on top with 17 nominations for her shows including 6 for To Kill A Mockingbird, 3 for Patriots, 1 for Jerusalem and 7 nods for Oklahoma!

On the play front, my guess is that A Streetcar Named Desire will win almost all its categories, My Neighbour Totoro will, in fact, sweep the board and New Diorama’s hit For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide – soon to run in the West End – could land Best New Play. 

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide


Anyway, let’s have a recap of the nominees plus a guide to who should win each category.

Full list of nominations for Olivier Awards 2023 with Mastercard:

Noël Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play

Jack And The Beanstalk at The London Palladium

My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre

My Son’s A Queer, (But What Can You Do?) at Garrick Theatre & Ambassadors Theatre

One Woman Show at Ambassadors Theatre

Will win: My Neighbour Totoro

Should win: My Neighbour Totoro 

Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer

Matt Cole for Newsies at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

Lynne Page for Standing At The Sky’s Edge at National Theatre – Olivier

Kate Prince for Sylvia at The Old Vic

Basil Twist for Puppetry Direction for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre

Will win: Matt Cole for Newsies 

Should win: Lynn Page Standing At The Sky’s Edge 

Best Costume Design

Frankie Bradshaw for Blues For An Alabama Sky at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Hugh Durrant for Jack And The Beanstalk at The London Palladium

Jean Paul Gaultier for Jean Paul Gaultier Fashion Freak Show at Roundhouse

Kimie Nakano for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre

Will win: Kimie Nakano for My Neighbour is Totoro

Should win: Kimie Nakano for My Neighbour is Totoro

Cunard Best Revival

The Crucible at National Theatre – Olivier

Good at Harold Pinter Theatre

Jerusalem at Apollo Theatre

A Streetcar Named Desire at Almeida Theatre

Will win: A Streetcar Named Desire 

Should win: A Streetcar Named Desire

Magic Radio Best Musical Revival

My Fair Lady at London Coliseum

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at Young Vic

Sister Act at Eventim Apollo

South Pacific at Sadler’s Wells

Will win: Oklahoma! 

Should win: South Pacific 

d&b audiotechnik Award for Best Sound Design

Bobby Aitken for Standing At The Sky’s Edge at National Theatre – Olivier

Tony Gayle for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre

Drew Levy for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at Young Vic

Ben & Max Ringham for Prima Facie at Harold Pinter Theatre

Will win: Standing At The Sky’s Edge 

Should win: Standing At The Sky’s Edge 

Best Original Score or New Orchestrations

David Yazbek, Jamshied Sharifi & Andrea Grody – Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek, Orchestrations by Jamshied Sharifi & Additional Arrangements by Andrea Grody – The Band’s Visit at Donmar Warehouse

Joe Hisaishi & Will Stuart – Music by Joe Hisaishi & Orchestrations and Arrangements by Will Stuart – My Neighbour Totoro for Barbican Theatre

Daniel Kluger & Nathan Koci – Orchestrations and Arrangements by Daniel Kluger & Additional Vocal Arrangements by Nathan Koci  – Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!  Young Vic

Richard Hawley & Tom Deering – Music and Lyrics by Richard Hawley & Orchestrations by Tom Deering – Standing At The Sky’s Edge at National Theatre – Olivier

Will win: Standing At The Sky’s Edge 

Should win: Standing At The Sky’s Edge 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mark Akintimehin, Emmanuel Akwafo, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Darragh Hand, Aruna Jalloh & Kaine Lawrence for For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at The Royal Court Theatre

Will Keen for Patriots at Almeida Theatre

Elliot Levey for Good at Harold Pinter Theatre

David Moorst for To Kill A Mockingbird at Gielgud Theatre

Sule Rimi for Blues For An Alabama Sky at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Will win: Mark Akintimehin, Emmanuel Akwafo, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Darragh Hand, Aruna Jalloh & Kaine Lawrence for For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide

Should win: Mark Akintimehin, Emmanuel Akwafo, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Darragh Hand, Aruna Jalloh & Kaine Lawrence for For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Rose Ayling-Ellis for As You Like It at @sohoplace

