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2003: A Review of the Year (Part III)By Philip FisherThe Bush is a wonderfully intimate theatre and under Mike Bradwell's direction produces plays with their own character. In 2003, he hardly put a foot wrong from Doug Lucie's The Green Man and Simon Burt's Got to Be Happy through Little Baby Nothing, Catherine Johnson's moving portrayal of pubertal problems for teens and their parents, to Richard Bean's comedy about colonialism, The God Botherers. Almost equally good at producing high quality new writing, the Royal Court has a harder edge. It has also mined a rich vein of Russian writing, introducing the Presnyakov Brothers with their surreal brand of comedy in Terrorism and Playing the Victim, and Vassily Sigarev's Black Milk. Richard Bean managed to write plays for both theatres, his Under the Whaleback about Hull trawlermen working well Upstairs at the Court. In that space, new young British and Irish writers were introduced with some success. These included Lucy Prebble with The Sugar Syndrome and Stella Feehily with Duck. Downstairs the major hit was Terry Johnson's latest play, Hitchcock Blonde, which managed a profitable West End transfer. William Dudley's computer-generated graphics included a hologram which chillingly suggested that in future, casts might be cut and supplemented by electronic wizardry. Other hits included Lars Noren's Blood, Roy Williams' award-winning Fallout and the London transfer of Rona Munro's Iron, now playing in New York but without the superlative Sandy McDade who stole the show in London and Edinburgh. The Young Vic is a wonderful space. This year, even this reviewer realised that the musical Simply Heavenly starring Clive Rowe was something special. Also welcome was Lope de Vega's Peribanez, a Spanish classic that made the viewer want to see more of his work, and Peter Brook's Le Costume, which made the trip across the Channel. The Soho Theatre is another that champions new writing but can be at its best with imports and Edinburgh transfers. The delightful 100 qualifies on both counts. Stephen Belber's Tape, an American tale of angst, was another successful import. Still in the Central area is the Southwark Playhouse, which enjoyed its final season under Thea Sharrock's direction. Her last production, A Doll's House, was a great success, as was a revival of Athol Fugard's Hello and Goodbye that featured superlative performances from Zubin Varla and Tracey-Ann Oberman. Earlier in the year, the theatre enjoyed equally good efforts from Simon Callow and Ann Mitchell in Through the Leaves by Franz Xaver Kroetz, a play that transferred to the West End and earned Miss Mitchell an Evening Standard nomination, much to the joy of all at Southwark.
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