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| The cast of A View from the Bridge at the Melbourne Theatre Company |
This year I saw some amazing theatre in Melbourne, as
always, and I was lucky enough to visit London for the first time, where I saw
some wonderful West End theatre and some really inventive off-West End and independent
theatre.
The thing about the theatre in London is that is really
seems to be working toward the ideal of diverse casting, even if
behind-the-scenes (writers, directors) are still male-dominated. And it’s not
just in reinventions of shows like Death of a Salesman, which was a
mostly black cast; a lot of shows I saw there were female-focused with racially
diverse casts.
That said, I did see a show that was ostensibly about
race, which was all white.
I saw some shows again this year, which were as great as
when I originally saw them, but they have been on previous year-end lists, so
sorry to Hamilton, Muriel’s Wedding and Cock – you’re not
on my list again this year.
The lists are in alphabetical order and links in titles to review where available.
TOP TEN
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| Gillian Anderson in All About Eve on the West End |
All About Eve – West End
Gillian Anderson and Lily James. Directed by Ivo Van Hove. A
stunning adaptation of the film.
This rock show about pain and anger was superb. Elaine
Crombie and Ursula Lovich were incredible.
Black is the New White – Melbourne Theatre Company
This play is so smart, playing on so many levels, that I was
in awe of it from start to glorious finish.
Keziah Warner’s fantastic script under Julian Meyrick’s
subtle direction with that cast. Stunning.
Death of a Salesman – Young Vic, London
A majority black ensemble with a production that made it
feel like Arthur Miller wrote it for this cast. A revelation.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Melbourne
I never found the words to write about this epic experience,
but I loved this production so much. The fact it’s actually about something
(trying to overcome the past) and it wasn’t just a spectacle was very, very pleasing.
I called this “a collaboration for the ages” with The Rabble
creating one of their best shows from Alison Croggon’s stunning text.
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SIX – West End
Sure, it’s Henry VIII’s six wives singing to prove which one
he loved the most, but it’s also an epic concert and an ode to re-writing
history with the truth. Go see it when it tours Australia next year.
A bold, frank, transgressive satire that still shakes me
every time I think about it.
A View from the Bridge – Melbourne Theatre Company
Sometimes I see a production of a play that is so perfect, I
don’t think I will ever need to see it again. This is one of those.
THE NEXT TEN
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| Emily Goddard in Australian Realness |
A very Zoey Dawson play about how the theatre that affirms
our beliefs is more dangerous than the kind that challenges us. Incredible
cast.
Cloudstreet – Malthouse Theatre
Classic Australian novel has been on stage before, but I
missed that legendary production. Matt Lutton’s take was suitably vast with a
stunning cast and a heartbreaker of an ending.
How can you not love a musical that is so life-affirming,
set on a day that was one of humanity’s darkest?
The pain of puberty and the pain of dance; an insightful
script with passionate direction from Maude Davey.
Christopher Bryant’s almost-musical ode to being a
millennial, being online – and the fraught nature of that combination. Is the
internet good for us? Fuck yes and hell no.
Emilia – West End
A wildly diverse cast brings the story of Emilia, a muse of
Shakespeare and a writer in her own right, to the stage in a thrilling piece of
feminist theatre, nurtured at The Globe and taken to the West End. Burn the
patriarchy to the ground and start again.
Andi Snelling’s very personal show about her own invisible
illness that opens up a discussion disability and the arts. Beautifully theatrical.
Grimy, distasteful and repulsive – but I could not look
away. Gary Abraham’s visceral, energetic production with a faultless cast.
Monologues for butches, transmen and gender rebels, this was
both comforting and eye-opening and yet another strong argument for representation
on stage: show me the stories of people I have rarely or never seen on stage.
A truly hilarious satire with a very sharp script. Alberto di Troia is a writer to watch out for.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Mr Burns: A Post-Electric Play – Fortyfive Downstairs,
Thigh Gap – La Mama,
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| What's a Girl? |
PAST YEARS
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