Pamela Nomvete for To Kill A Mockingbird at Gielgud Theatre

Caroline Quentin for Jack Absolute Flies Again at National Theatre – Olivier

Sharon Small for Good at Harold Pinter Theatre

Anjana Vasan for A Streetcar Named Desire at Almeida Theatre

Will win: Anjana Vasan for A Streetcar Named Desire 

Should win: Anjana Vasan for A Streetcar Named Desire 

Blue-i Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design

Miriam Buether for To Kill A Mockingbird at Gielgud Theatre

Tom Pye for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre

Ben Stones for Standing At The Sky’s Edge at National Theatre – Olivier

Mark Walters for Jack And The Beanstalk at The London Palladium

Will win: Tom Pye for My Neighbour Tototoro 

Should win: Tom Pye for My Neighbour Tototoro 

White Light Award for Best Lighting Design

Natasha Chivers for Prima Facie at Harold Pinter Theatre

Lee Curran for A Streetcar Named Desire at Almeida Theatre

Jessica Hung Han Yun for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre

Tim Lutkin for The Crucible at National Theatre – Olivier

Will win: Natasha Chivers for Prima Facie 

Should win: Lee Curran for A Streetcar Named Desire 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Beverley Knight for Sylvia The Old Vic

Maimuna Memon for Standing At The Sky’s Edge National Theatre – Olivier

Liza Sadovy for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at Young Vic

Marisha Wallace for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at Young Vic

Will win: Beverley Knight for Sylvia The Old Vic 

Should win: Marisha Wallace for Oklahoma! 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Sharif Afifi for The Band’s Visit at Donmar Warehouse

Peter Polycarpou for The Band’s Visit at Donmar Warehouse

Clive Rowe for Sister Act at Eventim Apollo

Zubin Varla for Tammy Faye at Almeida Theatre

Will win: Sharif Afifi for The Band’s Visit

Should win: Zubin Varla for Tammy Faye 

Best Actor in a Musical

Alon Moni Aboutboul for The Band’s Visit at Donmar Warehouse

Arthur Darvill for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at Young Vic

Julian Ovenden for South Pacific at Sadler’s Wells

Andrew Rannells for Tammy Faye at Almeida Theatre

Will win: Arthur Darvill for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at Young Vic

Should win: Julian Ovenden for South Pacific 

Best Actress in a Musical

Katie Brayben for Tammy Faye at Almeida Theatre

Anoushka Lucas for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at Young Vic

Miri Mesika for The Band’s Visit at Donmar Warehouse

Faith Omole for Standing At The Sky’s Edge at National Theatre – Olivier

Will win: Katie Brayben for Tammy Faye

Should win: Katie Brayben for Tammy Faye

Unusual Rigging Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre

Age Is A Feeling at Soho Theatre

Blackout Songs at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs

The P Word at Bush Theatre

Paradise Now! at Bush Theatre

Two Palestinians Go Dogging at Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at The Royal Court Theatre

Will win: The P Word 

Should win: Age is A Feeling 

Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director

Rebecca Frecknall for A Streetcar Named Desire at Almeida Theatre

Robert Hastie for Standing At The Sky’s Edge at National Theatre – Olivier

Justin Martin for Prima Facie at Harold Pinter Theatre

Phelim McDermott for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre

Bartlett Sher for To Kill A Mockingbird at Gielgud Theatre

Will win: Phelim McDermott for My Neighbour Totoro 

Should win: Rebecca Frecknall for a Streetcar Named Desire 

Best Actress

Jodie Comer for Prima Facie at Harold Pinter Theatre

Patsy Ferran for A Streetcar Named Desire at Almeida Theatre

Mei Mac for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre

Janet McTeer for Phaedra at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Nicola Walker for The Corn Is Green at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Will win: Jodie Comer for Prima Facie 

Should win: Mei Mac for My Neighbour Totoro

Best Actor

Tom Hollander for Patriots at Almeida Theatre

Paul Mescal for A Streetcar Named Desire at Almeida Theatre

Rafe Spall for To Kill A Mockingbird at Gielgud Theatre

David Tennant for Good at Harold Pinter Theatre

Giles Terera for Blues For An Alabama Sky at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Will win: Paul Mescal for A Streetcar Named Desire 

Should win: Paul Mescal for A Streetcar Named Desire 

Delta Air Lines Best New Play

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at The Royal Court Theatre

Patriots at Almeida Theatre

Prima Facie at Harold Pinter Theatre

To Kill A Mockingbird at Gielgud Theatre

Will win: Prima Facie  

Should win: Patriots 

Mastercard Best New Musical

The Band’s Visit at Donmar Warehouse

Standing At The Sky’s Edge at National Theatre – Olivier

Sylvia at The Old Vic

Tammy Faye at Almeida Theatre

Will win: Standing at the Sky’s Edge 

Should win: Standing at the Sky’s Edge 

And there we have it.

