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The Midlands Stage 2007Dateline: 30th December, 2007It was a year for celebration and tears, success and failure, despondency and hope; theatre in the Midlands had all those and more in 2007. The celebrations began with the TMA (Theatrical Management Association) awards in which three of the five ended up in the Midlands. Donna Munday, who has now left her job as chief executive of Royal and Derngate, Northampton, was named manager of the year. Nottingham Playhouse succeeded the New Vic at Newcastle-under-Lyme as the UK's most welcoming theatre. And Warwick Arts Centre at Coventry won the accolade for the presentation of touring theatre. There was further joy in Coventry with the delayed reopening of the city's Belgrade Theatre. It had been dark for eighteen months while an £11m redevelopment was carried out. Now the Belgrade is hoping to re-establish itself as a major producing theatre with an ambitious artistic programme, as witnessed by its opening offering, Brecht's Mr Puntila and His Man Matti. It featured a towering performance by David Hargreaves as Puntila, although a play marketed as a comedy featured few laughs. But while one was opening, another was closing - although it was only temporary. Derby Playhouse had a difficult year, with extensions to the Westfield shopping centre in which it is situated being blamed for low attendances and financial problems putting the theatre into the hands of administrators. Despite that there were some excellent productions at Derby, including Stephen Edwards' adaptation of David Malouf's classic Australian novel Johnno and Edwards' stunningly creative Moon Landing. But the Playhouse's future is still in question and awaits a successful business plan before live theatre can be assured in the current building. It would be depressing if a second East Midlands city were to find itself without a major theatre. Leicester is still without one, although that should change as the multi-million pound Performing Arts Centre is scheduled to open in the autumn. Elsewhere the RSC continued to build on the success of the Complete Works Festival. The opening of the temporary Courtyard while the main theatre is rebuilt quickly became an audience favourite. Birmingham Rep had a good year under Rachel Kavanaugh's stewardship, with productions as varied as Charlotte Jones's Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis starring an irrepressible Maureen Lipman; Bryony Lavery's new, modern adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya; Terry Johnson's Hysteria, full of pathos and thought-provoking but perhaps lacking some of the expected comedy elements; and Brief Encounter, a magical presentation of Noel Coward's masterpiece adapted cleverly by Emma Rice of theatre company Kneehigh. Nottingham Playhouse had a mixed year. It staged a joyful revival of George Bernard Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession but J B Priestley's I Have Been Here Before was disappointing, Whisky Galore! The Making of a Fillum was a real dud with an uninspiring script, and while a revival of The Burial At Thebes transferred to the Barbican Pit after a short run in Nottingham, I found it depressing and gloomy. The real jewel was the New Vic at Newcastle-under-Lyme. Over the year I saw eight of the theatre-in-the-round's own productions and the quality of each was spectacularly good. Credit to artistic director Theresa Heskins who has assembled a team who know how to get the most out of the space and can be relied on to come up with an innovative, sparkling evening's entertainment. From the first offering, Richard Cameron's The Glee Club, right through to the current festive choice The Wizard of Oz, the north Staffordshire venue has delivered stylish, thrilling and engaging plays. The artistic team always rise to the challenge, no matter how difficult it may appear to bring a production to life. Let's hope 2008 is remembered in the Midlands for successes on stage rather than any financial difficulties theatres may have behind the scenes. Steve Orme
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