MEN Theatre Awards 2009: Winners announced
AFTER the thrills, spills, tears and tiaras of yesterday’s glittering awards ceremony, Theatre Awards judges Kevin Bourke, Natalie Anglesey, Robert Beale, Corinne Hill, Alan Hulme, Philip Radcliffe, Diana Stenson, and David Upton take you behind the scenes for their lowdown on the winners and the other nominees.
PRODUCTION
WHEN a production hailed by the national critical brotherhood as one of the experiences of the year has to battle it out for recognition with five other locally produced plays, it provides some measure of the standards being achieved in Greater Manchester theatres. Brad Fraser’s sharply contemporary True Love Lies (Royal Exchange) kick-started what proved to be a dazzling season of drama. David Mamet’s sexual harassment play Oleanna received a razor sharp production at Bolton Octagon, while Oldham Coliseum provided two exceptionally well cast and contrasted revivals of classic and contemporary comedies with Blithe Spirit and Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis. Then the Octagon struck again, with new artistic director David Thacker’s outstanding production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. But the award goes to that nationally-hailed play referred to above, Stockport writer Simon Stephens’ overwhelmingly powerful Punk Rock. An edge-of-the-seat finale, a thought-provoking examination of the pressures on youth growing up today and nerve-jangling, highly-concentrated direction by Sarah Frankcom, make it a memorable winner.
AH
HORNIMAN AWARD
Named for Annie Horniman, who founded the repertory theatre movement here in Manchester just over a hundred years ago, the Horniman award is a very special award, only given to people or organisations that the panel feel have made a genuinely unique contribution to theatre in the area. When the name of this year’s winner, Roger Haines, was suggested, there was not one dissenting voice on the often-fractious panel, which tells its own story. Haines left the Library Theatre this year but, during the time he was there, his productions of musicals, many of them Stephen Sondheim premieres, became so highly regarded that it was not unknown for the great composer himself to anonymously book tickets! Roger won several MEN Theatre Awards for his productions but the onstage flamboyance of his shows was complemented by an off-stage diffidence that meant he rarely made a fuss about such things. For Roger, the show really is the thing and, since leaving the Library, he has become something of a key figure in the city’s revival of pub theatre, as seen in the award-nominated JB Shorts.
KB
ACTRESS IN A LEADINGROLE
Palace of the End (Royal Exchange Studio) was inspired by true personal experiences of the Iraq War. Eve Polycarpou, as a political leader and mother, retold the heartbreaking story of unthinkable loss with a poignancy enriched by her stillness. The blistering Oleanna (Bolton Octagon) gave Kosha Engler the chance to morph, with sublime timing, from failing student to dangerous adversary. Two nominations for the Coliseum's Blithe Spirit, included Alwyn Taylor, who beguiled as Madame Arcati, the medium's medium. A victim of her psychic endeavours, spooked second wife Emily Pithon, was the embodiment of stylish Coward woman, brisk and beautiful. The Library Theatre celebrated the centenary of the legendary Annie Horniman with Independent Means, a work she championed, and so fitting that Ruth Gibson who smoothly transformed a young Edwardian bride to feisty saviour of the family fortunes should be voted Best Actress.
DS
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
The nominees for this prestigious award gave quality performances of the highest calibre. Young Leon Williams made an impression as Pip in Great Expectations at the Library Theatre, and Daniel Casey made a mark in A Number. The Bolton Octagon saw a trilogy of fine performances led by Colin Stinton who was outstanding as John in Oleanna. Nigel Haverson was a comic delight in the dual role of The Venerian Twins and made even hardened critics cry with laughter. But the undoubted winner was popular Tim Healy as the singing architect turned detective who gave a truly charismatic performance in Looking For Buddy.
NA
FRINGE PRODUCTION
Another brilliant year at 24:7 very nearly gave the festival of new writing a clean sweep in this category with the likes of Alistair McDowall’s provocative 5:30, Richard Vergette’s searing As We Forgive Them, Steve Pearce’s intelligent Freshers and Eve Steele’s inventive Lub You standing out amidst a very impressive batch. The set of short plays at the new J.B. Shorts evening, where now-established TV and radio writers return to their pub theatre roots, were also greatly enjoyed. But, by a short head, it was As We Forgive Them that finally took the prize.
KB
VISITING PRODUCTION
The Irish influence, led by the Druid theatre company, swept over us and left us amused, moved and amazed by their virtuosity. They bowled us over with Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan, directed by Garry Hynes, Druid’s founder. It was a remarkable experience, which stays vivid in the mind. They struck again with The Walworth Farce by Enda Walsh, directed by Mikel Murfi in an electrifying production, which had the three male actors dazzling us with a tremendous feat of timing and stamina. From Scotland, MEN Award winner Ian McDiarmid brought Be Near Me, his own adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s novel in a Scottish National Theatre/Donmar Warehouse co-production, directed by John Tiffany. McDiarmid took the central role of Father David, deeply flawed and striving to come to terms with society. Kneehigh Theatre involved us in a total theatrical experience with its exhilarating version of Brief Encounter, adapted and directed by Emma Rice. These four productions were all at The Lowry, but the Library Theatre got onto our final short list with Stephen Jeffreys’ The Convict’s Opera, a clever and jolly take on the Beggar’s Opera from Out of Joint, directed by Max Stafford-Clark. The clear winner, though, was The Cripple of Inishmaan.