The Olivier Awards will be hosted by Hannah Waddingham and broadcast via ITV and Magic Radio. Further details of the ceremony will be announced soon.

, ,

SOS: Let’s Talk About Theatre Audiences Misbehaving

Going to the theatre – particularly jukebox musicals – in 2023 seems to sum up an entire nation tormented by its class prejudices, insecurities, self-loathing, and entitlement.

Indeed, last week, Edinburgh Playhouse director Colin Marr warned abuse towards his front-of-house staff was unacceptable and said that he was “disgusted and angry” with dreadful behaviour aimed at his team in recent weeks.

In a statement posted online, he said: “This is becoming far too regular an occurrence – not just in our theatre but in venues across the UK. There is a very small minority of people who come to our theatre and choose to sing, dance, and talk throughout the show in a manner that disturbs others.”

Eye poppingly, a 51-year-old man and 54-year-old woman were arrested and charged in connection with an alleged brawl during the performance of Jersey Boys.

Jersey Boys

A witness told the Daily Record: “Staff asked him to calm down but because he was drunk he took offence and started throwing punches. It took about four ushers to restrain him and then another fight broke out in the stalls.”

Oh, what a night!


Furthermore, The King’s Theatre in Glasgow issued a similar appeal on social media during the recent run of The Bodyguard, urging audiences not to sing along during shows.

This prompted my suggestion for jukebox audiences to be breathalysed. The replies in that thread are beyond grim. Smoking in the upper circle at Pretty Woman, a teenager throwing up on her friend at The Cher Show and a family sharing a pizza at Moulin Rouge!

Glasgow statement

Maddest of the lot, though, inevitably came from a poor soul at & Juliet whose skull was used to steady the person behind her, who’d left mid-show for a toilet break, I’m guessing. 

So, have audiences simply forgotten how to behave?

Alas, last year, Deadline’s Baz Bamigboye reported seeing an audience member light up a joint at Get Up, Stand Up!, the Bob Marley jukebox musical. “We were standing outside the bar and the security guards raced past us. I said ‘What’s going on?’ and they said ‘A guy’s lit up a spliff in the stalls bar.’ We could actually smell something and it wasn’t a scented candle.”

And having endured weeks of pain in the a**e punters in The Drifter’s Girl Beverley Knight tweeted: “If your intention is to come to the theatre, get rat-arsed, make a scene, disrupt the show … My advice is stay your ass at home.”

Certainly, though, research indicates that post-pandemic restrictions easing there has been a spike violent behaviour and a “reversed maturity” which has caused personalities to revert to that of a challenging toddler. Go figure.

In a sane world nobody should have to police anybody else in the theatre. Like so much these days the pleasures of the vast majority are being compromised by the thoughtlessness of the drunken minority. 

Edinburgh Playhouse

In any case, I was stunned to see bouncers in the stalls at Bat Out Of Hell – another cost to producers – in an attempt to tackle increasingly drunken audiences who misbehave during weekend performances on the UK tour.

Elsewhere, SOLT/UK Theatre are floating a ‘respect campaign’ and recently said that it was looking into the scale of the problem and described audience yobbishness as a “growing issue – that we don’t fully understand the scale of yet”.

It goes almost without saying then, moneymaking ventures like ATG’s At-Seat service providing Yorkshire crisps, Sweet Chilli Pretzels, and bottles of champagne directly to your seat pre-show and during the interval. This has a lot to do with the hellish noise and lack of consideration on display. 

Trouble is, it’s show-business and “bums on seats” that count, obviously. Ticket prices are now completely unregulated and have surged 20% from pre-pandemic levels, but that doesn’t mean people can do as they please. 

In recent times, it seems Scotland and the West End are not the only place resembling feeding time at the zoo. In a – now deleted Playbill article – the key takeaway was that since pandemic lockdowns, live Broadway audiences have got more wild, hostile and disgusting, too. 

