Olivier awards: end of an era?
Allam stole the best actor crown and Smith was queen of musicals, but new plays were thin on the ground. And funding cuts were the ghost at the feast In pictures: The Laurence Olivier awards One incentive behind the creation of the Olivier awards – then known as the Society of West End Theatre awards – in 1976 was to celebrate commercial theatre. It was felt in the industry that the prime prizes, the Evening Standard awards , were too devoted to the subsidised sector. Yet the whirligig of time brings in its revenges. And at last night’s slap-up do at Drury Lane, who were the big winners ? Why, the National Theatre – which picked up seven gongs for After the Dance and The White Guard – and the Royal Court, which got three awards for Clybourne Park, Tribes and Sucker Punch. All of which proves how much of the power and energy has shifted away from the West End. Of course, the commercial theatre had its moments. Legally Blonde was voted best new musical and Sheridan Smith, quite rightly, best actress in a musical. And what an extraordinary performer she is. I first spotted her in a musical version of She Stoops to Conquer, where she radiated the same sense of mischief she brought to Legally Blonde. A few days before the Oliviers I was watching her play an ex-barmaid in Rattigan’s Flare Path . Not for a moment did she patronise the character by playing her as blowsily vulgar, yet she effortlessly communicated what it was like to carry a tray of drinks for a living. Sheridan Smith is a real star and deserves all the praise heaped upon her. The one big surprise in this year’s Oliviers was Roger Allam’s gong for best actor. I didn’t see his Falstaff, but everyone who did told me it was wonderful . To beat off the competition from Derek Jacobi’s Lear, Rory Kinnear’s Hamlet, David Suchet’s Joe Keller and Mark Rylance’s star turn in La Bête is quite an achievement. But I’m delighted for Allam, who for years has been one of our finest actors. I still recall his Stratford Brutus and Duke in Measure for Measure and his outrageously camp Terri Dennis in Peter Nichols’s Privates on Parade. And, on another front, I was thrilled to see the National’s production of The White Guard , the year’s richest theatrical experience, picked up awards for best direction, lighting and design. So I’ve few complaints about this year’s Oliviers. But two thoughts occur. For all the just acclaim for Clybourne Park, the new-play shortlist looked perilously thin. We have to face the fact that a whole generation of British dramatists – Churchill, Stoppard, Bennett, Frayn, Ayckbourn – are all in their 70s. Is there a new generation equally capable of combining an uncompromising personal vision with broad popular appeal? And, while this year’s Oliviers recognise the achievements of the National and the Royal Court, how much longer will the subsidised sector be such a powerhouse of energy? The insane cuts to the government’s arts budget are going to have a devastating impact. Chip away at all the regional theatres and the small-scale companies, and you will soon find this has a knock-on effect on the national institutions. So by all means let’s celebrate the Oliviers. But they might be a last hurrah before the cuts start to bite. Olivier awards Theatre Awards and prizes Michael Billington guardian.co.uk
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Olivier awards: end of an era?
Allam stole the best actor crown and Smith was queen of musicals, but new plays were thin on the ground. And funding cuts were the ghost at the feast In pictures: The Laurence Olivier awards One incentive behind the creation of the Olivier awards – then known as the Society of West End Theatre awards – in 1976 was to celebrate commercial theatre. It was felt in the industry that the prime prizes, the Evening Standard awards , were too devoted to the subsidised sector. Yet the whirligig of time brings in its revenges. And at last night’s slap-up do at Drury Lane, who were the big winners ? Why, the National Theatre – which picked up seven gongs for After the Dance and The White Guard – and the Royal Court, which got three awards for Clybourne Park, Tribes and Sucker Punch. All of which proves how much of the power and energy has shifted away from the West End. Of course, the commercial theatre had its moments. Legally Blonde was voted best new musical and Sheridan Smith, quite rightly, best actress in a musical. And what an extraordinary performer she is. I first spotted her in a musical version of She Stoops to Conquer, where she radiated the same sense of mischief she brought to Legally Blonde. A few days before the Oliviers I was watching her play an ex-barmaid in Rattigan’s Flare Path . Not for a moment did she patronise the character by playing her as blowsily vulgar, yet she effortlessly communicated what it was like to carry a tray of drinks for a living. Sheridan Smith is a real star and deserves all the praise heaped upon her. The one big surprise in this year’s Oliviers was Roger Allam’s gong for best actor. I didn’t see his Falstaff, but everyone who did told me it was wonderful . To beat off the competition from Derek Jacobi’s Lear, Rory