Theatre Highlights 2024
2024 was a very good year for theatre in Stratford. The most important event was the arrival of the two new artistic directors of the RSC, Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey bringing with them lungsful of fresh air which quickly permeated the organisation. There were some innovative and creative choices of play and three splendid Shakespeare productions. Tamara Harvey’s production of Pericles was made wonderfully intelligible for those who didn’t know this rarely produced gem of play in her collaboration with costume designer Kinnetia Isidore, colour coding the different nationalities and casting an outstanding Alfred Enoch as Pericles. This, together with Othello really concentrated on hearing the play and the duo of director Tim Carroll and designer Judith Bowden transformed the play from a political and domestic drama into a finely wrought universal psychological myth. Very different was Prasanna Puwanarajah’s Twelfth Night where Feste, brilliantly played by Michael Grady-Hall became the central character, highlighting the way Shakespeare put so much of himself into this play. Feste, like Shakespeare himself, lived ‘hard by the church’. We also loved The Buddah of Suburbia with a fine performance as Karim by Dee Ahluwalia and the Ukranian shortened King Lear performed in Ukrainian by the Theatre-Studio of IDP’s Uzhik at The Other Place.
Disaster struck Tread the Boards company at the beginning of the year as Cox’s Yard was flooded and the Attic theatre unable to operate. They more than made up for it when they were able to open in June with a highly energetic production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) followed by a lovely Private Lives. Later in the year there was an accomplished production of The Phantom of the Opera and best of all was Robert Moore’s adaptation, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, with a fine cast including Moore himself, Pete Meredith and the incomparable actor and director John-Robert Partridge.
It was very good to see full or almost full houses for productions at The Bear Pit. Mark Carey appeared there twice with two outstanding one man show performances: first in May with What’s Wrong with Benny Hill and then at the end of October with Into the Breach. There were other highlights, too. The most outstanding was Danny Masewicz’s Do Not Forget Me, a brilliant text splendidly performed by an accomplished cast who performed this moving play with restraint and utter conviction. Also impressive and memorable was Lynda Lewis’s production of Art. I have now seen many productions of this enigmatic play, none more convincing than this one.
This review of the year would not be complete without mention of Trinity Players. They don’t put on many productions but under the direction of Ursula Russell, they are always well worth watching. Witnesses, devised for Holy Week, was impressive. Even more so was Ursula Russell’s accomplished translation of Anouilh’s Antigone. With good acting, imaginative direction and very skilled writing, this company’s productions should not be missed.
If I were to be making awards Director of the Year would be Tamara Harvey, Productions of the Year would be The Buddah of Suburbia and Pericles, and performance of the year would be Alfred Enoch. The best new play award would go to Danny Masewicz for Do Not Forget Me.