Don't bother, they're here
Cary Crankson is one of those actors that should be much better known than he currently is. Here’s his contribution to the rather ingenious Coronavirus Theatre Club
— cary crankson (@carycrankson) April 12, 2020
DESIGNDesign: Costume
WINNER – Adrian Gee, Amour, Charing Cross Theatre
Emily Bestow, 42nd Street, Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Hannah Wolfe , Great Expectations, National Youth
Theatre, Southwark Playhouse
Design: Set
WINNER – Diego Pitarch, Night of the Living Dead – Live!,
Pleasance
Justin Williams, Whistle Down the Wind, Union
Theatre
Lee Newby, The View UpStairs, Soho Theatre
Rachael Ryan, Thrill Me, Hope Theatre
Design: Sound
Benjamin Grant, The War of the Worlds, New Diorama
Lex Kosanke, Hunger, Arcola
WINNER – Matt Eaton, All’s Well That Ends Well, Guildford Bard,
Jermyn Street Theatre
Xana, Blood Knot, Orange Tree
Design: Lighting
Christopher Nairne, Preludes, Southwark Playhouse
Clancy Flynn, An Act of God, Vaults
WINNER – Jessica Hung Han Yun, Equus, English Touring Theatre,
Theatre Royal Stratford East
Nic Farman, Night of the Living Dead – Live!, Pleasance
Design: Video
Andrzej Goulding, The Unreturning, Theatre Royal
Stratford East
WINNER – Ben Bull, Baby Reindeer, Bush Theatre
Douglas Baker, Moby Dick, Jack Studio Theatre Continue reading “2020 Offie Award Winners”
“These are my dad’s words, not mine”
When the Dorfman gets it right, it really is something special. The combination of our National Theatre’s calibre and the intimacy of its smallest theatre means that when a play dares to do something different in there, the results can be extraordinary. I felt it in the pit for the first run of London Road, in the genius pre-show of Barber Shop Chronicles, and it is now in evidence once again with Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’ epic monologue Death of England, featuring a stunning performance from Rafe Spall, directed by Dyer.
Ferocious and fearless, we first meet Michael on the mother of all benders while he mourns the death of his father and then quick as you like, he flashes into storyteller mode and proceeds to not so much dismantle the fourth wall as to charm it into buying him six pints and then home for an unsatisfactory fumble. For about a quarter hour, Spall sets up Michael’s world beautifully by bantering with audience members with consummate ease, offering a sniff of this, a taste of that, seeking validation too as we come to realise how fragile a man he currently is. Continue reading “Review: Death of England, National Theatre”
The finalists for the 2020 Offies (for performances in 2019) have been announced and congratulations to all 89 mentioned below. A tip of the hat too to the 400+ nominees who you can find here.
Design: Costume
Adrian Gee, Amour, Charing Cross Theatre
Emily Bestow, 42nd Street, Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Hannah Wolfe , Great Expectations, National Youth
Theatre, Southwark Playhouse
Design: Set
Diego Pitarch, Night of the Living Dead – Live!,
Pleasance
Justin Williams, Whistle Down the Wind, Union
Theatre
Lee Newby, The View UpStairs, Soho Theatre
Rachael Ryan, Thrill Me, Hope Theatre
Design: Sound
Benjamin Grant, The War of the Worlds, New Diorama
Lex Kosanke, Hunger, Arcola
Matt Eaton, All’s Well That Ends Well, Guildford Bard,
Jermyn Street Theatre
Xana, Blood Knot, Orange Tree
Design: Lighting
Christopher Nairne, Preludes, Southwark Playhouse
Clancy Flynn, An Act of God, Vaults
Jessica Hung Han Yun, Equus, English Touring Theatre,
Theatre Royal Stratford East
Nic Farman, Night of the Living Dead – Live!, Pleasance
Design: Video
Andrzej Goulding, The Unreturning, Theatre Royal
Stratford East
Ben Bull, Baby Reindeer, Bush Theatre
Douglas Baker, Moby Dick, Jack Studio Theatre Continue reading “The finalists of The Offies 2020”
| Winner | Runner-up | Other nominees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Actress in a Play | Sarah Niles/Natalie Simpson/Racheal Ofori, Three Sisters | Marieke Heebink, Medea | Adjoa Andoh, Richard II Sharon D Clarke, Death of a Salesman Claire Foy, Lungs Leah Harvey, Small Island Chris Nietvelt, De Kersentuin |
| Best Actor in a Play | Lucian Msamati, ‘Master Harold’…and the boys | Cary Crankson, Country Music | Tobias Menzies, The Hunt Daniel Monks, Teenage Dick Wendell Pierce, Death of a Salesman Matt Smith, Lungs Zubin Varla, Equus |
| Best Supporting Actress in a Play | Monica Dolan, All About Eve | Jackie Pulford, Karaoke Play | Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Three Sisters Janni Goslinga, De Kersentuin Pippa Nixon, The Ocean at the End of the Lane Cecilia Noble, Faith Hope and Charity Gemma Whelan, Pinter Seven |
