Theatre is my crack.
For picspammy. I'm planning on accompanying this with memorable performances/moments etc but I don't think I'll crosspost that to there so if anyone does want to see that just let me know and I'll make sure it's public and let you know when it's posted.
Plays I've seen in 2009
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour - 17/1 7.00pm ● Loot - 5/2 2pm ● 3 Days of Rain - 21/2 3pm ● Boeing Boeing - 26/2 7.30pm ● Tony and Twizzle - 5/3 7.30pm ● Where There's A Will - 12/3 7.30pm ● Lucky Sods - 19/3 7.30pm ● 3 Days of Rain - 18/4 3.00pm ● Dimetos - 18/4 7.30pm ● Waiting for Godot - 21/4 7.30pm ● Enjoy - 29/4 2.30pm ● 3 Days of Rain - 29/4 7.30pm ● A View from the Bridge - 2/5 7.30pm ● Madame de Sade - 13/5 2.30pm ● The Homecoming - 9/6 7.30pm ● As You Like It (Globe) - 26/6 2.00pm ● The Winter's Tale (Old Vic) - 4/7 2.30pm ● The Cherry Orchard - 4/7 7.30pm ● Arcadia - 17/7 7.30pm ● Phedre - 18/7 3.00pm ● Hamlet - 18/7 7.30pm ● Dorian Gray 25/7 3.00pm ● The Mountaintop 28/7 8.00pm ● Duet for One 31/7 7.30pm ● The Woman in Black 4/8 3.00pm ● The 39 Steps 5/8 8.00pm ● War Horse - 15/8 2.30pm ● The Railway Children - 3/9 7.00pm ● A Streetcar Named Desire - 12/9 2.30pm ● Mother Courage and Her Children - 12/9 7.30pm ● The Pitmen Painters - 13/9 3.00pm ● Fugitive Kind (Reading) - 15/9 7.30pm ● All's Well That Ends Well (as part of the NT Live cinema broadcast season) ● Julius Caesar - 2/10 7.30pm ● As You Like It (RSC) - 3/10 1.30pm ● A Winter's Tale (RSC) - 3/10 7.30pm ● As You Like It (Globe) - 10/10 2.00pm ● The 39 Steps - 10/10 8.00pm ● Prick Up Your Ears - 7/11 2.30pm ● An Inspector Calls - 7/11 7.30pm ● Endgame 13/11 7.30pm ● Life is a Dream - 14/11 2.30pm ● Inherit The Wind - 14/11 7.30pm ● Speaking in Tongues - 5/12 2.30pm ● Red - 5/12 7.30pm ● The Pitman Painters - 6/12 3.00pm
Top 5 Plays I've Seen in 2009
● As You Like It (Globe), Shakespeare Dir. Thea Sharrock This production was absolutely lush. I'm so excited that it's been recorded for a planned cinema/dvd/download release! The cast was perfect, they worked together so well that I found myself adoring characters I'd previously been a bit meh about. For me whether a production of AYLI is good or not lies almost entirely Celia, if Celia is a whiny pathetic girl then that reflects badly on Rosalind which then makes you think 'ummm why Orlando, why?!' etc etc. This Celia (Laura Rogers) was fantastic, absolutely fantastic, she was mocking and fierce, I loved her! I found Jamie Parker's Oliver just wonderful too, he brought so much to the role that I'd never seen before. He and Jack Laskey were brilliant together, I really enjoyed the way they played the lion attack at the end. I really, really enjoyed this production immensely - it's definitely one of my favourite productions of Shakespeare ever.
● Red (Donmar), John Logan Dir. Michael Grandage This was an amazing play. Eddie and Alfred were superb. Alfred was in complete command of the stage. Eddie was so understated and calm, even when he got emotional, it was such a beautiful measured performance. The scene where they prepared the canvas was epic, also the moment when Eddie switches on the workers was just soooooo incredible!
● Three Days of Rain (Apollo), Richard Greenberg Dir. Jamie Lloyd I love how layered this play is; you discover something new every time you read it. I thought McAvoy was brilliant, as was Nigel Harman. I saw it three times and could still easily sit through it another three times and feel like I'd not scratched the surface of its brilliance.
● The Mountaintop (Trafalgar Studios), Katori Hall Dir. James Dacre This play was incredible. So moving, it took my breath away at the end. It made me weep for joy. David Harewood was incredible as Martin Luther King Jr and Lorraine Burroughs was super as Camae. She brought such energy and lightness to the stage. I was completely enthralled by it. The last scene was probably one of the most exhilarating moments I've experienced in theatre. I desperately want it to transfer!
● The Pitmen Painters (National Theatre), Lee Hall Dir. Max Roberts I can't get over how brilliant this play is. I think it's far superior to Billy Elliot (also by Lee Hall, in case you were wondering where the comparison comes from). It's so funny at the start and so heartbreaking at the end. When the projection reads "In 1995, the call for the 'common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange' was excised from the Labour Party Constitution" it breaks my heart. Those men were so hopeful after the Second World War they were so ready for the post-War & Welfare State world and then it never really changed for them.