In it, a Broadway front of house manager explains: “It’s been horrible, no two ways about it… I cannot overstate how much it changed things. A bartender at a pub has the ability to cut someone off when they’re getting too drunk; they have bouncers to back them up. Our bartenders don’t have the ability to cut someone off, because we’re told to sell as many souvenir cups as we can. I’m sure higher-ups are making money hand over fist, but we’re stuck dealing with unruly drunks almost every week.”

Audience cheer for the actors at the Richard Rodgers theatre towards the end of the first return performance of Hamilton, as Broadway shows re-open

All this got me thinking: is it time to give persistently antisocial audiences a 12-month ban? Maybe.

Often theatre is all about being in the moment — in a public space — don’t forget that everyone has their own moments!

In the meantime, here’s my theatregoing checklist: Arrive 20 minutes early. Phone off. Stay quiet (if you are inclined). Don’t fight – overreacting to drunks is also antisocial. No crisps. No ice. Stop rattling your jewellery. Stay awake. Enjoy the show.

In Elizabethan times audiences clapped and shouted whenever they felt like it. Sometimes they threw fruit. 

My, how far we’ve come . . .

, , ,

Let’s Hope Oldham Coliseum Survives Levelling Up

Artistic Director of Oldham Coliseum theatre, Chris Lawson (Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

Let’s face it, Arts Council England’s attempt to reframe England’s cultural life has come at a price. One of the North’s leading producing theatres is going dark.
 
The curtain will fall in late March at Oldham Coliseum, one of only 32 regularly producing theatres in England, with its board blaming removal of Arts Council funding for the decision. The theatre is now in consultation with its 20 strong team of full-time staff and extended freelancers.
 
By way of a reminder, The Coliseum dates to 1885, it had been funded by ACE for decades and had asked for £615,182 a year over the next three-year funding period, totalling £1,845,546. It was one of several arts and culture organisations not to be included in the National Portfolio for 2023-26.
 
Oldham’s artistic director Chris Lawson, (who also recently became its chief executive) has warned that the venue, which is in a priority area for the government’s Levelling Up fund, may never open its doors again.
The Coliseum says it has been “working hard to find a solution to this reduction in funding” but that “the current financial situation is not sustainable for the season as planned”.
 
Speaking to The Stage, Lawson said: “They [the artists] understand the climate we operate in and our financial commitment to them remains, as we are determined to be able to protect them and ensure those artists are looked after regardless of whether the work is happening or not.”
 
Alarmingly, Arts Council England’s grant-in-aid budget of £341m represents a decline in value of between 30% and 50% since 2010. So, in 12 years of Tory government, the arts have staggeringly lost between a third and a half of their real-term income. Bastards. And by cancelling all its shows from March, the Oldham Coliseum has thrown down a challenge to both central and local government.

“These are difficult times, but arts and culture are in the lifeblood of our town and remain very much a part of our Coliseum,” said the thunderstruck leader of Oldham Council, Cllr Amanda Chadderton, who at least appears keen to be part of the ongoing discussions.
 
She continued: “This will not be the end of Oldham Coliseum. A new theatre is a key part of our regeneration plans for the town centre, and this has not changed.” 
 
But the bigger, unanswered question after this mess is surely: what does it say about us? What does it say about our fractured values? How has ACE and DCMS allowed it to get to this point? On an immediate level, the past week has presented as another way for British theatre and the state to look in decline, thoughtless and chaotic on the world stage, too. So sad and senseless.

We know that a higher spend on the arts (particularly when it is going to deprived communities) can save many times that amount from the budgets of the NHS and other public institutions. Culture is not a burden.
 
It goes almost without saying then, that this bombshell development reminds us of the precariousness of many theatres (even those with reserves). The grief of the profession has been palpable and the shock loud. Because the truth is that everyone knows that while Oldham Coliseum is one of the first major causalities of ACE’s decision-making, it is unlikely to be the last.


This week the International Monetary Fund predicted the UK would be the worst-performing major economy of the year, and the only one to plunge into recession. 

Oldham Coliseum

Elsewhere, a recent report published by the House of Lords condemned the government’s approach to the arts, describing it as complacent and at risk of “jeopardising the sector’s commercial potential”.

