Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
One cast member reflects on RAG's Winter Wonderland pantomime.
The death of Czech playwright and first President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel, is not only a loss to politics, but also to the theatre world. There has been some contention lately over the lack of foreign plays on the British stage, and the scarcity of Havel’s plays is no exception. The most recently performed of his plays was The Conspirators at the Orange Tree in Richmond in September of this year, which met with lukewarm reviews. Despite that, he is generally remembered favourably as a dramatist. Perhaps Cameron should take up a quill and turn his hand to playwrighting – it might just help him in politics.
Michael Frayn’s return to the West End with Noises Off is heralded by rave reviews. Director Lindsay Posner has revitalised the farce and given it a fresh face ahead of the jaded pantomime crowds.
Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre, has announced that he will be stepping down in 2013. Cooke has overseen a brilliant period in the theatre’s history, with new writing that has since become canonical: the hard-hitting recent hit Clybourne Park, his revival of Ionesco’s absurdist Rhinoceros, Laura Wade’s Posh (coincidentally also on in the Drama Barn next term), and Polly Stenham’s first forays into theatre with her exciting scripts Tusk Tusk and That Face. Speaking to the Guardian of his plans to go freelance, he suggested, ‘Maybe I’ll become a landscape gardener’.
Ballet has seen a bit of a revival as a dance form, with new choreography stepping aware from the traditional tutu image of the dance style, including Wayne McGregor’s Live Fire Exercise at the Royal Ballet, which took inspiration from explosives-training used in the military. Catching onto the new animal craze after War Horse, My Family and Other Animals and The Gruffalo became incredibly popular, dancers dressed as animals is a new direction for the genre, with the spectacular Metamorphosis at the Linbury Studio taking the limelight. Ballet has rocketed up the popularity lists this year, probably beginning with Black Swan’s hit in the cinemas in January. Since then, we’ve seen a revival of all of the old classics (several times over): Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella (including Matthew Bourne’s innovative touring production set in the Blitz), and of course – it’s that time of year again – The Nutcracker. And some more of The Nutcracker. And another production of The Nutcracker.
It’s been a fantastic year for puppet theatre, proving that this ancient art form is anything but old-fashioned. Kneehigh Theatre continue to pave the way in the genre with their A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, following on from The Wild Bride earlier in the year. And of course, the runaway success of War Horse in the West End, which has had its run extended as far as 2013, creates a believable and heart-wrenching world and set of characters simply using the skeletons of wooden horse puppets. Beautifully done, it confirms that puppetry isn’t only a game for kids.
And a little closer to home, York Theatre Royal’s panto receives glowing reviews. Despite arts cutbacks and the decision to trim down on extravagances, The York Family Robinson keeps alive the great tradition of pantomime in York. See the review here.
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