One Minute World Arts- The Guardian’s Top 10 Best Theatre of 2022

As the end of 2022 approaches, The Guardian, one of Britain’s most trusted newspapers, has published its top 10 best theatre of the year – a couple of them on the list have been introduced in this column, including Oklahoma! and The Doctor. However, some brilliant theatrical pieces are, unfortunately, not selected, such as My Neighbor Totoro co-produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Ghibli Studio. Still, after going through all the difficulties caused by the pandemic, the list has presented to theatre lovers the prospect of new possibilities and future development of the theatre.

From Prima Facie, the number 10 pick with Jodie Comer – the Killing Eve star – giving her West End debut, to Iphigenia in Splott, the number 1 rated monodrama with Sophie Melville marvelously playing the role Effie, these works are created in different scales and styles, but have won critical acclaim all the same. The Chairs, ranked as number 2, is a superb revival of Eugène Ionesco’s classic absurdist drama, brought to its liveliness with fully charged energy and creativity by the much-loved husband and wife duo Kathryn Hunter and Marcello Magni (Magni sadly passed away in September this year) Both have performed at the NTT before in 2019. As for Our Generation, listed as number 8, many have come to regard it as a beautiful piece of verbatim theatre, written by the experienced and talented Alecky Blythe, with a brilliant young cast playing out the stories of a group of young people. Although the show is almost 4 hours long, it never bores the audience, and even leaves them wanting more. At a time when the year 2023 is just around the corner, The Guardian’s list of top 10 best theatre has not only honored those quality works, but also offered high hopes for a theatre culture that is expected to be further strengthened with diversity and innovations in the years to come.

 

《衛報》精選2022英國10大劇場演出

2022年將近尾聲,知名媒體《衛報》(The Guardian)彙整了英國年度10大劇場演出,提供給讀者參考。有些入榜的作品,曾在我們今年的One Min World Arts專欄中介紹過,像是《奧克拉荷馬!》(Oklahoma!)以及《醫生》(The Doctor);然而,難免也有幾部沒能擠入榜單的遺珠之作,例如吉卜力公司與皇家莎士比亞劇團聯手打造的舞台劇《龍貓》(My Neighbor Totoro)。在長期受到疫情牽連後,這10部入榜的精彩劇作,想必可以為劇場文化的未來發展,建構出令人期待的願景。

從位居第10名、由BBC影集《追殺夏娃》(Killing Eve)明星茱蒂.康默(Jodie Comer)首度登上倫敦西區劇院舞台主演的《初步舉證》(Prima Facie),到名列榜首、由蘇菲.梅爾維爾(Sophie Melville)一人精彩擔綱的獨白劇《街區的伊菲姬奈雅》(Iphigenia in Splott),這些上榜的優良作品規模不一,風格各異,卻都有其動人心魄的殊勝之處。又如位居第2的《椅子》(The Chairs),乃是由兩位曾於2019年至歌劇院演出、才華洋溢的劇場演員夫妻檔凱瑟琳.亨特(Kathryn Hunter)和稍早於今年9月去世的馬歇羅.麥格尼(Marcello Magni),攜手演出尤涅斯柯(Eugène Ionesco)經典荒謬劇,兩人在戲裡腦洞大開,「合拍」玩出許多生動有趣的創意。至於第8名的《我們的世代》(Our Generation),則是由紀實性「引錄劇場」(verbatim theatre)專家艾莉琪.布萊絲(Alecky Blythe)編劇,並找來符合劇中人物身分的年輕演員共挑大樑,精湛詮釋青少年族群的困惑與夢想;儘管全劇逼近4小時,但觀眾看完後只覺意猶未盡,絲毫沒有冗長沉悶之感。在2023年即將到來的此刻,回顧《衛報》精選的年度10大作品,不禁讓人對劇場界蓬勃奔放的創作能量寄予厚望。

 

Photo Credit ©Johan Persson, Helen Murray, Jennifer McCord

Sources: 

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/15/the-best-theatre-of-2022

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/apr/27/prima-facie-review-jodie-comer-on-formidable-form-in-roaring-drama

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/oct/02/iphigenia-in-splott-review-gary-owen-sophie-melville-lyric-hammersmith-london

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/feb/11/the-chairs-review-almeida-ionesco-kathryn-hunter-marcello-magni

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/mar/02/our-generation-review-dorfman-london-alecky-blythe