PR
MUSICAL
There was strong competition in this category with the most recent production of Hot Mikado, directed by Craig Revel Horwood bringing an updated look to the Gilbert and Sullivan classic at The Lowry. At the same theatre there was the fun and exciting Paradise Moscow and Of Thee I Sing performed by Opera North. We Will Rock You at the Palace proved a hit with fans of Queen and was hugely enjoyable but the overall winner was the popular stage version of Mary Poppins which starred Lisa O’Hare. “Practically perfect in every way”, as the song goes!
CH
OPERA
Opera is not just about spectaculars in big theatres. It was a year of conspicuous achievement by the smaller companies which serve our region – both the touring ones, of which English Touring Opera’s The Magic Flute, seen at Buxton, was an outstanding example of inventiveness on a budget, and also the ones based here. That included Clonter Opera in Cheshire, with a gripping interpretation of Verdi’s Rigoletto, and the Royal Northern College of Music, which gave an outstanding example of its powerhouse of talent in Die Fledermaus. The year’s offerings were crowned by the Buxton Festival, and its headline production of Lucrezia Borgia, by Donizetti, was a complete knock-out and a worthy winner.
RB
FAMILY
Amongst the nominees were the innovative Horrible Histories at The Lowry which made the difficult subject of the First World War into an involving multi-media presentation, bringing history vividly to life. Roald Dahl's popular BFG was seen at the Palace Theatre presented by a talented cast of actor/musicians and there was a delightful production of The Man Who Planted Trees at the Royal Exchange Studio. But the winner was the spectacular Walking With Dinosaurs at the MEN Arena which broke new barriers in the use of technology in entertainment. Adults and children alike were mesmerised by this vivid recreation of the early history of our planet and its huge inhabitants.
NA
DANCE
The dance scene was varied and exciting – from the personality of Carlos Acosta (Manchester International Festival at The Lowry) through Northern Ballet Theatre’s dramatic Romeo And Juliet at the Opera House (marking the 40th anniversary of the north’s own ballet company, born in Manchester), to the cutting edge of contemporary dance from Rambert (The Lowry) – with a bigger company than ever before and Itzik Galili’s thrilling romp, A Linha Curva. Birmingham Royal Ballet gave many outstanding programmes, of which the spring Triple Bill was a highlight. And English National Ballet, by bringing us MacMillan’s masterpiece Manon – usually seen by Covent Garden audiences alone – proved they are already doing while others dream, and are worthy winners.
RB
SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT
This is always a contentious category for the judges, who all feel passionately about these things. How, after all, do you meaningfully compare a loveable romp built around the songs of Doris Day (Lip Service’s Desperate To Be Doris) with an outdoor, African-inspired production of Macbeth, from local favourites Feelgood? Or an intensely and unexpectedly moving show featuring American pensioners, brought to the city by the Manchester International Festival (End Of The Road) with an outdoor showcase for vibrant new performers (the X.trax event Platform 4 Piccadilly)? But the show which had not just the city but the world talking was Punchdrunk’s brilliant and thrilling (too thrilling for some, who didn’t make it to the mentally and physically exhausting climax!) It Felt Like A Kiss and it just had to be our winner.
KB
NEW PLAY
Interestingly, equal honours here for 24:7 and the Royal Exchange, which must tell us all something. All the nominees featured in other categories, too, indicating the rude health of new writing, at least hereabouts. What’s more, every one of the plays had vocal supporters on the panel, so any of them could have come out on top. As it turned out, it was Stockport-born Simon Stephens’ scintillating Punk Rock that just took the lead, in the wake of previous successes with Port and On The Shore Of The Wide World. Clearly, Stephens is a major talent.
KB
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Two from Oldham Coliseum – in a season that has seen it make an increasingly striking impression - and two from the Royal Exchange, make up this year’s nominations. At Oldham, Becky Hindley was brilliantly scatty as a confused cleaner with obsessive compulsive disorder and was rivalled in the conviction of her performance by Catherine Kinsella’s heart-warmingly dreamy adult with a child’s mind - two nominations from the same play, an excellent production of Charlotte Jones’ quirky comedy, Martha, Josie And The Chinese Elvis. At the Exchange, the panel singled out Amy Beth Hayes for her sharply edgy performance as the wayward daughter in Brad Fraser’s dysfunctional family saga, True Love Lies. But it was Jessica Raine – as the new girl in the sinister playground of teen drama Punk Rock – who took the Award, with a beautifully-shaded portrait of a girl struggling to cope not only with her own growing pains but also those of her contemporaries.
