Theatre Top 10

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Actually on further reflection

Numero Uno: Noddy and Big Ears-Central London-1962.Sorry can't remember who played the lead roles but I doubt if it was Olivier and Gielgud

Number 2: Sir Donald Sindon's "Lear" at The Vanbrugh Theatre...Sir Donald made every line sing and every line his own...

....Postscript:5 years later Donny gave me ?12 and I made his Divorce legal at Somerset House,Strand...its a funny old game this life malarkey:(

[giggirl]

Moos Wrote:

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> Marmora Man Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > And his Richard III - he looked like a mad, bad

> > spider scuttling around the stage hunched over

> two

> > crutches and two long black sweeping sleeves

>

> I was at school when that production was on - we

> talked about it but didn't get to go.. would have

> been wonderful. Cyrano was indescribably elating

> and moving. When he died, you could almost see

> the light going out in his eyes. I wept without

> any shame, as I think everyone else did too.

>

> Mattham - hee hee :))

I did see Anthony Scher's Richard III but I didn't enjoy it. He played Richard like a thug and I just don't see him as a thug. I preferred the Ian McKellen at the NT although he probably went too far the other way and played Richard like a gentleman.

[dave]

The good (sorry - I didn't manage to keep it down to 10):

Le Costume - Young Vic 2003/4?

A Number - Royal Court 2002

La Casa Azul - Lyric Hammersmith 2002?

Fallout - Royal Court 2003

Disco Pigs - Edinburgh Festival, 2002?

Antony and Cleopatra - RSC 2006

The York Realist - Royal Court 2002

The Duchess of Malfi - NT 2004?

Twelfth Night (or was it Much Ado?) - Crucible, 2001

Frost/Nixon - Donmar 2006

Rock'n'Roll - Royal Court/West End 2006

Hitchcock Blonde - Royal Court 2003?

And the bad (for some balance):

Piano/Forte - Royal Court

Resurrection Blues - Old Vic

Cyrano de Bergerac - NT (Stephen Rea, I think)

The Alchemist - NT (though I could be wrong on this one because everyone else seemed to think it was great)

Edmond - NT

His Dark Materials - NT (apart from the bears - they were great)

[giggirl]

dave Wrote:

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And the bad (for some balance):

> Edmond - NT

> His Dark Materials - NT (apart from the bears -

> they were great)

I loved both of these!

[Moos]

ooh, and I've remembered another one - at this rate it'll only be another week before I'm at 10:

- Cyrano de Bergerac with Antony Sher by the RSC

- Tristram and Yseult by the Kneehigh Theatre (at the NT). Wonderful, passionate retelling of the old tale: glorious, tragic, romantic, physical theatre that makes you want to forget everything for love. If you ever get a chance to see the Kneehigh then do.

Oh, and I love any review that says - "it was all shit except the bears, they were great" hee hee

[Bellenden Belle]

Moos -

Kneehigh is a great company - I loved their naughty and imaginative version of The Red Shoes - I think you would probably really like Theatre de Complicite's work which shares Kneehigh's inventiveness. And in a similar vein a show/ play I loved was 100 by a company called The Imaginary Body.

[giggirl]

Here is some impressive theatre that?s left it?s mark on me. It?s not a top 10 list though! Those top 10 fu*kers are finite!

Macbeth at the Liverpool Everyman that I went to see when I was sitting English O?Level (70s). Probably didn?t win any awards but it?s the reason I still go to the theatre today. Never underestimate the importance of taking young people to the theatre.

Rocky Horror Show on the Kings Road in the late 70s (the theatre is now a multiplex cinema). I had just moved to London and was living in Chelsea with family and I was such a well brought up young girl and this just seemed so very BAD.

Anything at the Royal Court in the late 70s; I lived within walking distance; had no friends whatsoever; and pretty much used to go there to avoid spending the evenings alone.

The Oresteia at the NT (1981) ? 9 hours of Greek Tragedy ? fabulous.

