Last 10 things seen at the theatre: #006

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List the last 10 things you saw at the theatre in order:
1. The Beggar's Opera (Open Air Theatre)
2. Richard III (Old Vic)
3. Anne Boleyn (Shakespeare's Globe)
4. The Cherry Orchard (National; Olivier)
5. Richard III (Hampstead Theatre)
6. Arcadia (Lyric Hammersmith)
7. Haunting Julia (Riverside Studios)
8. Government Inspector (Young Vic)
9. Emperor and Galilean (National; Olivier)
10. The Merchant of Venice (Royal Shakespeare Theatre)

Who was the best performer in number one (The Beggar's Opera)?
It's a toss-up between Beverly Rudd and David Caves. She was as brilliant as you would expect (assuming you've seen her before), but he achieved a lovely naturalness with the text, no easy feat with a play like this!

Why did you go to see number two (Richard III)?
I don't know that this is worth dignifying with any answer beyond "BECAUSE IT'S RICHARD III".

Can you remember a line/lyric from number three (Anne Boleyn) that you liked?
"Ladies and gentlemen, there will now be a fifteen minute interval." Brilliant in context, trust me!

What would you give number four (The Cherry Orchard) out of ten?
A grudging seven. It was a beautiful production with fine performances, but I hate the play itself SO MUCH.

Was there someone hot in number five (Richard III)?
Is there a non-creepy way to declaim my undying love for every single cast member? Mind you, it's an all-encompassing adoration that goes far beyond physical appearance, so for the purposes of the meme, I will single out Dominic Tighe as the hottest. Because 1) he is, 2) his performance was incredible, and 3) he has completely shaken up my list of favourite Dominics (yes, I have such a list).

What was number six (Arcadia) about?
Life, love, and mathematics. It's basically xkcd, if xkcd were a brilliantly-constructed and deeply moving masterpiece of theatre by Tom Stoppard.

Who was your favourite actor in number seven (Haunting Julia)?
I think I'll go with Dominic Hecht. It was a pretty small cast, and I think he gave the most natural, pleasurable performance.

What was your favourite bit in number eight (Government Inspector)?
Probably the scene where all the people were giving Kyle Soller money and he was bouncing around like a ginger-bouffanted lunatic. I actually quite liked the play, unlike many others, but agree the production was terrifically misguided and really suffered when Soller wasn't onstage.

Would you see number nine (Emperor and Galilean) again?
I'm already booked for the final performance! Who doesn't love a bit of epic Ibsen, eh?

What was the worst thing about number ten (The Merchant of Venice)?
Losing my car key during the interval (which was recovered about two minutes later thanks to the wonderful front-of-house staff). You may not like the play itself, you may think updating it to Vegas is madness, but it WORKED. I do not wish to fault a single thing about the production because it came off so brilliantly when it could have backfired horribly. Much like gambling large sums of money in Vegas, in fact!

Which was best?
Richard III at the Hampstead Theatre. It was my first Propeller show, and OH BOY IT WILL BY NO MEANS BE MY LAST. It's seriously one of the greatest productions I've ever seen; visceral, brutal, bloody, and brilliant, but not without genuine beauty and real emotional involvement. A bold modern production but nonetheless totally valid and fantastic. I don't think I'm ever going to recover.

Which was worst?
I'm actually not into this question this time. There were things I didn't enjoy so much, but when the play was horrible, the cast or production were brilliant, or when the cast weren't great, the production was fantastic or the play was strong enough to work anyway. So I'm going to abstain from this one today.

Did any make you cry?
The Cherry Orchard. Chekhov's a bastard. Richard III at Hampstead. Who knew a man could play a mother so beautifully? Arcadia. It always does. The Merchant of Venice. Oh poor poor Portia.

Did any make you laugh?
Both Richard IIIs did, though the Propeller one was much funnier. Anne Boleyn is a joy, Arcadia had its moments, and yes, I did laugh at moments in Government Inspector.

Which roles would you like to play in any of them?
Margaret! Or any of the ladies in Richard III. It's a surprisingly good play for female parts. I wouldn't mind trying Hannah in Arcadia either. That might be it for this lot though.

Which one did you have best seats for?
I've had some pretty great seats lately! I think I'll go with The Beggar's Opera though. It was an aisle seat, it was the first elevated row of the upper tier so I got a fence to rest my feet on, and I had plenty of space to put my bag. My third row seat for Richard III at Hampstead was pretty special too.