My Theatre Highlights 2018
Winter Solstice by Roland Schimmelpfenning performed by the Actors Touring Company
A powerful but subtle exposition of the seductiveness of fascist-speak, given a Brechtian interpretation by the performers half-narrating, half-acting the text.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in York
The finest production I have seen since Peter Brook’s legendary version. The focus on power and gender enhanced by exotic designs, evocative music and exuberant movement.
The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth at London’s Gielgud Theatre
A play (and production) which has it all – poignancy, comedy, passion, family tensions, politics – showing again how an authentic Irish setting lends itself to great theatre.
Europe by David Greig at the Leeds Playhouse
How individuals relate to locations and the lifestyles which go with them exposed through dramatic, sometimes hostile and violent, sometimes relaxedly comic, confrontations.
Matthew Bourne’s ballet Cinderella in Bradford
Comprehensive communicative theatre with movement, music and visual splendour adeptly translating a fairy tale to a setting which has a powerful resonance for audiences .