A play every two and a half weeks
Nov. 7th, 2014 08:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitI managed 21 plays this year, more than ever before. This was because SM found a number of plays that he thought would be worth seeing, so I went to things I wouldn’t have chosen otherwise. The full list:
Nov 2013 Richard II RST (David Tennant, Nigel Lindsay)
Nov 2013 Mojo Harold Pinter Theatre (Ben Whishaw, Colin Morgan)
Dec 2013 Strangers on a Train Gielgud Theatre (Laurence Fox)
Dec 2013 Wendy & Peter Pan RST
Jan 2014 Henry V Noel Coward Theatre (Jude Law)
Feb 2014 King Lear National Theatre (Sam Troughton)
Feb 2014 Twelve Angry Men Garrick Theatre (Martin Shaw, Robert Vaughn)
Mar 2014 Urinetown: The Musical St James Theatre (Jonathan Slinger)
Apr 2014 Birdland Royal Court Theatre (Andrew Scott)
May 2014 Henry IV Part 1 RST
May 2014 Henry IV Part 2 RST
Jun 2014 Under Milk Wood Cheltenham Everyman (Clwyd Theatr Cymru)
Jul 2014 Richard III Trafalgar Studios (Martin Freeman)
Jul 2014 Much Ado About Nothing College Hall, Worcester Cathedral (Globe Touring)
Jul 2014 Great Britain National Theatre (Billie Piper)
Jul 2014 The Crucible Old Vic Theatre (Richard Armitage)
Jul 2014 A Small Family Business National Theatre (Nigel Lindsay)
Aug 2014 Therese Raquin Theatre Royal, Bath
Aug 2014 The White Devil Swan Theatre, RSC
Aug 2014 Matilda Cambridge Theatre
Oct 2014 She Stoops to Conquer Cheltenham Everyman (Northern Broadsides)
I only saw seven of Shakespeare’s plays this time, a much smaller proportion than in previous years. I’d seen all of them before. A further seven were new plays and the rest fell somewhere in between. A decent mix.
There’s much less travelling this year – or at least fewer destinations. Over half were in London; and a further 5 in Stratford, with the rest in Bath, Cheltenham and Worcester. Which means Worcester was the only place I hadn’t been to a play before; and that purely because it was part of the Three Choirs Festival.
It’s been a good year for seeing a number of well-known names. What is interesting to me, is looking back and deciding whether I would want to see them again – it’s always nice to think “I’ve seen X live in a play”, but the acid test is would I see them a second time. I’d really like to see Ben Whishaw in something else, and also Andrew Scott and Billie Piper, plus Laurence Fox (who I’d seen once before).
I’ve left out some names from the above paragraph: I’ve seen Jonathan Slinger in a number of plays and would make of point of seeing him again. Robert Vaughn was amazing, but I suspect is unlikely to do anything more. As for the other two names that might be expected to be in my “see again” list, they were in my two favourite plays this year.
The first was King Lear. I wouldn’t say that this is one of my favourite of Shakespeare’s plays, but this was the best performance I have seen so far. And of course with Sam Troughton as Edmund I was always going to be happy. He remains an actor I will travel the country to see. So very many good memories. I recently rewatched a video of the Talking Lear discussion and it really brought it back to me.
And the other was the play that had to be my top choice. The Crucible was incredible. I’m sure I didn’t grasp all that was going on. I am very happy to have seen Richard Armitage on stage and hope that he will return to the theatre again soon. We have tickets to see the cinema broadcast next month, which I’m looking forward to. And yes, he is another actor I would travel to see.
I don’t have much booked for the coming twelve months, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of opportunity during the year. And I shall definitely be seeing James McAvoy again.
Nov 2013 Richard II RST (David Tennant, Nigel Lindsay)
Nov 2013 Mojo Harold Pinter Theatre (Ben Whishaw, Colin Morgan)
Dec 2013 Strangers on a Train Gielgud Theatre (Laurence Fox)
Dec 2013 Wendy & Peter Pan RST
Jan 2014 Henry V Noel Coward Theatre (Jude Law)
Feb 2014 King Lear National Theatre (Sam Troughton)
Feb 2014 Twelve Angry Men Garrick Theatre (Martin Shaw, Robert Vaughn)
Mar 2014 Urinetown: The Musical St James Theatre (Jonathan Slinger)
Apr 2014 Birdland Royal Court Theatre (Andrew Scott)
May 2014 Henry IV Part 1 RST
May 2014 Henry IV Part 2 RST
Jun 2014 Under Milk Wood Cheltenham Everyman (Clwyd Theatr Cymru)
Jul 2014 Richard III Trafalgar Studios (Martin Freeman)
Jul 2014 Much Ado About Nothing College Hall, Worcester Cathedral (Globe Touring)
Jul 2014 Great Britain National Theatre (Billie Piper)
Jul 2014 The Crucible Old Vic Theatre (Richard Armitage)
Jul 2014 A Small Family Business National Theatre (Nigel Lindsay)
Aug 2014 Therese Raquin Theatre Royal, Bath
Aug 2014 The White Devil Swan Theatre, RSC
Aug 2014 Matilda Cambridge Theatre
Oct 2014 She Stoops to Conquer Cheltenham Everyman (Northern Broadsides)
I only saw seven of Shakespeare’s plays this time, a much smaller proportion than in previous years. I’d seen all of them before. A further seven were new plays and the rest fell somewhere in between. A decent mix.
There’s much less travelling this year – or at least fewer destinations. Over half were in London; and a further 5 in Stratford, with the rest in Bath, Cheltenham and Worcester. Which means Worcester was the only place I hadn’t been to a play before; and that purely because it was part of the Three Choirs Festival.
It’s been a good year for seeing a number of well-known names. What is interesting to me, is looking back and deciding whether I would want to see them again – it’s always nice to think “I’ve seen X live in a play”, but the acid test is would I see them a second time. I’d really like to see Ben Whishaw in something else, and also Andrew Scott and Billie Piper, plus Laurence Fox (who I’d seen once before).
I’ve left out some names from the above paragraph: I’ve seen Jonathan Slinger in a number of plays and would make of point of seeing him again. Robert Vaughn was amazing, but I suspect is unlikely to do anything more. As for the other two names that might be expected to be in my “see again” list, they were in my two favourite plays this year.
The first was King Lear. I wouldn’t say that this is one of my favourite of Shakespeare’s plays, but this was the best performance I have seen so far. And of course with Sam Troughton as Edmund I was always going to be happy. He remains an actor I will travel the country to see. So very many good memories. I recently rewatched a video of the Talking Lear discussion and it really brought it back to me.
And the other was the play that had to be my top choice. The Crucible was incredible. I’m sure I didn’t grasp all that was going on. I am very happy to have seen Richard Armitage on stage and hope that he will return to the theatre again soon. We have tickets to see the cinema broadcast next month, which I’m looking forward to. And yes, he is another actor I would travel to see.
I don’t have much booked for the coming twelve months, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of opportunity during the year. And I shall definitely be seeing James McAvoy again.
