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2006: the Theatrical Year in London (Other Major Theatres)Dateline: 27th December, 2006It is hoped that readers will have reached this section because some of these theatres really are major in terms of their programming, if not in some cases their size. 2006 marked the Golden Jubilee of George Devine's English Stage Company at the Royal Court and, having announced his intention to leave at the end of the year, Ian Rickson set about making the anniversary year memorable. While Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph has suggested that Rickson has failed, others would probably disagree, possibly volubly. It is in the nature of a new writing theatre to have misses as well as hits but there were enough of the latter, particularly in the second half of the year, for the outgoing artistic director to feel that he has done a good job and can hold his head high when he hands over the custody of this vital theatre to Dominic Cooke. Nicholas de Jongh gave t five stars to two plays that lasted less than an hour and a half between them. Harold Pinter delivering Krapp's Last Tape has been commented on under West End plays, while Caryl Churchill's new play, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You, caused incredible controversy, not least because it split critics and audiences down the middle, unusually garnering both five-star reviews and one. It was a short, funny and very moving meditation on British and American imperialism that made more cogent and telling points in three-quarters of an hour than many playwrights achieve in a decade. For those who prefer their plays longer, the joint Court debut of Sir Tom Stoppard and Sir Trevor Nunn, Rock 'n' Roll, was one of the biggest hits of the year. Starring Rufus Sewell, Brian Cox and Sinead Cusack it told the parallel stories of an English academic family and Czech dissidents over a period of immense upheaval for both. It has already won a couple of Evening Standard Awards and is likely to fill its trophy cabinet over the next couple of months. Terry Johnson's Piano/Forte was a comedy with a serious core that will be remembered as much for Kelly Reilly's proudly exposed breasts as anything else. It did contain some fine acting and interesting ideas as well as a lot of good laughs. Early in the year, Christopher Shinn's Dying City was a poignant, American two-hander about the effects of war on those involved and left behind. It featured stand-out performances from Andrew Scott and Sîan Brooke and, although on a small scale, was one of the year's highlights. Catch was an interesting experiment: a play written by five female playwrights with different interests and age profiles. It dissected society today and, in particular, managed to get under the skins of teenage hooligans in a way that is rarely seen on stage. Simon Stephens' Motortown was another contemporary drama that, like Dying City, took as its subject the War On Terror and in this case the British presence in Iraq. It starred Daniel Mays and had an unusual structure, which according to taste made the play or drove the viewer to distraction. The Royal Court has always had a view to internationalism and multiculturalism and this is demonstrated by a play about a black radio station93.2 FM, an odd Brazilian import On Insomnia and Midnight and Scenes from the Back of Beyond, an Australian play set in the 1950s of the type that is more commonly seen at the Orange Tree. A couple of Court favourites complete the set. Marina Carr with the assistance of Fiona Shaw presented Woman and Scarecrow, a play about a woman on her deathbed, while Jez Butterworth's latest play The Winterling was a strange comedy about Londoners at their worst when in the countryside, best-remembered for another stand-out performance by Daniel Mays. Having given pride of place to the Royal Court, it is then necessary to make a suitable fuss over the Donmar where, yet again, Michael Grandage has had a superb year with some great and unforgettable hits. Grandage is a real phenomenon. Where his peers who run theatres only have the energy to direct one or two plays a year, barely a month goes past without something new from Grandage either at the Donmar or on some larger stage. The West End has welcomed him with open arms and Broadway seems likely to follow suit. In the next year, Frost/Nixon is definitely transferring and the hot tip is that Evita may well follow suit. Frost/Nixon is a good place to start: Peter Morgan who is best known for his television and film work chose an unlikely subject for his stage debut. A series of TV debates between a bumptious interviewer and a politician hardly seemed to be the stuff on which dramas should be based. Thanks to outstanding performances from Michael Sheen and Frank Langella and clever use of supporting characters, it soon became apparent that Grandage had yet another hit. He followed that with the dream team of Molière, Patrick Marber and Rhys Ivans who combined to create Don Juan in Soho, an updated version of the French classic that showed London in all of its seediness, as Jeffrey Bernard would well have recognised. The other West End transfer from his theatre this year was a revival of Voyage Round My Father by Sir John Mortimer, which benefited from Sir Derek Jacobi's performance in the title role. Good acting too from Clare Higgins in Frank McGuinness' new version of Racine's Phaedra. Mark Ravenhill's new play, The Cut seemed too clever for its own good, while The Cryptogram by David Mamet was chiefly memorable for the presence of American superstar, Kim Cattrall. That brings us up to Michael Attenborough's Almeida, which has not had as good a year as it should have but even so can boast several high points. Sir David Hare's new version of Gorky's Enemies, starring Jack Davenport and Amanda Drew, made one realise that Chekhov was not the only expert Russian playwright of his generation. The Late Henry Moss was a quirky Sam Shepard comedy featuring warring brothers that had the ability to surprise, while A Period of Adjustment was an intense Tennessee Williams about failed relationships. The Globe welcomed a new artistic director with Dominic Dromgoole taking over from Mark Rylance. He bravely opened with some of the lesser-known works of the Bard, a solid but unexciting Coriolanus being followed by his sensational Titus Andronicus in which the gore regularly did for audience members with handfuls collapsing in the pit every night. This was also a good opportunity to enjoy a fine performance from Douglas Hodge in the title role. The new writing was led by In Extremis, Howard Brenton's entertaining reworking of the story of Abelard and Heloise. Philip Fisher
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