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Roger Clarke's view ALL
right, we might not have a star studded awards ceremony, or any ceremony
at all for that matter, but Behind The Arras reviewers have watched
approaching 400 productions in 2015 and have picked out their personal
highlights with their own awards of the productions they have seen this
year. With 15 reviewers, all seeing different productions, voting to produce a definitive winner is impossible so the awards are personal and starting with our affiliates there was one stand out production which towered above the rest – West Side Story at Sutton Arts Theatre which was both the best musical and best production I saw. This was a huge and costly undertaking with
enormous restrictions and demands imposed by the conditions of the
licence, all done to maintain the integrity of the original show. It
also needs a big cast, minimum numbers again stated in the licence,
along with a need for dancers who could dance and singers who could And all this on a stage with no flies and no
wings to speak of and no room for the sizable orchestra demanded by the
licence who had to be seated in the adjoining tearoom.
It was a disaster waiting to happen but director
and driving force Dexter Whitehead pulled it off with a production which
boosted not only the reputation of Sutton Arts but amateur theatre in
the wider region. As for best drama there
were a number of contenders, Highbury and Swan Theatre Amateurs both
produced God of Carnage,
with Highbury having the edge, while Dudley Little Theatre did a
sterling job with All My Sons.
Hall Green had another wartime drama with the intriguing
Broken Glass
as well as the surreal Habeas Corpus
while Swan amateurs again, produced a masterful
Abigail’s Party
which would not have looked out of place on
the professional stage. Moorpool had a
contender with the clever spy mystery
Pack of Lies, based on a true story,
but Highbury took the honours with another stand out production with
Peter Shaffer’s probe into the inner workings of the mind in the
disturbing Equus. Comedy opened up
another award with Grange Players and Highbury both having excellent
productions of The Importance of Being
Earnest, Moorpool offered a wonderful
Groping for Words
while the Nonentities gave us an entertaining
version of the evergreen Noises Off
and Grange Players came up with a very funny musical murder mystery with
Something’s Afoot. Hall Green had two
contenders with the very funny political comedy
Pardon Me Prime Minister
and the stage version of the wonderful 1955
Ealing Comedy, The Ladykillers.
Both were exceptional productions with splendid sets that could have
graced any stage with The Ladykillers
just pipping the PM for top honours. Musicals saw an entertaining The Pirates of
Penzance from Tinke As for the best mystery
Moorpool had a strong contender with the clever spy mystery
Pack of Lies,
again, based on a true story, while the Nonentities solved a
Murder on the Nile
but when it came to frighteners
Veronica’s Room was a four handed
mystery with a chilling fear factor to take the whodunit honours. Since Behind the Arras started in 2009 there has
been a steady rise in all round amateur standards with the rest
approaching the levels of the best and the same can be said for the
professional stage with the prize for biggest improvement going to The
New Alexandra Theatre and ATG. When ATG took over in 2009 the theatre
was in the doldrums, run down, shabby and with a dull mix of tribute
acts and clairvoyants and productions that were relegated to tours of
backwaters, never to be seen again.
I reviewed one show in the early days with the
sparse audience scattered about the front three rows and the start was
delayed while a maintenance man repaired a section of seats which had
collapsed. How different now with seven figures spent so far
with new comfortable seats, a swish new look piano bar and, most
important, a first class programme of touring shows and pre-West End
runs. The Alex had two contenders for the best musical,
including, incidentally, a genuine musical rather than the modern trend
of creating stage versions of successful films. Coventry Belgrade had
A Swinging Affair
about jazz in Nazi Germany while both the
Hippodrome and Grand had the fun Shrek
based on the popular film. The
Hippodrome also had Top Hat
with the wonderful dancing of Alan Birkitt and Charlotte Gooch, while
the Grand had the state of the art effects of the memorable stage
version of The Bodyguard. Other highlights
included the return of Annie
in a big budget tour at the Hippodrome and
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
at the Alex. The stand out show
though was the magnificent Guys and
Dolls which went straight from the Alex
to a West End run at the Savoy Theatre. There was also a good helping of serious drama with the likes of King Charles III and The King’s Speech at Birmingham Rep which also had a fine The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. The Alex had The Shawshank Redemption and The History Boys while Malvern had the letters between father and son in Dear Lupin. The Grand moved us with
The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas
and then wowed us with the magnificent
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
which harnessed multimedia to stagecraft to take theatre to new levels. Comedy sa
Best Opera was a choice
from Welsh National Opera which came down to a masterful
Sweeney Todd,
while best ballet was largely the field from Birmingham Royal Ballet
with Northern Ballet’s impressive
Madame Butterfly sneaking in at the
Grand. We had the ever popular The
Nutcracker and the world premiere of
David Bintley’s The King Dances
but shining brightest was a lovely Swan
Lake. Dance was perhaps the
widest range from Rosie Kay’s serious 5
soldiers at the Rep to the less serious
Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo
at the Hippodrome which also staged Matthew Bourne’s fascinating
Edward Scissorhands
while the Alex had Vincent and Flavia’s
farewell tour, Dance ‘Til Dawn
which gave us a sort of split vote with Edward
Scissorhands taking the contemporary
Children’s theatre is a difficult one. The RSC has a spectacular Wendy and Peter Pan which is by far the best children’s production of the year with Gangsta Granny at the Alex a good second. Children's productions
though are aimed at different age groups and for younger ones
Octonauts at
the Grand, Mister Maker Live
at the Alex and We’re going on a bear
hunt at the Town Hall were less
challenging with the excellent The 3
Little Pigs winning the gold star.
Panto saw three
excellent productions with Jack and the
Beanstalk at Lichfield Garrick,
Peter Pan at
the Grand and Aladdin
at the Hippodrome. Jack provided a show suitable for younger children
and grannies but for a real spectacular and the best panto for many a
year it had to be Aladdin. Amateur Best Show:
West Side Story, Sutton Arts Best Musical:
West Side Story, Sutton Arts Best Drama:
Equus, Highbury Theatre Centre Best Comedy:
The Ladykillers, Hall Green Little Theatre Best Thriller:
Veronica’s Room, Highbury Theatre Centre. Professional Best Show:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Grand, Wolverhampton. Best Musical:
Guys and Dolls, The New Alexandra Theatre Best Opera:
Sweeney Todd, Welsh National Opera, Hippodrome Best Ballet:
Swan Lake, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Hippodrome. Best Dance:
Edward Scissorhands, Hippodrome Best Dance (Ballroom):
Dance ‘till Dawn, lying, The New Alexandra Theatre. Best Children’s
(older): Wendy and Peter Pan, RSC,
Stratford-upon-Avon Best Children’s
(younger): The 3 Little Pigs,
Birmingham Town Hall Best Panto: Aladdin, Hippodrome |
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sing.
dance
crown and Vincent and Flavia a special ballroom award.