| Best Supporting Actor in a Play | Nick Holder, Faith Hope and Charity | Hugo Koolschijn, De Kersentuin | Rupert Graves, Pinter Five John Heffernan, Pinter Seven Martins Imhangbe/Natey Jones, Death of a Salesman Arinzé Kene/Sope Dirisu, Death of a Salesman Ken Nwosu, Three Sisters |
| Best Actress in a Musical | Audrey Brisson, Amélie the Musical | Kirsty Findlay/Bethany Tennick, Islander | Lucie Jones/Katherine McPhee, Waitress Miriam-Teak Lee, & Juliet Samantha Pauly, Evita Joanna Riding, Follies Zizi Strallen, Mary Poppins |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Jamie Muscato, West Side Story (Curve Leicester) | Keith Ramsay, Preludes | Andy Coxon, West Side Story (Royal Exchange) Jordan Fox/Michael Vinsen, [title of show] David Hunter, Waitress, Charlie Stemp, Mary Poppins Oliver Tompsett, & Juliet, |
| Best Supporting Actress in a Musical | Cassidy Janson/Melanie La Barrie, & Juliet | Jocasta Almgill/Emily Langham, West Side Story (Royal Exchange) | Laura Baldwin/Marisha Wallace, Waitress Tiffany Graves/Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson, The Boy Friend Claire Machin/Claire Moore, Mary Poppins Rebecca McKinnis/Lauren Ward, Dear Evan Hansen Carly Mercedes Dyer/Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, The View UpStairs, |
| Best Supporting Actor in a Musical | David Bedella, & Juliet | Jack Butterworth, The Boy Friend | Ricardo Afonso, Jesus Christ Superstar Rob Houchen, The Light in the Piazza Samuel Holmes, Curtains Cedric Neal, The View UpStairs Jez Unwin, Amélie the Musical |
Best Actor in a Play
Lucian Msamati, ‘Master Harold’…and the boys
Something about the National Theatre seems to bring out the best in the already prodigiously talented Msamati, here he captures the heart of anyone who has ever disappointed a parent as his Sam suffers such cruel indignities with an unimaginable grace,
Honourable mention: Cary Crankson, Country Music
If there’s any justice in the world, Crankson will be an actor we will be talking about for years to come. Don’t miss any chance to see him, especially when it is as intense and intimate as this was.
Tobias Menzies, The Hunt
Daniel Monks, Teenage Dick
Wendell Pierce, Death of a Salesman
Matt Smith, Lungs
Zubin Varla, Equus
8-10
Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, Small Island; Ethan Kai, Equus; Gijs Scholten van Aschat, De Kersentuin
Best Actor in a Musical
Jamie Muscato, West Side Story (Curve Leicester)
In the battle of the Tonys, Muscato won me over with the effortless ease in which he utilises his magnificent voice. Looking as casual as you like as this would-be lover, his rendition of ‘Maria’ left about 95% of the Curve’s audience wondering how to get their name changed so that it’s about them. OK, me, it was me thinking that!
Honourable mention: Keith Ramsay, Preludes
A show that deserved more attention than it got, Ramsay’s extraordinary performance in an extraordinary production was a showstopper in Southwark.
Andy Coxon, West Side Story (Royal Exchange)
Jordan Fox/Michael Vinsen, [title of show];
David Hunter, Waitress
Charlie Stemp, Mary Poppins
Oliver Tompsett, & Juliet
8-10
Andy Mientus, The View UpStairs; Trent Saunders, Evita; Sam Tutty, Dear Evan Hansen
“I want you to forgive me for the things I’ve done”
A glance at the cast for the original run of Simon Stephens’ 2004 Country Music at the Royal Court sees Sally Hawkins and Laura Elphinstone, a killer for the FOMO in me. But hopefully in 10 years time or so, people will be looking at the cast for this revival at Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre and saying I saw Cary Crankson way back when…
He’s an actor I’ve rated for a while now – he won my Best Actor in 2014 for The Saints, he was a standout in The Faction’s ensemble too, so if there’s any justice we’ll be talking about him much more very soon. For he is sensational here as the troubled Jamie, the young man at the heart of this elusive but exquisitely painful play. Continue reading “Review: Country Music, Omnibus Theatre”
1 Medea, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam at the Barbican
Simon Stone’s sleekly contemporary recasting of Euripides is straight up amazing. Anchored by a storming performance from Marieke Heebink, it is as beautiful and brutal as they come. It’s also one of the few plays that has legit made me go ‘oh no’ out loud once a particular penny dropped. My review from 2014 is here but do yourself a favour and don’t read it until you’ve seen it.
