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The London Stage in 2008 (5)Dateline: 28th December, 2008Other Major TheatresIt feels as if every theatre in this section has had both highs and lows this year. Overall, the quality has probably been similar but the highlights have been better spread than in the last couple of years, when Michael Grandage hardly seemed to put a foot wrong at the Donmar. He has been riding high at Wyndham's as well as in Covent Garden where there have been a number of successes. The best pair were both from Scandinavia a century ago. Strindberg's Creditors is not a play well known over here but this intense three-hander newly translated by David Greig and directed by Alan Rickman, both showcased the abilities of a well chosen cast and gave viewers an insight into the fevered minds of lovers. This year's Ibsen was Rosmersholm and Anthony Page triumphed, aided by Helen McCrory as Rebecca West. In addition to Scandinavia, Wales made an appearance in the form of an early play by Peter Gill, Small Change. This was an autobiographical piece that put the playwright and his mother under the microscope to good effect. Beyond that, the early Arthur Miller, The Man Who Had All the Luck, did not show the playwright at his best, while Enid Bagnold's The Chalk Garden and TS Eliot's The Family Reunion both looked dated but allowed sparkling casts to show off their talents. The best thing at the Almeida all year was The Last Days of Judas Iscariot written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Rupert Goold. This was a rip-roaring American fantasy that lampooned both organised religion and government in the United States today. Sam Shepard contributed Kicking a Dead Horse, a nigh-on unintelligible almost solo show for Stephen Rea, which has that weird visceral quality that means it is able to live in the memory months later. The Americans were certainly well represented at the theatre. With Neil Labute making two appearances, first with Nocturne, an excellent monologue, well delivered by Peter Macdonald, and then the less satisfying In a Dark Dark House. The English did get a look in through Harley Granville Barker's Waste, given a small-scale production by Sam West, which was very well received and once again acted as a reminder of how good this contemporary of Shaw really is. For five decades, the Royal Court has been the home of new writing and Dominic Cooke is determined to keep it that way. Cooke was a good choice as artistic director since he is happy to back his own judgement and has a great sense of adventure. Christopher Shinn's Now or Later set on the night of an American election turned out to be as good as anything at the Court this year, which is very pleasing, as they have promoted this highly promising writer from the other side of the Atlantic for a number of years. Two of the big hitters, Caryl Churchill and Martin Crimp, were represented although the former only in the translation of a Canadian play, Bliss, a strange story of abuse and Celine Dion. Crimp is always keen to surprise and, on this occasion, The City was more than just a companion piece to The Country, obscurely exploring the lives of a seemingly ordinary young couple. In a year where London learned the art of the large-scale monologue, Debbie Tucker Green's Random gave Nadine Marshall her fifty minutes of solo fame, immaculately relating a family horror story. Upstairs, Scarborough by Fiona Evans transferred very successfully from the Edinburgh Fringe. This was the story of an illicit affair between a teacher and a schoolboy, which now doubled up as the tale of an illicit affair between a teacher and a schoolgirl. Whether the expansion was necessary or even advisable might be open to question but either way, this was a special piece of writing. In addition, Leo Butler's latest play Faces in the Crowd, Contractions by Mike Bartlett and Levi David Addai's Oxford Street all had their moments without being completely satisfying. The year ended with a pair of gay plays, Wig Out by Tarell Alvin McCraney, an over-the-top catwalk extravaganza cum fairytale, and The Pride from Alexi Kaye Campbell, which looked at reactions to homosexuality with snapshots of life taken fifty years apart. The Young Vic is always a friendly theatre to visit, particularly after its refurbishment gave it such a warm, welcoming bar area. In 2008, its peak was completely unexpected. Rather than a main stage production, the highlight was You Can See the Hills, Matthew Dunster's magnificent two and a half-hour long meditation on growing up in the north-west. This play was richly amusing and given full justice by the playwright's direction and an unforgettable performance from William Ash. Sadly, it only lasted for one week but we are promised a proper run in 2009. Beyond that, the theatre promised much but did not always deliver. It welcomed back Tarell Alvin McCraney's marvellous The Brothers Size as a companion to the second part of the trilogy, In the Red and Brown Water. However, this time the writing was not