Before we conclude, the £120m so-called Festival of Brexit ‘Unboxed’ could have funded the Oldham Coliseum for another 135 years. A third of audiences for this appalling waste of money came from viewers watching Countryfile on the BBC. I kid you not, reader.

A multi-layered disaster zone.

An Arts Council England spokesperson said: “We appreciate how difficult it has been for the team at Oldham Coliseum to come to a decision to cancel forthcoming events, and how unsettling this must be for the staff and all those who work with the theatre, as well as how disappointing this is for audiences.”


To which there is only one possible response. No s**t.

, , ,

Standing at the Sky’s Edge Cast Recording Released January 2023

Chris Bush and Richard Hawley’s magnificent across-the-decades musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge Official Cast Recording – recorded live – will be released on digital platforms and CD on 27 January 2023. Now you know.


The award winning musical – set in Park Hill, Sheffield is running at Crucible Theatre until 21 January 2023.

Winner of the Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards and the 2020 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre, Standing at the Sky’s Edge is a celebration of strength and solidarity, set to the irresistible sounds of Richard Hawley.

Standing at the Sky’s Edge runs at National Theatre, London from 9 Feb until 25 Mar 2023.

, , ,

God Bless Tammy Faye!

If you need a hit show, you get Rupert Goold on the phone.

Tammy Faye Bakker gets the 325-seat Almeida treatment in a new musical penned by Elton John, James Graham and Jake Shears.

Katie Brayben in Tammy Faye, at the Almeida credit: Marc Brenner

And now, at last, directed by Goold, Tammy Faye – A New Musical starring Katie Brayben and Andrew Rannells, officially opens. He and choreographer Lynn Page deliver the glitterball goods.

Quick recap: Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker helped expand Christian broadcasting from a niche into an insane empire via their Praise The Lord (PTL) satellite network. A Christian couple who spectacularly fell from grace.

I went to the very first preview (two have been cancelled due to cast injury and technical delay) and thought it was a tart, wry and quirky show with legs.

First, let’s unpack what this new (largely) British musical gets right. It understands Faye as a gay icon, earning both sympathy and ridicule, and our heroine emerges with a measure of dignity intact. 

Olivier winner Katie Brayben (Beautiful) stars as Tammy Faye with Tony nominee Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon)

Granted, in the cold light of 2022, it’s easy to argue that the sold out run was simply the latest power move from a theatre whose ascent to theatre dominance has been signposted by a succession of smart marketing, big names and artistic brilliance.

Similarly, it would be easy to blame one’s emotional response on the ongoing disintegration of civilisation.

Religion, politics, sex and money are all equal and the story of the rise is much more substantial than that of the fall. 

That said, Tammy Faye gives you everything you could possibly want, and maybe it’s a victim of its own gargantuan accomplishment at times. (Each cast member has roughly 10 looks, with Tammy Faye’s character coming in at around a dozen — there are 15 poppy-slash-rock-slash-honky songs.)

Tammy Faye curtain call

Still, once you add Elton John‘s songs into the mix — and Tammy (Brayben) sings in most of them — there’s no time for coherence, let alone subtlety. (There is a song called ’He’s Inside Me’)

Yet most effectively, concluding Act One gospel ballad ‘Empty Hands’ things click. There are several poignant vignettes, that strike a chord with anyone who’s come face to face with the fact that an idol – whether it’s a televangelist, or even a lover – is a human being.

Rannells is entertaining and effective as closeted husband Jim.

Bunny Christie’s snazzy Celebrity Square-style designs, a reliable star of any show, do everything they can to convey the kooky world of the right wing televangelist.

Elsewhere in the musical, the ensemble are working overtime to keep things interesting. There is a lot of breaking of the fourth wall. A lot.

Furthermore, it’s a funny, smart script, loaded with jokes. Graham’s book puts the ‘fun in Christian fundamentalism’.

Andrew Rannells and Katie Brayben star as Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner in “Tammy Faye.”

Things pick up in Act Two. Here Faye is seen as a woman who made a career of living her best life. Slick 11’ O Clock number ‘Prime Time’ is exhilarating, I think.

A dazzling and award-worthy performance from Brayben playing a central character full of tensions and contradictions, is reason enough to see this show. Her performance transcends the show.