Kinnear’s Hamlet, David Suchet’s Joe Keller and Mark Rylance’s star turn in La Bête is quite an achievement. But I’m delighted for Allam, who for years has been one of our finest actors. I still recall his Stratford Brutus and Duke in Measure for Measure and his outrageously camp Terri Dennis in Peter Nichols’s Privates on Parade. And, on another front, I was thrilled to see the National’s production of The White Guard , the year’s richest theatrical experience, picked up awards for best direction, lighting and design. So I’ve few complaints about this year’s Oliviers. But two thoughts occur. For all the just acclaim for Clybourne Park, the new-play shortlist looked perilously thin. We have to face the fact that a whole generation of British dramatists – Churchill, Stoppard, Bennett, Frayn, Ayckbourn – are all in their 70s. Is there a new generation equally capable of combining an uncompromising personal vision with broad popular appeal? And, while this year’s Oliviers recognise the achievements of the National and the Royal Court, how much longer will the subsidised sector be such a powerhouse of energy? The insane cuts to the government’s arts budget are going to have a devastating impact. Chip away at all the regional theatres and the small-scale companies, and you will soon find this has a knock-on effect on the national institutions. So by all means let’s celebrate the Oliviers. But they might be a last hurrah before the cuts start to bite. Olivier awards Theatre Awards and prizes Michael Billington guardian.co.uk
Posted by
on March 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News.
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You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Olivier awards: end of an era?
Allam stole the best actor crown and Smith was queen of musicals, but new plays were thin on the ground. And funding cuts were the ghost at the feast In pictures: The Laurence Olivier awards One incentive behind the creation of the Olivier awards – then known as the Society of West End Theatre awards – in 1976 was to celebrate commercial theatre. It was felt in the industry that the prime prizes, the Evening Standard awards , were too devoted to the subsidised sector. Yet the whirligig of time brings in its revenges. And at last night’s slap-up do at Drury Lane, who were the big winners ? Why, the National Theatre – which picked up seven gongs for After the Dance and The White Guard – and the Royal Court, which got three awards for Clybourne Park, Tribes and Sucker Punch. All of which proves how much of the power and energy has shifted away from the West End. Of course, the commercial theatre had its moments. Legally Blonde was voted best new musical and Sheridan Smith, quite rightly, best actress in a musical. And what an extraordinary performer she is. I first spotted her in a musical version of She Stoops to Conquer, where she radiated the same sense of mischief she brought to Legally Blonde. A few days before the Oliviers I was watching her play an ex-barmaid in Rattigan’s Flare Path . Not for a moment did she patronise the character by playing her as blowsily vulgar, yet she effortlessly communicated what it was like to carry a tray of drinks for a living. Sheridan Smith is a real star and deserves all the praise heaped upon her. The one big surprise in this year’s Oliviers was Roger Allam’s gong for best actor. I didn’t see his Falstaff, but everyone who did told me it was wonderful . To beat off the competition from Derek Jacobi’s Lear, Rory Kinnear’s Hamlet, David Suchet’s Joe Keller and Mark Rylance’s star turn in La Bête is quite an achievement. But I’m delighted for Allam, who for years has been one of our finest actors. I still recall his Stratford Brutus and Duke in Measure for Measure and his outrageously camp Terri Dennis in Peter Nichols’s Privates on Parade. And, on another front, I was thrilled to see the National’s production of The White Guard , the year’s richest theatrical experience, picked up awards for best direction, lighting and design. So I’ve few complaints about this year’s Oliviers. But two thoughts occur. For all the just acclaim for Clybourne Park, the new-play shortlist looked perilously thin. We have to face the fact that a whole generation of British dramatists – Churchill, Stoppard, Bennett, Frayn, Ayckbourn – are all in their 70s. Is there a new generation equally capable of combining an uncompromising personal vision with broad popular appeal? And, while this year’s Oliviers recognise the achievements of the National and the Royal Court, how much longer will the subsidised sector be such a powerhouse of energy? The insane cuts to the government’s arts budget are going to have a devastating impact. Chip away at all the regional theatres and the small-scale companies, and you will soon find this has a knock-on effect on the national institutions. So by all means let’s celebrate the Oliviers. But they might be a last hurrah before the cuts start to bite. Olivier awards Theatre Awards and prizes Michael Billington guardian.co.uk
Posted by
on March 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News.
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