Tantalous at the RSC (2001) ? another 12 hours of the Greeks messing things up. (I do like my Greek epics, which are basically Eastenders for the ancients).

Hamlet with Daniel Day-Lewis at the NT (late 80s). He doesn?t do theatre any more so I feel really fortunate to have seen him. My friend took me to the green room afterwards and we passed him in the corridor and he was soooooo hot.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist ? I?ve seen a few versions of this Dario Fo play and if I had to pick one I would go with the Rhys Ifans at the Donmar. Very very funny.

Pravda at the NT with Anthony Hopkins ? already drooled about on this thread (deservedly so).

Othello earlier this year at the Donmar ? Chiwetel Ejiofor gave the best theatrical performance that I personally have ever seen.

Guys and Dolls ? NT early 80s. I?m not into musicals but I went to see this one about 5 times and when I?m drunk I still put the CD on and sing along.

Here come the dames

Diana Rigg ? Mother Courage and Her Children ? NT

Helen Miren ? an Arthur Miller play at the Young Vic in the late 80s (she was sex on legs) and in Mourning Becomes Electra at the NT (two decades later and still sex on legs ? damn how does she do that?).

Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in the so so David Hare play a few years back ? the theatrical equivalent of Alexis and Krystle (all big-hair and shoulder pads) getting all bitch-slappy-happy in that lily pond.

A Streetcar Named Desire with Glen Close at the NT. She mesmerised. I cried.

I have lots more but I might get fired if I don?t get down to some work.

Oh and I?m going to see Piaf at the Donmar next month and it?s burning a hole in my diary.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I once saw Peggy Mount play Madame Arcarti (Richmond or Wimbledon or something like that). She was absolutely brilliant - very funny (whispers - better than Margaret Rutherford).

[dave]

giggirl Wrote:

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> dave Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> And the bad (for some balance):

>

> > Edmond - NT

> > His Dark Materials - NT (apart from the bears -

> > they were great)

>

> I loved both of these!

Each to their own - I just didn't think Edmond filled the Olivier very well (once again it seemed like the director just had to find a use for the revolving stage gubbins rather than the play wanting/needing it). As for HDM, I made the classic mistake of hoping for/expecting too much and was always bound to be disappointed. I did think it would have made no sense whatsoever to anyone who hadn't read the source books. But then again, I'm probably about 15 years beyond the target audience.

Had wondered about mentioning the Donmar's Accidental Death - remember being impressed at the time. An ex used to work at the NT when Rhys Ifans was in rep there and said he was a genuinely lovely bloke - he was surprisingly good (as far as I was concerned) in that production. Also remember a Neil LaBute (The Distance from Here?) at the Almeida which I loved at the time. And am kicking myself for forgetting the Othello from earlier this year - agreed on the lead. And from Complicite - Mnemonic (troubled to see that Simon McBurney is directing All My Sons on Broadway in the autumn - starring Katie Holmes...)

[Bellenden Belle]

Ahhhh Diana Rigg in Mother Courage - it was extraordinary. It lifted all the talk of Brecht the political dramatist right off the page for me. And I must confess practising Diana Rigg's silent scream in my mirror rather a lot (pretentious, moi?).

Totally agree with Giggirl about young people seeing theatre - joining the Royal Court Young Peoples Theatre at sixteen changed my life - introducing me to plays at the Royal Court for a pound ( and a world away from the tits and teeth of musical theatre that I knew up til then).I made friends still with me today but more importantly I discovered a world beyond North London suburbs - and a whole new way of thinking and engaging.

[PeckhamRose]

I was also in the Royal Court Youth Theatre!

PM sent!

I loved The People Show, their weird and wonderful theatre at lots of different types of venues was always fabulous and they only recently celebrated their 40th year, and got their grant cut as a thank you.

[Ondine]

Taming of the shrew at the Globe 2ish years ago was amazing

And has anyone mentioned the free theatre they've done in the Scoop the last few years? Really good productions of Jungle Book and Cyclop.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I saw Cyclops - agree it was very good.