2 Macbeth, Watermill Theatre
2018 saw some disappointing Macbeths and I was thus ready to swear off the play for 2019. But the Watermill Ensemble’s decision to tackle the play will certainly break that resolve, Paul Hart’s innovative direction of this spectacular actor-musician team will surely break the hoodoo…
3 Noughts and Crosses, Derby Theatre, and touring
Pilot Theatre follow on from their strong Brighton Rock with this Malory Blackman adaptation by Sabrina Mahfouz, a Young Adult story but one which promises to speak to us all. Continue reading “20 shows to look forward to in 2019”
“The problem with Hannes is…”
One can always rely on the Arcola to bring interesting writing to light and in the form of the VOLTA International Festival, Artistic Director Andrea Ferran has managed that four times over, bringing together new work by four celebrated international writers, translated into English for the first time – Christopher Chen, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Ewald Palmetshofer and Roland Schimmelpfennig. With four directors, James Perkins designing and an ensemble covering all the shows, it proved to be a fascinating festival and one which deserves more attention than it received.
Caught by San Francisco-based Christopher Chen twists wonderfully around notions of truth and fiction as three separate but interlinked scenes toy with how art plays with and changes under our perceptions. Cressida Brown’s direction cleverly plays up how we all find our own truth in everything, no matter how the subject is approached, preconceived notions shaping us even as they’re deconstructed and always, always making us think about what we’ve just seen. Chen takes no prisoners in the complexity of some of his thinking but it’s fascinating stuff indeed. Continue reading “Review: VOLTA Festival 2015, Arcola”
| Winner | Runner-up | Other nominees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Actress in a Play | Gillian Anderson, A Streetcar Named Desire | Chris Nietvelt & Halina Reijn, Maria Stuart (Toneelgroep Amsterdam) | Linda Bassett, Visitors Susannah Fielding, The Merchant of Venice (Almeida) Denise Gough, Adler and Gibb Imelda Staunton, Good People |
| Best Actor in a Play | Cary Crankson, The Saints | Jack Holden, Johnny Get Your Gun | Jonathan Broadbent, My Night With Reg Chris Connel, Wet House Harry Melling, peddling Mark Strong, A View From The Bridge |
| Best Supporting Actress in a Play | Vanessa Kirby, A Streetcar Named Desire | Phoebe Fox & Nicola Walker, A View From The Bridge | Blythe Duff, The James Plays Liz White, Electra Lydia Wilson, King Charles III |
| Best Supporting Actor in a Play | Joe Caffrey, Wet House | Hans Kesting, Maria Stuart (Toneelgroep Amsterdam) | Patrick Godfrey, Donkey Heart Julian Ovenden, My Night With Reg Hugh Skinner, Thérèse Raquin (Theatre Royal Bath) Geoffrey Streatfeild, My Night With Reg |
| Best Actress in a Musical | Imelda Staunton, Gypsy | Gemma Arterton, Made in Dagenham | Charlotte Baptie, Free As Air Natalie Mendoza, Here Lies Love Christina Modestou, In The Heights Sophie Thompson, Guys and Dolls |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Sam Mackay, In The Heights | Benjamin Scheuer, The Lion | Adrian der Gregorian, Made In Dagenham Killian Donnelly, Memphis Jon Robyns, The Last Five Years Jeremy Secomb, Sweeney Todd (Tooting Arts Club) |
| Best Supporting Actress in a Musical | Jenna Russell, Urinetown | Lara Pulver, Gypsy | Samantha Bond, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, In The Heights Kiara Jay, Sweeney Todd (Tooting Arts Club) Zoe Rainey, The Return of the Soldier |
| Best Supporting Actor in a Musical | Jason Pennycooke, Memphis | Aaron Tveit, Assassins | Damian Buhagiar, In The Heights Tyrone Huntley, Memphis Nadim Naaman, Sweeney Todd (Tooting Arts Club) Jonathan Slinger, Urinetown |