I might have to disown anyone who didn’t see the title of this section of my round-up coming. Anyhow, Shakespeare always looms large for me in my theatrical misadventures, and this year I managed to catch around 40 different productions of the Bard’s work (depending on your opinions of the authorship of Double Falsehood and Cardenio). So to make life easier for myself, I decided to (mostly) separate the Shakespeare out from the rest of the theatre, otherwise I’d spend the rest of the next year dithering still.
The ‘Waiting For the Show to Begin (Rockshow)’ Award for Best Pre-Show
This has to go to the RSC for the sheer thrill and excitement of their opening to ‘The Merchant of Venice’, slowly building the world of the casino they were setting the play in to a frenetic climax as Jamie Beamish, resplendent in the white Elvis suit, rose from the stage to belt out ‘Viva Las Vegas’. Superb.
The ‘Nothing Shaking But The Leaves on the Trees’ Award for Best Pre-Show Announcement
The Globe excel every year at finding new and entertaining ways to ask their audience to turn off their mobile phones. This year, though, was absolutely stolen by Ben Deery’s cod-French masterpiece for ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’.
The ‘Best Foot Forward’ Award for Best Jig
Normally the recourse of the Globe alone, it’s been nice to see the RSC getting in on the jig action this year in the Swan Theatre. However, I think the Globe still has the edge at the moment and, although it’s not strictly eligible, I’m going to give this one to ‘Doctor Faustus’ – for the sheer mad energy of the dance and for the joyous sight of Arthur Darvill and Paul Hilton rocking out on lutes.
The ‘What a Piece of Work’ Award for Best Leading Man
Lots of very strong contenders here, with Jonathan Slinger and Michael Sheen among my favourites, but for me this one had to belong to John Heffernan for his exemplary performance as Richard II for the Bristol Tobacco Factory. Vivid, commanding, contemplative, charming and captivating throughout. He also deserves ‘The Rest Is Silence’ Award, as I have never seen an audience so gripped by an actor’s complete silence before.
The ‘All Graces’ Award for Best Leading Lady
Another joint award, this time for Emma Pallant and Jo Herbert, who were both outstanding in the Globe’s ‘As You Like It’. Both shone utterly, with warm, charming, emotional and funny performances and it was hard not to fall in love with them by the end of the show.
The ‘Rama Lama Lama Ke Ding A De Dinga A Dong-eth’ Award for Best Ensemble Performance
Hmmm… I very nearly gave this to ‘As You Like It’ as the entire cast were fantastic. But in the end have decided instead that I’m going to give it to the RSC’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’, for their full blooded and fun romp through the play, which also imagined to reveal it’s darker edges. I loved the commitment all the actors put in to the dream like state the production conjured.
The ‘When I Grow Up’ Award for Actors to Watch Out For
It’s always excellent to find new young actors who have an understanding and effortless ease with Shakespeare. This year I’ve particularly been impressed by Pippa Bennett-Warner in both’ King Lear’ and ‘Richard II’ at the Donmar Warehouse; and Simon Ginty in ‘Taming of the Shrew’ at the Southwark Playhouse. Hoping to see them do lots more Shakespeare in the future.
The ‘That’s The Way To Do It’ Award for Making Impossible Characters Possible
There are those characters in Shakespeare, that presumably because of changing moralities and theatrical expectations, just don’t seem to work anymore. Unsympathetic heroes and oddly out of place fools. But this year I’ve seen people do the miraculous and not only make sense of these difficulties, but transform the characters into something fantastic. I was particularly impressed by Jamie Beamish at the RSC, managing to make both the Gatekeeper/Seyton in ‘Macbeth’ and Launcelot Gobbo in ‘Merchant of Venice’ into fascinating and integral characters; Simon Darwen who found a middle ground between cockiness and paranoid self-doubt in his Petruchio for Southwark Playhouse; and best of all Philip Cumbus who imbued ‘Much Ado About Nothing’s’ Claudio with a youthful uncertainty and bravado, that for once made his character forgivable.
The ‘Most Tragical Comedy and Comical Tragedy’ Award for Best Play Transformation
One of the best things about Shakespeare is that after 400 years of giving the plays a right good battering, we know they’re robust enough to withstand it and I think it’s sometimes good to remind ourselves that the comedies don’t have to be comic, the romances don’t have to be romantic and sometimes even the tragedies don’t have to be tragic. The crowning achievement of that this year was definitely Rupert Goold’s ‘Merchant of Venice’ at the RSC, which managed to turn a so-called comedy into a deeply disturbing look at youth, love and family and left me weeping at the end.
The ‘Laughing Until You Cry’ Award for Best Production of a Comedy
I suspect it will come as no surprise that I’m going for the Globe’s small, but perfectly formed, ‘As You Like It’, which also managed to be my most revisited production of the year (not telling you how many times though). It was a magical production, with a beautiful aesthetic, fantastic performances all round, inventive ideas, and a rich tapestry of details that I could never tire of. It made me laugh, it made me sigh and it made me cry – what more could you want.
The ‘Rocks Fall, Everybody Dies’ Award for Best Production of a Tragedy
I’ve tried and tried but I’ve just not been able to choose between the RSC’s ‘Macbeth’ and the Young Vic’s ‘Hamlet’ for this award – both productions with a powerful conceptual element that left me disturbed and physically shaken. Haunting.
The ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’ Award for Best Production of a History
There’s been some excellent history productions this year, but far and above the one I have enjoyed best, was the Bristol Tobacco Factory’s production of ‘Richard II’. As well as introducing me to new favourite, John Heffernan, a magnificent presence in a strong ensemble, it made me completely fall in love with the lyrical beauty of the play. Simple but richly detailed, it allowed each moment to shine as something special in its own right. And a surprisingly long three hours and forty-five minutes seemed to pass in a heartbeat.
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