Honourable Mentions Prick Up Your Ears ● Every Good Boy Deserves Favour ● Madame De Sade ● The Winter's Tale (Old Vic) ● Fugitive Kind (Reading) ● War Horse ● Life is a Dream ● Inherit the Wind
Plays I've seen in 2009
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour - 17/1 7.00pm ● Loot - 5/2 2pm ● 3 Days of Rain - 21/2 3pm ● Boeing Boeing - 26/2 7.30pm ● Tony and Twizzle - 5/3 7.30pm ● Where There's A Will - 12/3 7.30pm ● Lucky Sods - 19/3 7.30pm ● 3 Days of Rain - 18/4 3.00pm ● Dimetos - 18/4 7.30pm ● Waiting for Godot - 21/4 7.30pm ● Enjoy - 29/4 2.30pm ● 3 Days of Rain - 29/4 7.30pm ● A View from the Bridge - 2/5 7.30pm ● Madame de Sade - 13/5 2.30pm ● The Homecoming - 9/6 7.30pm ● As You Like It (Globe) - 26/6 2.00pm ● The Winter's Tale (Old Vic) - 4/7 2.30pm ● The Cherry Orchard - 4/7 7.30pm ● Arcadia - 17/7 7.30pm ● Phedre - 18/7 3.00pm ● Hamlet - 18/7 7.30pm ● Dorian Gray 25/7 3.00pm ● The Mountaintop 28/7 8.00pm ● Duet for One 31/7 7.30pm ● The Woman in Black 4/8 3.00pm ● The 39 Steps 5/8 8.00pm ● War Horse - 15/8 2.30pm ● The Railway Children - 3/9 7.00pm ● A Streetcar Named Desire - 12/9 2.30pm ● Mother Courage and Her Children - 12/9 7.30pm ● The Pitmen Painters - 13/9 3.00pm ● Fugitive Kind (Reading) - 15/9 7.30pm ● All's Well That Ends Well (as part of the NT Live cinema broadcast season) ● Julius Caesar - 2/10 7.30pm ● As You Like It (RSC) - 3/10 1.30pm ● A Winter's Tale (RSC) - 3/10 7.30pm ● As You Like It (Globe) - 10/10 2.00pm ● The 39 Steps - 10/10 8.00pm ● Prick Up Your Ears - 7/11 2.30pm ● An Inspector Calls - 7/11 7.30pm ● Endgame 13/11 7.30pm ● Life is a Dream - 14/11 2.30pm ● Inherit The Wind - 14/11 7.30pm ● Speaking in Tongues - 5/12 2.30pm ● Red - 5/12 7.30pm ● The Pitman Painters - 6/12 3.00pm
Top 5 Plays I've Seen in 2009
● As You Like It (Globe), Shakespeare Dir. Thea Sharrock This production was absolutely lush. I'm so excited that it's been recorded for a planned cinema/dvd/download release! The cast was perfect, they worked together so well that I found myself adoring characters I'd previously been a bit meh about. For me whether a production of AYLI is good or not lies almost entirely Celia, if Celia is a whiny pathetic girl then that reflects badly on Rosalind which then makes you think 'ummm why Orlando, why?!' etc etc. This Celia (Laura Rogers) was fantastic, absolutely fantastic, she was mocking and fierce, I loved her! I found Jamie Parker's Oliver just wonderful too, he brought so much to the role that I'd never seen before. He and Jack Laskey were brilliant together, I really enjoyed the way they played the lion attack at the end. I really, really enjoyed this production immensely - it's definitely one of my favourite productions of Shakespeare ever.
● Red (Donmar), John Logan Dir. Michael Grandage This was an amazing play. Eddie and Alfred were superb. Alfred was in complete command of the stage. Eddie was so understated and calm, even when he got emotional, it was such a beautiful measured performance. The scene where they prepared the canvas was epic, also the moment when Eddie switches on the workers was just soooooo incredible!
● Three Days of Rain (Apollo), Richard Greenberg Dir. Jamie Lloyd I love how layered this play is; you discover something new every time you read it. I thought McAvoy was brilliant, as was Nigel Harman. I saw it three times and could still easily sit through it another three times and feel like I'd not scratched the surface of its brilliance.
● The Mountaintop (Trafalgar Studios), Katori Hall Dir. James Dacre This play was incredible. So moving, it took my breath away at the end. It made me weep for joy. David Harewood was incredible as Martin Luther King Jr and Lorraine Burroughs was super as Camae. She brought such energy and lightness to the stage. I was completely enthralled by it. The last scene was probably one of the most exhilarating moments I've experienced in theatre. I desperately want it to transfer!
● The Pitmen Painters (National Theatre), Lee Hall Dir. Max Roberts I can't get over how brilliant this play is. I think it's far superior to Billy Elliot (also by Lee Hall, in case you were wondering where the comparison comes from). It's so funny at the start and so heartbreaking at the end. When the projection reads "In 1995, the call for the 'common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange' was excised from the Labour Party Constitution" it breaks my heart. Those men were so hopeful after the Second World War they were so ready for the post-War & Welfare State world and then it never really changed for them.
Honourable Mentions Prick Up Your Ears ● Every Good Boy Deserves Favour ● Madame De Sade ● The Winter's Tale (Old Vic) ● Fugitive Kind (Reading) ● War Horse ● Life is a Dream ● Inherit the Wind