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Review of the Year 2023 – The Thirteenth Annual Chrisparkle Awards

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Welcome once again, gentle reader, to the glamorous showbiz highlight of the year, the announcement of the annual Chrisparkle Awards for 2023. Eligibility for the awards means a) they were performed in the UK and b) I have to have seen the shows and blogged about them in the period 10th January 2023 to 9th January 2024. Are you all sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin!

 

The first award is for Best Dance Production (Contemporary and Classical)

 

This includes dance seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, which is just as well as we only saw four dance productions this year and they were all in Edinburgh! These are the top three:

In 3rd place, the amusing association of inventive contemporary dance with wine tasting, in Geelong’s Attitude Dance Company’s Perfect Pairing: A Wine Tasting Dancegustation at Greenside at Infirmary Street, Edinburgh, in August.

In 2nd place, the stunning The Rite of Spring / common ground[s], as performed by members of the Pina Bausch Foundation and Ecole des Sables, at the Edinburgh Playhouse in August.

In 1st place, the double bill of short dances including Revelations, performed by the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, in August.

 

Classical Music Concert of the Year.

For the second year running, we only saw one classical concert this year – Sinfonia Viva’s Beethoven’s Symphony No 3 at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, in July. It gets an honorary mention, but if I don’t get to see more classical concerts in 2024 this award may have to be withdrawn!

 

Best Entertainment Show of the Year.

This means anything that doesn’t fall into any other categories – for example pantos, circuses, revues and anything else hard to classify. Here are the top three:

In 3rd place, the always delightful Sheffield pantomime, Beauty and the Beast at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, in December.

In 2nd place, with the most extraordinary set of production values and so much cash chucked as it, the amazing Peter Pan at the London Palladium in December.

In 1st place, so good we saw it twice, the deliciously hilarious Mother Goose starring Ian McKellen and John Bishop at the Festival Theatre, Chichester, in February and the Curve Theatre, Leicester, in March.

 

Best Standup of the Year.

Star standup comedians were thin on the ground this year so the Committee has decided to group the Star Standup and Local Screaming Blue Murder/Comedy Crate standup awards together into one major award for best standup comedian. 41 comics made the longlist, of which 10 made the shortlist – and here are the top five:

In 5th place, the gifted physical comedian Addy van der Borgh (Screaming Blue Murder – May)

In 4th place, the explosively unpredictable President Obonjo (Comedy Crate – October)

In 3rd place, deadly material subtly delivered by the brilliant Sarah Keyworth (Comedy Crate – September)

In 2nd place, a fantastic new find, Thomas Green (Comedy Crate Weekender – July, Comedy Crate – December)

In 1st place, the comedy powerhouse that is Tom Stade (Comedy Crate Edinburgh Preview – July)

 

Best Musical.

I saw twelve musicals this year, a combination of new shows and revivals. One big disappointment, one that everybody else loves but I don’t, and a few slightly underwhelming, but that leaves a strong top five.

In 5th place, hard to do a bad production of this, but nevertheless it was a delight, The Sound of Music at the Festival Theatre, Chichester, in September.

In 4th place, a wonderfully intimate production of a challenging show, the beautiful Pacific Overtures at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, in December.

In 3rd place, a show that was way better than it had any right to be, the touring production of The Cher Show at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, in January.

In 2nd place, the funny, endlessly surprising, and beautifully performed show that fully deserves a transfer, Close Up, the Twiggy Musical, at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, in October.

In 1st place, outstanding in every respect, Nicholas Hytner’s extraordinary promenade production of Guys and Dolls, at the Bridge Theatre, London, March.

 

Best New Play.

Just to clarify, this is my definition of a new play, which is something that’s new to me and to most of its audience – so it might have been around before but on its first UK tour, or a new adaptation of a work originally in another format. We saw eighteen new plays this year, but I only awarded five stars to two of them; is the standard getting worse or am I getting tougher?!

In 5th place, Amy Herzog’s funny and emotional look at the oddest of odd couples, 4000 Miles, at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in June.

In 4th place, a delightfully in-your-face, challenging and very funny new take on an old genre, Charlie Josephine’s Cowbois, for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in October.

In 3rd place, a fascinating examination of south-east Asian stereotypes on stage, Kimber Lee’s untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play at the Young Vic, London, in October.

In 2nd place, Isobel McArthur’s hilarious reworking of Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) at the Festival Theatre, Chichester, in February.

In 1st place, a gripping account of the meeting of two very different artistic minds, Jack Thorne’s The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre Lyttelton Theatre, London, in May.

 

Best Revival of a Play.

I saw thirteen revivals, of which only one was a disappointment; here’s the top five:

In 5th place, the RSC’s climate-change led production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in February.