as good, although Walter Meierjohann's staging is unforgettable. Similarly, the adventurous designs for both Bertolt Brecht's The Good Soul of Szechuan translated by David Harrower and starring Jane Horrocks; and A Prayer for My Daughter by Thomas Babe were a great deal better than the productions. Soho had a particularly good year. It is always a good sign when a production returns to a theatre following great word of mouth. That is exactly what happened with Shelagh Stephenson's The Long Road, an extremely good play about the consequences of a random murder on both the perpetrator and victim. It was not to everyone's taste but A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians by Dorota Maslowska was an extremely funny exposé of life in a country that even today is something of an unknown quantity. This was also an opportunity to see Andrea Riseborough in action prior to her recent television fame. Philip Ridley was as gritty as ever with Piranha Heights, a black comedy where meaning often gave way to terrifying fantasy. Soho has always been a home for the unusual and Dan Rebelato's Static, not quite a play, about music, produced with the assistance of Graeae and Suspect Culture was a thought-provoking investigation into loss and disability. Having transferred a stream of shows to the West End and one to Broadway, the Menier Chocolate Factory richly deserves promotion to this section. Its musicals have been covered elsewhere but in addition, this popular theatre in Southwark presented two very contrasting revivals. Fiona Laird's new production of The Common Pursuit was a homage to Simon Gray, a witty playwright who sadly succumbed to a lifelong addiction to nicotine soon after it opened. John Webster's The White Devil is all blood and revenge. Jonathan Munby directed a fine cast led by Aidan McArdle and Claire Price on a narrow traverse stage that really involved audience members who practically needed umbrellas to keep off the blood. To say that Josie Rourke at the Bush has had a difficult year is understating the case. At various times, the fabric of the building let her down and the theatre seemed set to lose its funding. On stage, the year started with two characteristic short plays from the prolific Neil Labute, adding to a pair at the Almeida and Fat Pig in the West End. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover was an unusual event created by four different writers, part sitcom, part stand-up, part verbatim theatre and part play. It was certainly extremely funny and made a welcome return at the end of the year. The Bush has always been known for encouraging new writers and new writing and that has been exemplified by Mike Bartlett with Artefacts, Lucy Kirkwood's Tinderbox and Anthony Weigh's 2000 Feet Away. These were respectively an oblique look at relations between Britain and Iraq, a strange, bloody guess at what might lay ahead for a very dystopian Britain and a consideration of child abuse in the American Bible belt. Nicolas Kent and the Tricycle have had a particularly good year. Their choicest morsels were led by Filter's radical new interpretation of Twelfth Night and the final play in the late August Wilson's Century Cycle, Radio Golf. These were amongst the most enjoyable theatrical evenings in the year anywhere in London. There was much more to savour in Kilburn. The current play is Sean Holmes' very funny revival of Loot, which once again shows us just how much we lost with the death of Joe Orton. As always, the Tricycle tends to concentrate on plays with either Irish or Black roots, exemplified respectively by two comedies, Rank by Robert Massey and Let There Be Love from actor turned writer, Kwame Kwei-Armah. David Edgar's Testing the Echo was an example of another of Kent's favourite themes, Verbatim Theatre. Hampstead continues to delight and frustrate with 2008 showing a number of high points. Undoubtedly the longest and possibly the best was Shared Experience's epic staging of War and Peace. It would work perfectly as either a complement to or substitute for reading Tolstoy's novel. At the end of the year and only for one week, Michael Pennington revived his solo pairing of Anton Chekhov and Sweet William, showcasing not only the two greatest playwrights that have ever lived (debate) but a fine actor as well. Chekhov had made a visit to the theatre earlier in the year in unusual form. 3 Sisters on Hope Street by Diane Samuels and Tracy-Ann Oberman transferred the classic tale of Russian ennui to Liverpool just after the Second World War, allowing a fresh contemplation of the original as well as satisfying in its own right. Political satire on a small scale appeared in the form of Steve Waters' Fast Labour, a play about the lives of immigrants in Britain today and it should be noted that Hampstead also welcomed a British premiere of Turandot, a play by Bertolt Brecht, which was probably of most interest to students and academics, as it did not show the playwright at his best.
Philip Fisher
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