| A Storming Full Year |
My Year of Theatre |
| Sherman, Torch, Company of Sirens, Grand Ambition, Elan Davies , Wales, Edinburgh, London , January 1, 2024 |
2023 began sombrely. Inflation for venues was running at 20%-40%. Materials for sets were up 80%. Labour shortages were depleting the availability of electricians and carpenters. It ended sombrely in a different way. The Minister in the Bay set her reputation in not fighting her corner in the Welsh Cabinet to avert cuts of 10.5% in the arts. And in-between 2023 was a year of theatre stardust. It was the first year since 2019 of full unimpeded access. In the first seven weeks of 2022 public access to public events was still subject to differing regimes of masks, QR codes, temperature checks. The full effects of the pandemic are yet to be known. The mass dropping away from education will be a social and political time-bomb by 2030. But the craving of a social species for social events was met in full by our artists and producers. If anything, the totality of festivals and performances was so great as to dilute the financial benefit. But across Britain the all-important Christmas box-office season rose by 17%. * * * * My own appetite was met. As in 2022, a night out in a week is quite enough. I was at fifty-eight performances of fifty-seven productions. Once again the fact of Wales' geography is inescapable. The 0937 from Bow Street gets quickest to Birmingham at 1234. Manchester at 1313 is closer than Cardiff arrival time 1342. London, two and half times the distance by road, is a half hour further by rail at 1416. But there is a benefit to seeing the best of London. I can recognise in the productions of Wales those that match the best of Britain. The finish and quality of the last production from Lighthouse were such that it could instantly transfer to the Kiln or Southwark Playhouse or Hampstead Theatre, all theatres I was at over the year. As for the show of the year the review of 17th November said it: “In its scale, its design and lighting, the quality of its music and singing “Branwen: Dadeni” could transfer straight to the Lyttelton stage on the South Bank and a national theatre audience would not blink an eyelid. The production values are supreme.” * * * * Once again the words of theatre's makers guide this site. From “What Directors Expect of Critics” in the sequence “On Criticism & Critics” 19th December 2018: “I expect critics to come to our work with open minds and a discerning eye and to respond to our work with constructive, insightful judgements rooted in knowledge and experience expressed with lucidity in reviews which give aesthetic pleasure to the reader. “The critic’s responsibility is to the audience, not to the artist. As a director I expect more than a free marketing tool and more than just a personal opinion. I expect well written, informed, considered and honest reviews which place our work in a context and provoke thought and debate around our work. Only if we have a robust critical culture can we expect a robust theatre culture.” * * * * PRODUCTIONS & COMPANIES 47 productions from 2023 have featured over the year on this site. That is not quite the full picture. Fluellen did Chekhov in Swansea. Bara Caws revived its production of the Charlie Miles' two-hander “Draenen Ddu”. Betsan Llwyd directed Rhian Blythe and Sion Pritchard in a production that went to 16 venues including Aberffraw, Rhosllanerchrugog, Gartholwg, Crymych, Llangefni, Bala, Llangadfan, Llanfairfechan. Welsh National Opera extended into musical theatre with Leonard Bernstein's “Candide.” It is a brilliant piece and it was brilliantly done. RWCMD continued doing good things. Its quality is evident in the Linbury prize work currently to be seen on show at the National Theatre. The year started with the Sherman in co-production with the National Theatre. The confluence of dramatist, director and cast was one of theatre magic. The critical response across the board, recorded here 16th March and 20th April, was unanimous. David Benedict, a critic always worth reading, signed off his year of writing for "the Stage" with "hats off to both the directors and the National Theatre’s casting department for Rachel O’Riordan’s production of Gary Owen’s heart-tugging "Romeo and Julie". * * * * The artist-led Swansea company Grand Ambition kicked off with a sizzling debut in “Sorter.” Company of Sirens joined with Gary Raymond for his theatre debut “A Beautiful Rhythm of Life and Death”. At a Q&A director Chris Durnall was asked, by myself, if he was perhaps mellowing with the years. “Absolutely not!” was the reply A year after the Torch, Theatr Clwyd and Aberystwyth Arts Centre celebrated their fiftieth anniversaries so too the Sherman reached its half-century. A co-production at the South Bank is as high as it gets and set a good year rolling. Michael Kelligan had been at the opening fifty years ago. His words on Radio Cymru Wales' Arts Show 15th December: “It was a growing-up of Welsh theatre.” “Imrie”, “A Midsummer Night's Dream”, “Love Cardiff: 50 Years of Our Stories”, “Housemates” all followed. A joint venture with Stammermouth took “Choo Choo” to Edinburgh where it won a Fringe First. And to cap it Elan Davies was a winner at the Stage Debut Awards. * * * * Connor Allen also won an award, 19th March, the 2023 Imison Award, for “The Making of a Monster". It was a muted year for Theatr Clwyd with its rebuilding and awaiting the arrival of Kate Wasserberg as artistic director. She is one of a new generation of artistic directors, two of whom made their mark in 2023. Interestingly both went for unexpected dips into theatre's history. Chelsea Gillard and Steffan Donnelly revisited Coward and Ionescu with flair to critical applause. The Torch won a plaudit too on this site for its public communication. The article of 2nd March headed “Cut the Pompous Jargon” states “the Torch Does It Right.” TO BE CONTINUED |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
This review has been read 777 times There are 27 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