In 4th place, the remarkable updating of the story of Shylock to 1930s London in The Merchant of Venice 1936, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in September.

In 3rd place, breathing new life into a truly vibrant production of this modern classic, Michael Frayn’s wonderful Noises Off, at the Phoenix Theatre, London, in March.

In 2nd place, Headlong’s brilliantly pared back and taut production of Shakespeare’s Henry V, at the Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, in March.

In 1st place, the production that made you wonder why this brilliant play isn’t performed more often, Gregory Doran’s superb production of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in May.

As always, in the post-Christmas season, it’s time to consider the turkey of the year – and whilst I was unimpressed with both The Inquiry at Chichester, and The Enfield Haunting at the Ambassadors Theatre, London, the worst thing I saw all year was the RSC’s Julius Caesar at Stratford’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

 

Now we come on to our four categories specifically for the Edinburgh Fringe. The first is:

Best play or musical – Edinburgh

I would normally have included musicals in with the “Best of the Rest” category, but I feel it is more appropriate to include them in the “Best Play” category.

We saw 89 productions of plays and musicals in Edinburgh this year, 19 of them got 5* from me, and here are the top 5:

In 5th place, the gripping and emotional account of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York in 1911, Paved with Gold and Ashes, written by Julia Thurston and produced by ThreeDumb Theatre (Greenside @ Infirmary Street)

In 4th place, the fascinating, moving and extremely sad story of the life of Lena Zavaroni, Lena, written by Tim Whitnall and produced by Feather Productions (Assembly George Square)

In 3rd place, a constantly surprising and thrilling one-man play that explores football fandom and mental health, Why I Stuck a Flare up my Arse for England, written by Alex Hill and produced by Roxy Dog (The Space @ Niddry Street)

In 2nd place, a scintillating and harrowing account of sexual abuse within a family, The Good Dad (A Love Story), written by Gail Louw and produced by And Tomorrow (The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall)

In 1st place, the cream of this year’s Edinburgh crop, the brilliantly written, superbly performed and remarkably thought-provoking, Public – the Musical, written by Stroud/Sands/Stroud and produced by Stroud and Notes (Pleasance Courtyard)

 

Best Individual Performance in a Play or Musical – Edinburgh

As always, an impossible choice, and you cannot get a cigarette paper between the top two. Nevertheless, here are the top five:

In 5th place, Tim Hardy for The Trials of Galileo (Greenside @ Infirmary Street)

In 4th place, Annabel Marlow for Public – The Musical (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 3rd place, Andrew Patrick-Walker for Public – The Musical (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 2nd place, Sarah Lawrie for The Good Dad (A Love Story) (The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall)

In 1st place, Alex Hill for Why I Stuck a Flare up my Arse for England (The Space @ Niddry Street)

 

Best stand-up comedy show – Edinburgh

We saw thirty-nine stand up shows this year, but only eight received 5* from me, and here are my top five:

In 5th place, a cracking show based on advice to her 14 year old self, Sooz Kempner with her Y2K Woman show (Underbelly Bristo Square)

In 4th place, the frenetic and intense Glenn Moore with his Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, Glenn I’m Sixty Moore show (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 3rd place, a show that mines comedy gold out of awkwardness, the hilarious Robin Grainger with his An Audient with Robin Grainger show (The Stand Comedy Club 2)

In 2nd place, a master at work delivering a true masterclass of brilliance from the word Go, Frank Skinner with his 30 Years of Dirt show (Assembly George Square)

In 1st place, who am I to disagree with the people behind the Edinburgh Award for Best Comedy Show, Ahir Shah with his truly beautiful Ends show (Monkey Barrel Comedy)

 

Best of the rest – Edinburgh

From a shortlist of eleven, here are my top five:

In 5th place, the sumptuous musical nostalgia of Gertrude Lawrence: A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening, performed by Lucy Stevens and produced by Penny Mayes (Assembly Rooms)

In 4th place, the childlike escapism of pretending to be a war hero with Sam Dugdale’s hilarious creation Manbo (Underbelly Cowgate)

In 3rd place, part standup, part play, part lecture, part eulogy, the wonderful and indefinable Ben Target: LORENZO (Summerhall)

In 2nd place, an outrageous laugh from start to finish, the delightfully irreverent Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story with Linus Karp as the late Queen of Hearts (Pleasance Dome)

In 1st place, one of those chilling theatrical experiences that only Edinburgh can truly create, Edwin Flay’s astonishing performance in The Quality of Mercy: Concerning the Life and Crimes of Dr Harold Frederick Shipman (The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall)

There were three contenders for this year’s Edinburgh turkey; Gold was a terribly unfunny and embarrassing play based on the Brinks-Mat robbery, and Rahul Somia’s Find me a Wife stand up show was woefully unprepared. However, the direst thing we saw was York University Drama Society’s crass and tasteless waste of an opportunity to stage the argument between Tynan and Ionesco in The Courteous Enemy (The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall). Truly dreadful.

