The critics’ picks of the year
seem parochial alongside The Inheritance’s epic sweep but its modest virtues are part of its appeal. With its shades of Maugham and Rattigan, this study of a dour Scottish meteorologist’s crucial role in the D-Day landings is as British in its stagecraft as its subject. Haig’s performance as the protagonist matched the excellence of his writing.
As ever, musicals dominated our stages. For several months even the four Shaftesbury Avenue theatres, traditional home of new plays and classic revivals, all had musicals. Despite the danger of an unvaried diet and the dreary proliferation of tribute shows and jukebox musicals, there were many delights on offer.
My musical of the year was
Flowers For Mrs Harris.A
gritty fairytale about a South London charwoman’s ambition to buy an original Christian Dior dress, it was graced with an exceptionally endearing central performance by Clare
Burt, who had earlier headed the cast of Sam Kenyon’s Miss Littlewood, a musical portrait of the legendary director boldly staged by the RSC.
Elsewhere, Bartlett Sher’s glorious production of
brought Broadway spectacle (and Broadway star Kelli O’Hara) to London.
Meanwhile three fringe theatres demonstrated the virtues of small-scale musicals: Kander and Ebb’s unjustly neglected at Southwark Playhouse; the 50th anniversary production of at the Waterloo Vaults; and Benjamin Till’s deeply poignant at the Union.
With directors too often seeking to showcase their talents rather than serve their texts, classic revivals have been harder to admire. Shakespeare, as ever, has fared particularly badly, although Claire van Kampen’s nimble production of with husband Mark Rylance as Iago, and Simon Godwin’s lucid
with Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo in the title roles, were distinguished exceptions. Finally, Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto’s reworking of within Birmingham’s Muslim community was a triumph. Its bravery in tackling religious taboos while honouring Moliere’s comic vision makes it my production of the year.
King And I The Rink Brass The Antony And Cleopatra, Hair Othello
WHEN IT comes to dance, Britain wins the international accolade of Best In The World year after year. Paris, New York, Copenhagen, Tokyo... they may think they lead the way. But a glance at the arts section of this newspaper alone proves these pretenders wrong. We are bursting at the seams with dance excellence from classical ballet to contemporary dance.
To prove my point, in 2018 we have seen sensational seasonal productions of the family Christmas speciality, from both English National Ballet and the Royal Ballet, and ticket sales have rocketed.
Sales have also soared at Sadler’s Wells Theatre where Matthew
Bourne’s ultra-modern and (almost) all-male led to “House Full” signs being freshly polished and displayed.
British ballet was arguably born in 1926 when Polish refugee Marie Rambert tacked together a group of mostly British dancers and formed the Ballet Rambert. Five years later Ninette de Valois founded Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, later renamed the Royal, which today shows the world an all-embracing repertoire including Russian greats such as La Bayadere.
The spirit of these pioneering women quickly spread and today dance companies flourish across the country, packing theatres night after night from Scottish Ballet to Du Dance in Belfast via Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ballet Cymru, Northern Ballet and many more.
And there is plenty of room for bright ideas and risky endeavours. The annual modern dance festival,
gives all comers a go.
The Place, founded in 1969 in a redundant fire station in London’s Euston, has become another champion of British modern dance. Every January in its season,
The Place helps finance newcomers to play to a paying audience. There is no more honest feedback than paying customers.
And we all had access to uplifting dance on which has just finished on BBC One. Highlights of the latest series included Dr Ranj and Janette Manrara’s exuberant salsa.
The year’s most outstanding dancers include with English National Ballet and the Royal Ballet’s
a pair of talented rising stars whose down-to-earth approach is giving a whole new perspective to male dancers. Also unmissable is the gorgeous
whose dancing with the Royal Ballet was better than ever, and her Giselle was superb.
But London is giving way to Leeds now that is artistic director of Northern Ballet. Nixon has the magic touch of making himself and his dancers one whole artistic endeavour, a rare talent.
Kenneth Tyndall’s has it all, a story, a score, a lively mix of characters and steps laden with emotion and truth. We all feel better for seeing it. And that is what ballet is all about.
Nutcracker, Nunez Swan Lake Umbrella, Resolution Isaac Hernandez Vadim Muntagirov, David Nixon Dance Strictly Come Dancing Marianela Casanova