This year has been a whirlwind year full of amazing theatre. I was lucky enough to see a total of 150 shows so whittling them down to a top 10 was extremely difficult. Although this list is in order, I really loved each of them equally as they all moved me in a particular way and provided some theatrical treats.
‘Embraces silence & precision’: THE YORK REALIST – Sheffield
Robert Hastie once said that the director’s role is “to provide the clearest conduit between a writer and an actor”. Such an approach, effectively of getting in the way as little as possible, perfectly suits the prosaic dialogue of Peter Gill’s 2001 play The York Realist.
‘Rendered perfect’: THE YORK REALIST – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★
Peter Gill’s 2002 play, The York Realist, which won plaudits but not universal acclaim at first, is rendered in the Donmar’s intimacy by director Robert Hastie as something perfect: delicate, clear and natural as an upland brook.
‘Beautifully moving & genuinely funny’: THE YORK REALIST – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★
The York Realist at the Donmar Warehouse is a glorious show which creeps up on you slowly, naturally and beautifully. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend 130 minutes.
‘This tale of impossible love clutches at your heart’: The York Realist – Donmar Warehouse
Nothing feels rushed in Robert Hastie’s wonderful new production of The Yor Realist at the Donmar Warehouse, allowing this beautifully sad production to really touch the heart. A modern classic and a Yorkshire Brief Encounter indeed.
NEWS: Jonathan Bailey joins York Realist, Full cast announced for Donmar & Sheffield
Jonathan Bailey has been cast as John alongside, as previously announced, Ben Batt as George and Lesley Nicol as George’s mother in Robert Hastie’s major new production of Peter Gill’s 2001 play The York Realist.
NEWS: Frost/Nixon & world premiere of Chicken Soup lead Sheffield’s 2018 season
Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon receives its regional premiere in Sheffield Theatres’ 2018 season, along with the world premiere of Chicken Soup. and major revivals of The York Realist, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information.
NEWS: James Norton & Imogen Poots star in UK premiere of Belleville in new Donmar season
British screen stars James Norton and Imogen Poots will star in the UK premiere of American playwright Amy Herzog’s acclaimed play Belleville at London’s Donmar Warehouse. The production, directed by Michael Longhurst, is one of three new shows announced today for winter 2017/2018.