2009 theatre highlights

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Permalink Reply by Catherine Paskell on December 22, 2009 at 5:24pm

Think mine must be "My Name is Sue" by Dafydd James at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. I still sing 'Sue on the bus', even if I'm not necessarily on a bus. Seeing one is enough. Fantastic.

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Permalink Reply by John McGrath on December 22, 2009 at 10:50pm

Everything in and about Forest Fringe at Edinburgh this year. Edinburgh as I'd always imagined it should be but never was before - free, interactive, all about art not marketing. Ali Gadema's Contradictions at Contact and the Albany - raw but essential. Gary Owen's Amgen - a brilliant dissection of language and psychology. Lotte van den Berg's Stillen at Sadler's Wells; I'd seen it before in Belgium, but this was the first time her work was in the UK and it is heart-stopping, spirit-wrenching work. Rimini Protocol's Airport Kids, not their very best piece, but still fantastic. Dennis Kelly's Orphans was probably the best new play I saw in terms of sheer writing power; I thought the student production of Simon Stephens Country Music at RWCMD was really very good. Gerard Tyler and James Roberts both made really strong, wonderfully imperfect new pieces; Eddie Ladd split people but I really liked her show about Bobby Sands and running; and yes indeed, how could you not love Sue...

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Permalink Reply by Gary Owen on December 23, 2009 at 9:59am

My Name is Sue was ace; similarly Midsummer by David Greig was a joyous, generous piece of theatre. But for me the overall winner was Orphans by Dennis Kelly, directed by Roxana Silbert. Three actors, a single set, delivering a beautifully precise performance of a taut and visceral script. Sometimes I catch myself complaining that all my ideas are for huge shows that need lavish productions and massive casts - Orphans reminded me that to make brilliant theatre, all you need is to do the basics really well (if I can say that without sounding too much like a rugby commentator).

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Permalink Reply by Alice White on December 23, 2009 at 10:34am

Orphans by Dennis Kelly was a fantastic piece - challenging, moving and ,watching it as an actor, I wanted to be in it very badly which is always a good sign!

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Mackenzie on December 23, 2009 at 2:15pm

Toneelgroop's 6 hour 'Roman Tragedies' at the Barbican, a seamless fusion of acting, live camera and sound. Consummate. Ontroerend Goed's 'Once and for all we're gonna tell you who we are' at Dublin Int'l Festival - 13 teenagers deliver a clever, playful and beautifully executed glimpse into teenagers. William Forsyth's 'Decreation' movement, language and sound dissected with mathematical precision, rearranged and put back together.A unique, unorthodox genius at work. Ho Tzu-Nyeni 'The King Lear Project' brilliant inquiry into the text of Lear that also examines the artifice of 'performance'and 'play acting'. Robert Kusmirowski's installation 'Bunker' at the Barbican. Brilliant.

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Permalink Reply by Simon Harris on December 23, 2009 at 2:25pm

"Toneelgroop's 6 hour 'Roman Tragedies' at the Barbican, a seamless fusion of acting, live camera and sound. Consummate. Ontroerend Goed's 'Once and for all we're gonna tell you who we are' at Dublin Int'l Festival - 13 teenagers deliver a clever, playful and beautifully executed glimpse into teenagers." Couldn't agree more. These were my top two highlights as well. The third was Gecko's "Overcoat" at The Pleasance.

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Permalink Reply by Adele Thomas on December 23, 2009 at 3:38pm

I saw 'Once and for all' last year at Ed and I think it's one of my all time favourites!This year, Ontroerend Goed's The Smile off your Face was a fun piece of programming at The Sherman. I also loved Kafka's Monkey at The Young Vic - Kathryn Hunter was wonderful. Enron was truly fabulous. I really enjoyed seeing Kneehigh's Brief Encounter in the development of its second incarnation - they really nailed the emotional arch this time round.

The WNO remounted two brilliant Richard Jones production (my absolute hero) - the powerfully distrubing Wozzeck and The Queen of Spades, and the ENO produced his double bill of I Pagilacci and Cavalleria Rusticana. So it was a Jones binge for me last year!

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Permalink Reply by Adele Thomas on December 23, 2009 at 3:54pm

Er - yeah - I meant arc, but I can't work out how to edit this post!

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Permalink Reply by John McGrath on December 23, 2009 at 11:26pm

I forgot to mention NoFitState's Tabu - the best night out in a theatre or a tent all year! And I'm sorry to all you Ontoerend Goed lovers, but I'm going to say it again. Lotte Van Den Berg is THE Belgian (except maybe she is Dutch!) artist of our time. Believe me, at least enough to catch her next time - strange, thoughtful, gut-wrenching. I'll fight you over this one!

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Mackenzie on December 24, 2009 at 10:02am

Lotte Van Den Berg - oh YES she is doing fascinating things. Taking a truck full of people to Africa for 5 months next year. Check her new work out at www.omsk.nl. Very good indeed.

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Mackenzie on December 24, 2009 at 10:12am

A little info about Lotte's work with her company OMSK for 2010.


OMSK will explore both it’s home ground and far away places in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Every year a different city will be the focus of work that is theatrical, cinematic and bold. Performances will change as they travel. Material will be collected, shaped and shown in ever changing surroundings. Seeking to relate to global dynamics, OMSK will depart on a voyage between cultures. Without preconceived goals and in full acceptance of the risks involved.

In 2010 Kinshasa will be the destination of OMSK’s first expedition. A group of artists will travel to this African metropolis with a truck full of material. They will spend 5 months getting lost, making contact and working with people from the city. Meetings and experiences will be collected and documented and – upon returning to Dordrecht – shaped into a presentation, with which OMSK intends to tour in The Netherlands and abroad in 2011.

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Permalink Reply by Leona Jones on December 24, 2009 at 1:54pm

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' adaptation by a Korean company at Chapter in Cardiff about a year ago (sorry if that makes it the end of 2008!) Achingly beautiful, crushingly funny, and conveying the immense power of the fairies and consequently the terror of being a mere mortal lost in that wood in a way I've never witnessed before. Fabulous.

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