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The London Stage in 2008 (6)Dateline: 28th December, 2008Smaller TheatresIn this category, there is little doubt that the Finborough outshone its opposition during 2008. With both new writing and revivals, this tiny pub theatre in Earls Court presented thought-provoking and challenging plays that deserve wider audiences. In the vanguard were two works looking at relatively recent history. Nicholas De Jongh is well-known as the Evening Standard's often prickly theatre critic. In 2008, he bravely put himself forward to become a victim of his peers with his first-ever full-length play, Plague Over England. This exploration of homosexuality in the 1950s, with particular reference to the trials and tribulations of John Gielgud, starred Jasper Britton and really does deserve a West End run at some point in the near future. Equally good, was Sons of York, James Graham's look at life in the North during the miners' strike in the 1970s. Its protagonist Mark, was brilliantly played by one of our finest young actors, Steven Webb (who also popped up on top form in The Long Road at Soho). Once again, this play would not look out of place if it transferred to a larger venue. Amongst the revivals were Charles Wood's Jingo and a stage adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square. The latter was the kind of locally-set revival that the Finborough does remarkably well, given its very limited budgets. Stretching the boundaries of London a little more than usual, I was able to see two productions in the stockbroker belt. Sir Peter Hall's star-studded Uncle Vanya opened the Rose in Kingston, a large, ambitious new theatre that hopes to mix touring productions with some of its own. Just down the road in Guildford, Richard Bean delighted cricket lovers (and others) with his new play The English Game. This was both a very funny comedy set amongst cricketing nuts and offered a broader look at urban society today. Still not too far away, the Orange Tree in Richmond peaked with a five play tribute to the former Premier of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel. The highlight was the British premiere of a mildly surreal comedy entitled Leaving. At venues across London, Mark Ravenhill presented the season of plays first seen at the Traverse Theatre during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007. Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat viewed attitudes to war, terrorism and states that we (or at least our media) may not like too much, with calm assurance in a series of seventeen short works, most of which lasted no more than 15 minutes. The Arcola in North London goes from strength to strength, drawing in an impressive list of writers, directors and actors who are more normally associated with much larger venues. Rebecca Lenkiewicz, whose other play this year Her Naked Skin played on a main stage at the National, was aided by a fine performance by Greg Hicks in her exciting new version of Ibsen's Enemy of the People, directed by the Arcola's Artistic Director, Mehmet Ergen. The other play in a short Ibsen season using almost the same cast was The Lady from the Sea directed by Hannah Eidinow and starring Lia Williams in a new version by Frank McGuinness, another writer seen at the National in 2008. From much warmer climes, the theatre featured the British premiere of Purgatorio, a chilling work by the great Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman. Under its new joint artistic directorship, The Gate in Notting Hill is concentrating on dance-based pieces and also the avant-garde. Chris Goode's Sisters, loosely based on Chekhov's trio certainly fitted into the last category but had the kind of haunting quality that attracts certain audiences. Similarly, a Gabler-less, Hedda, modernised by Lucy Kirkwood, allowed us to look afresh at yet another work by the popular Henrik Ibsen. The Lyric in Hammersmith has a great history and continues to present a variety of worthwhile theatre. In 2008, the pick was a lively contemporary version of Othello by Frantic Assembly that combined the original language with scenes set in the seamiest parts of down at heel Yorkshire. Another step across cultural divides was less successful, when Bertholt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui was given an African makeover that somehow helped neither aspect to flourish. Spyski by Peepolykus was a typically wacky comedy from the company that has most recently brought us The Hound of the Baskervilles. To celebrate its 50th one, The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter and starring Sheila Hancock made a welcome reappearance at the theatre where it had started out. One of our more enterprising young directors is Daniel Goldman, whose works have no home at the moment. He has connections with theatre in South America and once again, introduced a Casa Latin American Theatre Festival, this time at the Union Theatre in Southwark. With an emphasis on magic realism, the best of these pieces was Our Lady in the Clouds by Arístides Vargas, a two-hander that subtly indicted the politicians who have ruled Ecuador using terrifying force.
Philip Fisher
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