I didn't love an awful lot of the theatre I saw in 2025, and some of the most hyped UK shows turned out to be least favourites: between the witless Ghosts at Lyric Hammersmith and Simon Stone's even-worse The Lady from the Sea at the Bridge, I won't be signing up for any more "contemporary versions of Ibsen" any time soon. Some flawed plays benefitted from the magic of great actors, whether Susan Sarandon's touching, graceful work in Mary Page Marlowe or Sheridan Smith's open-hearted, protean turn in Alan Ayckbourn's attempt to convey a disordered mental state in Woman in Mind.
Still, now's the time to accentuate the positive and here are five shows I loved from those I saw in the UK and Poland this year.
Angels in Warsaw (Teatr Dramatyczny, Warsaw)
A variant on Angels in America transplanted to an '80s Warsaw context didn't sound at all promising but Julia Holewińska and Wojciech Faruga made a wonderfully immersive combination of documentary and phantasmagoria here, boosted by a crack ensemble cast and the director's visionary stage-craft.
Glory Game (Teatr Komuna Warszawa/Sticky Fingers Club at Retroperspektywy Festival)
A slo-mo sporting satire no-one could take their eyes off.
Creditors (Orange Tree)
The fine Jewel-in-the-Crown-reunion trio of Charles Dance, Geraldine James and Nicholas Farrell found a bit of tenderness and plenty of fresh bite in Tom Littler's gripping production of Strindberg's drama.
Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych (Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead) (Teatr Jaracza, Łódź)
Agnieszka Holland's Pokot (2017) remains my favourite adaptation of Olga Tokarczuk's novel but Lena Frankiewicz's more hallucinatory staging (from Sandra Szwarc's adaptation) brought plenty that's fresh to the table. Hopefully, after some shaky years, this confident production marks the opening of a strong new era for Teatr Jaracza.
When We Are Married (Donmar)
All the single ladies! Very much in the spirit of the Orange Tree's recent Christmas revivals, a dose of happiness to end a turbulent year from the Donmar in Tim Sheader's delightful production of Priestley's warm and sharp marital comedy.
No comments:
Post a Comment