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical.

Time to get personal. Here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Hannah-Jane Fox as Nellie Hornby in Close Up at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, in October.

In 4th place, Celinde Schoenmaker as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre, London, in March.

In 3rd place, Debbie Kurup as Star in The Cher Show at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, in January.

In 2nd place, Elena Skye as Twiggy in Close Up at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, in October.

In 1st place, Marisha Wallace as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre, London, in March.

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical.

Here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Steven Serlin as Norman Hornby in Close Up at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, in October.

In 4th place, Cedric Neal as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre, London, in March.

In 3rd place, Jon Chew as The Reciter in Pacific Overtures at Menier Chocolate Factory, London, in December.

In 2nd place, Ian McIntosh as Deco in The Commitments at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, in April.

In 1st place, Daniel Mays as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre, London, in March.

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Play.

Sixteen in the rather long shortlist, and here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Tuppence Middleton as Elizabeth Taylor in The Motive and the Cue, National Theatre, Lyttelton Theatre, London, in May.

In 4th place, Mei Mac as Kim in untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play, Young Vic, London, in October.

In 3rd place, Felicity Kendal as Dotty Otley in Noises Off, at the Phoenix Theatre, London, in March.

In 2nd place, Tracy-Ann Oberman as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice 1936, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon,in September.

In 1st place, Eileen Atkins as Vera in 4000 Miles, at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in June.

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Play.

Fourteen contenders in my shortlist, and here is the top five:

In 5th place, Roger Allam as Frank in Frank and Percy, at the Theatre Royal Windsor, in June.

In 4th place, Greg Wise as Tobin in Never Have I Ever, at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in  September.

In 3rd place, Ian McKellen as Percy in Frank and Percy, at the Theatre Royal Windsor, in June.

In 2nd place, Johnny Flynn as Richard Burton in The Motive and the Cue, National Theatre, Lyttelton Theatre, London, in May.

In 1st place, Mark Gatiss as John Gielgud in The Motive and the Cue, National Theatre, Lyttelton Theatre, London, in May.

 

Congratulations to the winners, commiserations to the losers and thanks for your company again throughout the year, gentle reader. Here’s to a happy and rewarding 2024 full of artistic excellence!

Review – The Motive and the Cue, National Theatre at the Lyttelton, London, 24th May 2023

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One of my earliest memories as a student was seeing a photo of Richard Burton holding court in front of a room full of earnest and eager undergraduates, in the very same room where I was being grilled by my tutor, the late Francis Warner. He and Burton were buddies and I remember regretting that I wasn’t a couple of years older, in which case I would have been one of those keen undergrads hanging on to his every word, whilst Francis sat back basking in the reflected glow. So near, and yet so far.

I was reminded of that photo during the one of the last scenes in Jack Thorne’s new play The Motive and The Cue, where Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are holding a party for the cast of Hamlet, which he’s just about to open on Broadway, directed by Sir John Gielgud. Johnny Flynn’s Burton sits back in a big old armchair, crosses his legs and quietly manipulates all the conversation and merriment that he sees before him. If Mr Flynn hasn’t seen that photo of Burton giving a class at Oxford, then the similarity is not only uncanny, it’s miraculous.

But I’m getting ahead of myself as usual. Gielgud took on the task of directing Burton as Shakespeare’s Great Dane, and Thorne’s play takes us through the entire creative process from the Day 1 reading to Day 25 final rehearsal and first preview. We see the admiration given to the two, very different, creative geniuses; the relationships between the older, more experienced actors and the younger newbies, the differences of approach and style, the powerplays, the arguments, and the cunning ways of reaching a solution. The conflicts that develop between the mellifluously spoken, reserved authority of Gielgud versus the strident, belligerent, emotional Burton make for a fine battle of wits. I wasn’t aware until I saw the play that Burton’s Hamlet became the most successful production of the play ever to appear on Broadway. So whatever they did, they did it right.

The Motive and The Cue; not perhaps the snappiest of titles, but they are Hamlet’s own words. As Gielgud explains: “the motive is the spine of a role – the intellect and the reason – the cue is the passion – the inner switch which ignites the heart.” And at its heart, this play follows the search for that magical, intangible element that makes a role come to life – the search for one’s own Hamlet. Everyone’s is different, because we’re all different.