Musicals are difficult and expensive. I won’t reveal too much more, except to say that the finale (when it arrives) is euphoric, poetic, and moving. 

In the Bible love is mentioned 489 times, hate 89 times.

“Love more than hate,” Tammy Faye cautions.

Amen.


Tammy Faye is at the Almeida theatre, London, to 3 December.

, ,

Factory International, Manchester: Should It Exist?

RIGHT now, we’ve got gas bubbling into the Baltic Sea, a Russian psychopath threatening nuclear war in Europe, a worrying Autumn wave of Covid-19, escalating train strikes, runaway inflation, and a severe cost of living crisis. 

And while financial markets are in a mess, the economy is in a rough patch, too. 

But guess what? Theatre continues to play a key role in the government’s so-called ‘levelling up’ agenda.

The venue will open in summer 2023, four years late and £100 million over budget

Last week I attended Factory International’s Opening Programme Launch (it opens officially in October 2023). An immersive Matrix films-themed dance, music and visual effects experience directed by Danny Boyle is to be the opening production. 

However, news that Factory International itself is £100 million over its initial budget – and opening four years late – will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed this particular story.

Factory International opens to the public in October 2023

Now, Manchester City council will have to cover the extra £25.2m over spend, with £10m coming from a contingency fund and the rest from borrowing. It’s public money: we should know where and why it’s being spent.

Additionally, a council report stated: “The ongoing impacts of Covid-19 – with precautionary measures still in place across the construction industry – and challenges associated with the one-off and complex nature of the design have also contributed to budget pressures.”

But critics, especially those from the north of England, rightly wonder what that extra £100 million could have achieved elsewhere. 

Indeed, it is the largest investment in a national cultural project since the opening of Tate Modern in 2000, thanks to initial Government investment and backing from Manchester City Council and Arts Council England. Still, Factory International is predicted to boost the city’s economy £1.1 billion over the next decade and predicted to support as many as 1,500 jobs. Hm.

Under construction: Factory International

All in all, the 13,350 square metre building includes a 21m high warehouse with capacity for up to 5,000 people standing, which can also be divided by a movable, full-height acoustic wall, and a hall with a flexible stage with a seating capacity of 1,600 or 2,000 standing, as well as other spaces inside and out. 

Alas, Factory International isn’t the only shiny new cultural building opening in northwest England. While I was out and about last week, I also went to see Northern Stage’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the beautiful Shakespeare North Playhouse — now open in Prescot in Knowsley on Merseyside. This dazzling cultural venue sits in one of the most deprived boroughs in England. 

Inside the timber built cockpit theatre at the Shakespeare North Playhouse

Shakespeare North is a £30 million Elizabethan-style hilltop venue, built around a stunning 470 seat recreation of a Jacobean ‘Cockpit’ theatre also houses a 55-seat studio theatre, exhibition gallery and performance garden.

The Shakespearean venue – boasting an oak-framed, octagonal, two-level main auditorium – aims to attract 140,000 visitors per year. Businesses are now preparing to welcome a boost for trade and tourism in the area.

Find Shakespeare North Playhouse at Prospero Place in Prescot

Against this backdrop, we have a new Culture Secretary. Michelle Donelan is the 11th culture secretary in 12 years, replacing historical footnote Nadine Dorries. Yet, there is little hope that we can really tackle the divide between north and south, rich, and poor – which all too often are really the same things.

Either way, the Arts Council England’s monumentally stupid decision to move current and new portfolio organisations out of the capital by October 2024 has been created after the government ordered ACE to take £24 million of funding (15%) out of the portfolio in London and reinvest it outside of the capital. It also requires commitment from large organisations working with communities in these areas of low engagement – especially the Midlands and the North of England. 

Unfortunately, it’s only going one way; in a recent update to organisations, ACE said: “This programme will be particularly competitive, and it is likely that we will be unable to fund many good applications, including from those organisations currently in the National Portfolio, as well as those that are not.”

A fool’s errand, given their track record, (a shifting of neglect from one place to another – see ‘Creative People and Places’) but the CEO Darren Henley, also present at Factory International’s Launch, felt confident enough to make this statement. “We need a capital city that punches on the world stage, but levelling up is a bout increasing everywhere else… Within straitened times we have more money from the government, and we are investing that outside of London.” 

