Interval Awards - Part 1

Bit later than expected due to all sorts of craziness at work (including a visit from the charming Ian McDiarmid) - but here is the first post of my Interval Awards for this year. Six months have gone by, I've seen 102 plays and I'm already struggling to pick favourites from a large list of strong contenders. Onwards and upwards and I thought I'd start with some of the technical awards in no particular order:



*************************************************

Best Set Design - Holly Waddington, Electra (Gate Theatre)

For me set design is all about the impact it has on me and Electra's design definitely made this one of the most intensive theatrical experiences of the last six months for me. The dark claustrophobically lit traverse stage trapped the audience inside both Electra's nightmare and evoked with steam the baths her father had been murdered in keeping the event in the corner of my mind. Plus the memory of watching Electra tear through paving slabs and floorboards to reveal dirt below still makes me shiver

Runners Up: 
* Richard Peduzzi, I Am The Wind (Young Vic) - I loved the way the set evoked both wideness and intimacy, the still beauty of nature and it's wildness and I found both the boat emerging and the use of reflections thrilling)
* Lucy Wilkinson, Into Thy Hands (Wilton's Music Hall) - This impressive set fitted seamlessly and effortlesly into Wilton's and I adored the way the science was evoked and then slowly stripped away.

*************************************************

Best Costume Design - Stewart Charlesworth, Iolanthe (Wilton's Music Hall)

The combination of the old fashioned school boy aesthetic and the thrown together discovered nature of the costumes was beautiful and I loved the inventiveness of the costumes especially. It's hard to resist something where fairies wings are made of shuttlecocks or the Lords are wearing chains of conkers. Absolutely magical.


Runners Up: 
* Michael Pavelka, Comedy of Errors (Propeller's Tour) - So bright and vibrant and silly and completely evocative of the style and the setting.
* Harriet de Winton, Richard II (Bristol Tobacco Factory) - I loved the simple elegance of many of the costumes, which was perfectly set against the beautiful elegance of Richard's world.

*************************************************

Best Lighting Design - Bruno Poet, Cause Celebre (Old Vic)

Though it was Frankenstein that first brought Poet to my attention, Cause Celebre scraped past it for me because of it's deceptive simplicity, the effortless way it captured both the time and mood of the piece (reminding me of films of the time) and the way it was used to seamlessly move between the scenes.

Runners Up: 
* Wolfgang Goebbel, Antony and Cleopatra (Swan Theatre) - One of my favourite things about the 'remixed' Antony and Cleopatra was how effectively lighting was used to conjure the world of the play on the stripped back stage.
* Bruno Poet, Frankenstein (National Theatre) - Although I had issues with the production, nothing but awe could sum up my reaction to Poet's undoubtedly stunning lighting - the ligtning alone was breath taking.


*************************************************

Best Music/Score - Grant Olding and the Craze Band, One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre)

Though I found the play itself a little charmless, I was utterly beguilded by the skiffle-inspired music for One Man, Two Guvnors. The clever reflections on the themes and events of the play, the funny guest spots and the progression of the band from skiffle through to early 60's pop was magic for me.

Runners Up: 
* Stephen Sondheim, Company (Southwark Playhouse) - Though Sondheim is undoubtedly a god amongst composers - Company is really here because of the astonishing talent of the Southwark Playhouse cast.
* Stills and Drewe, Betty Blue Eyes (Novello Theatre) - It's a real challenge for new musicals to create instantly memorable songs and I think the fact that I still burst into Betty Blue Eyes numbers at random intervals (especially on buses) speaks for itself.


*************************************************

Best Choreography - Mark Smith, Iolanthe (Wilton's Music Hall)

One of the biggest transformations for Iolanthe in it's move from the Union to Wilton's was in the expansion of it's choreography - I adored it, every moment - the delicacy of the fairies, the exaggerated gestures of the lords, the hilarious pictures they created. Plus Kingsley Hall's opening dance remains one of my most magical theatrical moments.

Runners Up: 
* Stephen Mear, Betty Blue Eyes (Novello Theatre) - Betty Blue Eyes had many awesomely quirky dance sequences - marrying the ridiculous with the everyday - that still make me grin.
* Quinny Sacks, Salad Days (Riverside Theatre) - There was nothing that wasn't charming about this production and the dance routines, performed impressively in the traverse, was a major contributing factor to it's success for me.