Jack Thorne has created a totally beautiful piece of work. Superbly structured, delicately written, with fascinating characters and the excitement for the audience of seeing the developing readiness in preparation for opening night. It’s littered with marvellous comedy that plays upon the preconceptions of the characters that we already have; we’d guessed, for example, that Gielgud would have faux-modesty about his achievements, that Burton would be brash and drunk, and that Taylor would be sex-on-legs. This carries on even into the supporting cast of recognisable names – for instance, there’s a lot of mickey-taking about Hume Cronyn (Polonius) for always appearing with his wife Jessica Tandy; indeed, I remember seeing them both at the Lyric Theatre in 1979 in The Gin Game.

The play is set in New York of course, and thus Gielgud and Burton are two fish out of water; Brits at work abroad, with all their colleagues being American. Burton, of course, can afford a swanky apartment; Gielgud retreats to a modest little hotel room. They represent two ends of the social scale; old well-bred family versus nouveau riche – a class war, if you like, without class ever being mentioned. You can easily see the upper-crust Gielgud, with all his splendid enunciation, set against the working-class miner’s son Burton, treating the rehearsal space like a bar room brawl. There are some beautiful comic moments that reflect this; Gielgud’s observation that Burton’s Hamlet would have murdered Claudius within a few minutes of meeting the Ghost, and Burton’s hilarious entry to Gertrude’s bedchamber, bellowing Mother, mother, mother! – followed by Gertrude’s distasteful Withdraw, I hear him coming. There are also some telling observations about fame and anonymity, experience versus innocence; one’s career peaking too soon, not to mention the thinly veiled rivalry between Johnny and Larry.

But what this charmingly likeable play also manages to do is to celebrate excellence all the way through. There’s only one source of negative energy in the show – Burton, when things are going wrong. His aggressive and destructive behaviour wins him no friends or support from the rest of the cast – in fact, there’s a splendid moment when Eileen Herlie who plays Gertrude gives him a terrific slap around the chops that the entire audience admires. But there’s a positive outcome after Liz Taylor gives Gielgud some insight into Burton’s background which he can use to make Burton properly find his own Hamlet. And, with a successful run on Broadway, it’s one of those rare things – a straight play with a happy ending!

The play is beautifully presented as a treat for the eyes and ears. Es Devlin’s rehearsal room set is stark and spacious, clearly lit, with a few comfortable touches around the edges but primarily designed to create an acting space with no hiding place. The theatrically artificial setting is enhanced by the curtains creating a boxy, proscenium space as they change from scene to scene; with lovely touches like the wilting flowers in the Burton/Taylor apartment, lit in a lurid red light. Scenes blend by rehearsing sections of Hamlet at the front of the curtain which then merge into the rest of the stage. It’s a very fluid, seamless transition from scene to scene. Each scene is introduced by an onstage projection telling us which day of the rehearsal process we’re at, with an appropriate Hamlet quote for good measure. Both acts start with a pithy piece of music from Sir Noel Coward – nothing particularly to do with the story, but delightfully appropriate, especially after the interval, with Why must the show go on?

Gielgud and Burton dominate proceedings, as you would expect, but the entire cast work perfectly together. Tuppence Middleton is superb as Elizabeth Taylor; dressed glamorously, immaculate in appearance, a dangerous concoction of sexually provocative and motherly protector. Janie Dee makes the most of her appearances as Eileen Herlie, brooking no nonsense from Burton, whilst being a good team player; plenty of opportunities for terrific comic timing and withering looks. Allan Corduner is excellent as the blustery, rather pompous Hume Cronyn, and Luke Norris also stands out as the rather miscast William Redfield, too experienced to play Guildenstern but keen to work with the big names.

Laurence Ubong Williams delivers a standout cameo as Hugh McHaffie, the gentleman caller that Gielgud has hired for a night of passion that turns into a much needed therapy session; Phoebe Horn portrays the young Linda Marsh (Ophelia) with a terrific feel for the nervousness of the lowest in the pecking order; and David Tarkenter absolutely looks the part of Alfred Drake (Claudius), perhaps a surprisingly insignificant role considering how important Claudius is to Hamlet and what a star Alfred Drake was of musical theatre at the time.

Johnny Flynn is brilliant as Burton; the character adopts so many attitudes and moods over the course of the play, and he gets them all spot-on. A louche braggart, a vindictive drunk, a humble searcher for the truth. His vocal timbre is superbly suggestive of Burton without being an impersonation, but his physical presence and body language completely bring to mind the original. It’s a fantastic performance. So too is Mark Gatiss as Gielgud; again not an impersonation but there’s something about the blend of his physicality and voice that makes you think you are seeing Sir John on the stage again. The flowing tones, the waspish wit, the impatience that lurks under the surface always hidden by a veneer of politeness – it’s all there. He really takes your breath away.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such an easy, instant standing ovation at the National Theatre for a play, not a musical, in a matinee, not an evening. You could tell from the expressions of the actors at curtain call that they know they are trustees of a fantastic play. Surely this will have a life after Lyttelton.

Five Alive let Theatre Thrive!