AH
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Excellent performances in this category made it difficult to chose a winner. Ian Barritt as Conrad in Gates of Gold at the Library Theatre gave a superbly restrained performance - quietly riveting to watch. At the Royal Exchange Christopher Colquhoun as Banquo made a strong impression in Macbeth as did Oliver Gomm who played the sullen son Royce in True Love Lies. An outstanding performance from Ian Bartholemew vividly brought Mr Lipcheese to life in Widower's Houses. But the winner was Oscar Pearce 's powerful performance as the idealistic Chris in All My Sons at the Bolton Octagon.
NA
ACTRESS IN A VISITING PRODUCTION
As the doomed priest’s feisty housekeeper in the brilliant Be Near Me, Blythe Duff was a long way from the role for which many will know her, as DC Jackie Reid in Taggart, Britain’s longest running detective series. Penelope Keith also distanced herself from her TV success, in Entertaining Angels, while Su Pollard was more recognisable, but no less impressive for it as Miss Hannigan in Annie. They were all at The Lowry, but it was Lisa O’Hare’s dazzling turn as Mary Poppins at the Palace that had us all flying high.
KB
ACTOR IN A VISITING PRODUCTION
In an intensely competitive category Aaron Monaghan wins for his role as the title character in Martin McDonagh’s savagely funny, and stomach-churningly violent, The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Lowry in Salford last November. As the hemiplegic Billy he turned in nightly the type of performance that would earn a screen actor an Oscar. Monaghan further underlined his skills as a character actor when he returned, with Druid Theatre Company, to the venue in the spring with Playboy of the Western World. His countryman Michael Glenn Murphy was a brutish and controlling father in yet another Druid dark comedy, The Walworth Farce, again at the Lowry. Brian Capron acted well outside any comfort zone the former Corrie star might enjoy in a revival of Richard Harris’s tip-tap comedy treat Stepping Out at Manchester Opera House, while Ian McDiarmid, a former M.E.N. award winner, further underscored his classy stage credentials in Be Near Me, again at the Lowry, a fascinating morality tale of love, betrayal, disgrace and eventual reconciliation.
DU
PERFORMANCE IN A FRINGE PRODUCTION
An actual clean sweep for 24:7 in this category, with many of the same plays - Freshers, As We Forgive Them and Lub You - demanding further attention for their performances. Christine Clare from Freshers, Eve Steele for Lub You and both performances in As We Forgive Them, namely Richard Vergette and Joe Sims, socked it out with Nicholas Osmond’s near-standup turn in Phys-Ed. Our judges ended up agreeing with audiences at the festival that it was Eve Steele who stood out.
KB
NEWCOMER
Lucy Briggs-Owen not only wore the frocks with casual elegance but also produced the verbal fireworks to win her a nomination for her role of the daughter in the Royal Exchange’s highly-enjoyable production of Shaw’s Widowers’ Houses. And in the Manchester International Festival/Royal Exchange co-production of bingo hall comedy Everybody Loves A Winner, we found Amanda Henderson’s all-singing, all-dancing bingo hall staff girl Joy, just that. Straight out of uni and onto the Octagon stage, as the girl caught in the cross-fire in Miller’s All My Sons, Vanessa Kirby was singled out for future greatness by many on the panel. But, sorry girls, the award goes to a bloke, the outstanding Tom Sturridge, making his stage debut as the menacingly mixed-up kid in the Exchange’s overwhelmingly powerful Punk Rock. He had to carry the main thrust of the play with a character that develops on a frighteningly real, deeply disturbing pathway and he did it brilliantly.
AH
DESIGN
On The Piste must have its essential ski-run and Oldham Coliseum rose to a gentle gradient lined with Christmas trees, ensuring no cast in plaster. The Royal Exchange devised an ideal viewing solution for 2 adjoining sets in True Love Lies - an uber-kitchen and chic restaurant furnished with transparent props, of course! Bolton Octagon earned three nominations. The Venetian Twins, a maniacal Italian farce heightened by actors in their undies bouncing on trampoline entries and exits. Dreary and drab would be too glitzy to describe the sinkhole of a bedsit in The Caretaker plus that great trick of tilting ceilings to create Pinter unease. Then came Oleanna, a punishing two-hander intensified by the cage-like setting of a stark minimalist office, changing mirror backdrop and ingenious lighting - perfect for the destruction poised to unfold and for our winner.
DS
STUDIO PRODUCTION
Two men, one of them doubling up as a wisecracking dog, a simple set design, a story with a life-affirming message . . . and one of the most entrancing 60 minutes you could hope for in any theatre . That was The Man Who Planted Trees. Our winners Puppet State Theatre Company took up Christmas residence at the Royal Exchange Studio in Manchester, and filled it with stage magic. Novelist Jean Giono’s story of a French hill farmer delighted all the senses, even those of smell. Lavender fields and woodland scents wafted in on a theatre breeze, and when they said the mist rolled in, or it rained, it really did! The Studio was also the setting for Eat Me, part of this year’s Queer Up North Festival and a world premiere from Starving Artists – writer Godfrey Hamilton and M.E.N. award-winning performer Mark Pinkosh. Pinkosh, in a genuinely remarkable performance, took on three characters in modern-day Hollywood. Judith Thompson’s Palace Of The End tackled the war in Iraq and some of its consequences through three monologues.
DU
Published: Wed, 09 December, 2009
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