The cast of The Doncastrian Chalk Circle at Cast, Doncaster

Sorry, what? Quite how many parsnips any of that will butter in a couple of weeks’ time is unclear. The ongoing pandemic means more organisations than ever have applied for money – 1,730, requesting £2bn. There will be casualties.

Even more alarming, new data raise more questions than answers about failure of this government to reach the poorest areas of the UK. The southeast of England, the most affluent region in Britain outside London received almost twice as much money as the north-east from the fund aimed at boosting deprived areas. The £4.8 billion levelling up fund only delivered £107 million in its first year of operation. 

Crucially, rising costs and inflation threaten key projects with councils handing back money to government, scaling back projects or fund the shortfall of dwindling budgets amid fears schemes could become undeliverable.

The above, of course, barely scratches the surface of the past few years, in which the UK has repeatedly tried and failed to do better by the freelance workforce.

Don’t get me wrong, these two new cultural venues in the North of England are remarkably ambitious and exciting. I think that Shakespeare North will truly transform the fortunes of communities in Prescott.

So, should they exist? I can’t help thinking that one of them should and the other should not.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of bricks and mortar at a time when self-employed freelance workers – the lifeblood of UK theatre- are facing a catastrophic winter.

The recent Big Freelancer Survey showcased ongoing concerns within the theatre workforce, with 16% of respondents saying they were still considering leaving the entertainment industry.

In the meantime, however, decisions about the next ACE portfolio round – guided by the redistribution of funding from London to the rest of the UK into priority areas such as West Lancashire, Wigan, the Isles of Scilly and Preston – are expected on Wednesday 26 October. 

Gulp. 

, ,

Finally, Alex Belfield is Sent To Jail – Justice Is Served

Alex ‘The Voice of Reason’ Belfield has been jailed for five years and 26 weeks after being convicted of four stalking charges against broadcasters and others including Jeremy Vine. One of the victims, a fellow BBC presenter, was seconds away from killing himself, the trial heard.

Alex Belfield was described by Jeremy Vine as the Jimmy Savile of trolls

Although Belfield claimed that he was “deeply sorry for what he did”, albeit an apology with a current bill that runs at more than £100,000, his barrister David Aubrey KC said he “now has developed the insight that he didn’t have before.”

How the not very mighty are destined to fall into obscurity.

Mr Justice Saini, sentencing at Nottingham crown court, said he accepted Vine’s assertion that Belfield had “weaponised the internet”.

Furthermore, Justice Saini imposed restraining orders against Belfield, prohibiting him from having contact with the victims, and ordered him to pay costs of £10,000. 

In relation to the women, so cruelly dismissed previously during sentencing, the judge said: “Each of them suffered a campaign of harassment by email and social media communications. Each of them suffered serious mental health problems arising from Mr Belfield’s conduct.”

Alex Belfield arriving for sentencing

The judge explained he did not question the verdicts of the jurors, but was applying the civil standard of proof when making the restraining orders.

For now, stalker Belfield will serve up to half of his sentence in prison and the remainder on licence. He has been warned he could then be recalled to prison if he commits a further offence.

Yet truth retains at least one advantage: that reality itself can be counted on to support it. In contrast, every lie requires further lies to stay alive.

The tale of conspiracy theorist Belfield is a pungent mix of alternative facts, selective quotation and counter-narrative. Unfortunately, the game is up.

Naturally, the whole business has appalled freedom-loving trolls on Twitter, who are “shocked” by the “harsh sentence”, before concluding that “the deep state truly does exist”. 

You get the picture I trust?

Still, I’m no stranger to these demented folk having taken Belfield to task during the past 3 years. This is just the latest chapter in a much longer history of compulsive lying, obsessive intimidation and malicious bullying.

Nottingham Crown Court

Alas, this insane situation is precisely why we have courtrooms, judges, lawyers and juries and why it’s vital that their inquiring of truth from belief remains a last recourse.

As so often in the rabbit hole down which shadow lurker Belfield has led us, I fear he will never be fully rehabilitated. For all the drama of this sorry saga, the way back still remains unclear.

Now, Belfield’s Youtube Channel currently leads with a ‘best of’ montage that says ’back soon’. Don’t count on it.

At last, though, righteous justice has been done. For now.