THE COVID CHRISSIES: YESTERDAY ONCE MORE - THE 1990s

Around about now I would be compiling the nominations for the annual Chrissies Awards for best in 2020 theatre but in this time of COVID that is impossible to do.  So I thought why not look further back than a mere 12 months?  

The Chrissies were invented for the blog era but what about the earlier amazing productions and performers which molded my love of theatre and - more often than not - have proved definitive.  Although details are lost in time, these have all left a theatrical glitter twinkling in my mind's eye like a cavernous diamond mine.

They all live in my head and heart... here is a remembrance of the 1990s - the names in bold are those no longer with us:

BEST PLAY

 

KING LEAR by William Shakespeare (Cottesloe, NT)

 

ABSOLUTE HELL (Ackland, Lyttelton) ~ ANGELS IN AMERICA (Kushner, Cottesloe)

CLOSER (Marber, Cottesloe) ~ DANCING AT LUGHNASA (Friel, Phoenix)

THE ICEMAN COMETH (O'Neill, Almeida) ~ AN INSPECTOR CALLS (Priestley, Aldwych)

IVANOV (Chekhov, Almeida) ~ JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN (Ibsen, Lyttelton)

LES PARENTS TERRIBLES (Cocteau, Lyttelton)

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Shakespeare, Cottesloe)

OTHELLO (Shakespeare, Cottesloe) ~ RACING DEMON (Hare, Cottesloe)

RICHARD III (Shakespeare, Lyttelton) ~ SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION (Guare, Comedy)

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER (Williams, Comedy) ~ THREE TALL WOMEN (Albee, Wyndhams)

UNCLE VANYA (Chekhov, Albery) ~ WHEN SHE DANCED (Sherman, Globe)

WHITE CHAMELEON (Hampton, Cottesloe)

  

BEST MUSICAL

SWEENEY TODD by Stephen Sondheim / Hugh Wheeler (Cottesloe, NT)

 

ASSASSINS (Sondheim, Donmar) ~ THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE (Rodgers/Hart, Regents Park)

CAROUSEL (Rodgers/Hammerstein, Shaftesbury) ~ CHICAGO (Kander/Ebb, Adelphi)

CITY OF ANGELS (Coleman/Zippel, Prince of Wales) ~ COMPANY (Sondheim, Albery)

DEADLY SERIOUS (various, The Place) ~ FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE (various, Stratford East)

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY (Alessandrini, Theatre East NY)

HIGHLAND FLING (Schneitzhoeffer, Lilian Bayliss)

INTO THE WOODS (Sondheim, Donmar) ~ A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (Sondheim, Olivier)

NINE (Yeston, Donmar) ~ NOEL & GERTIE (Coward, Comedy)

OH, WHAT A LOVELY WAR! (various, Roundhouse)

THE PERCYS OF FITZROVIA / THE INFERNAL MACHINE (various. Lyric Hammersmith)

PIPPIN (Schwartz, Bridewell) ~ STAURDAY NIGHT (Sondheim, Bridewell

SHOW BOAT (Kern/Hammerstein/Wodehouse, Palladium)

BEST ACTOR - PLAY

 

PAUL SCHOFIELD - John Gabriel Borkman (Lyttelton, NT)

 

ALUN ARMSTRONG (Death of A Salesman, Lyttelton) ~ SIMON RUSSELL BEALE (Othello)

SIMON RUSSELL BEALE (Volpone, Olivier) ~ KENNETH CRANHAM (An Inspector Calls)

RALPH FIENNES (Ivanov) ~ OLIVER FORD DAVIES (Racing Demon)

HENRY GOODMAN (The Merchant of Venice) ~ DAVID HAIG (Art, Wyndhams)

DAVID HAREWOOD (Othello) ~ GREG HICKS (Absolute Hell)

IAN HOLM (King Lear) ~ DEREK JACOBI (Uncle Vanya)

SAEED JAFFREY (White Chameleon) ~ IAN McKELLEN (Richard III)

IAN McKELLEN (Uncle Vanya, Cottesloe) ~ MIKE NICHOLS (The Designated Mourner, Cottesloe)

CORIN REDGRAVE (Not About Nightingales, Cottesloe) ~ KEVIN SPACEY (The Iceman Cometh)

ROBERT STEPHENS (King Lear, Barbican)

 

BEST ACTRESS - PLAY

MAGGIE SMITH - Three Tall Women (Wyndhams)

 

EILEEN ATKINS (The Night of The Iguana, Lyttelton)

EILEEN ATKINS (Vita and Virginia, Ambassadors) 

STOCKARD CHANNING (Six Degrees of Separation)

FRANCES DE LA TOUR (Les Parents Terribles)

JUDI DENCH (Absolute Hell) ~ JUDI DENCH (Amy's View, Lyttelton)

SHEILA GISH (Suddenly Last Summer)

JANE HORROCKS (The Rise & Fall of Little Voice, Aldwych) 

ANNA MASSEY (Mary Stuart. Lyttelton) 

LYNN REDGRAVE (Shakespeare For My Father, Haymarket)

VANESSA REDGRAVE (John Gabriel Borkman) ~ VANESSA REDGRAVE (When She Danced)

DIANA RIGG (Medea, Wyndhams) ~ MAGGIE SMITH (Talking Heads, Comedy)

MAGGIE SMITH (The  Importance of Being Earnest, Aldwych)

SAMANTHA SPIRO (Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick, Lyttelton)

ALISON STEADMAN (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice)

EMMA THOMPSON (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Dominion)

RACHEL WEISZ (Suddenly Last Summer)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - PLAY

 

MICHAEL BRYANT - King Lear (Cottesloe, NT)

DAVID BAMBER (The Merchant of Venice) ~ DAVID BAMBER (Racing Demon)

DAVID BAMBER (Troilus and Cressia, Olivier)  ~ SIMON RUSSELL BEALE (Ghosts, The Pit)

MICHAEL BRYANT (Racing Demon) ~ RON COOK (Our Country's Good, Garrick)

TREVOR EVE (Uncle Vanya) ~ ADAM GODLEY (Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick)

JAMES HAZELDINE (The Iceman Cometh) ~ DAVID HEALY (The Last Yankee, Duke of Yorks)

MAL Z LAWRENCE (Catskills on Broadway, Lunt-Fontanne NY)

ADRIAN LESTER (Six Degrees of Separation) ~ FINBAR LYNCH (King Lear)

RICHARD McCABE (Absolute Hell) ~ OLEG MENSHIKOV (When She Danced)

JOSEPH MYDELL (Angels in America) ~ JOHN NORMINGTON (Ghosts)

JOHN NORMINGTON (King Lear, Barbican) ~TIM PIGOTT-SMITH (The Iceman Cometh)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - PLAY

 

FRANCES DE LA TOUR - Three Tall Women (Wyndhams)

 

EILEEN ATKINS (John Gabriel Borkman) ~ ANNETTE BADLAND (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice)

GILLIAN BARGE (The Children's Hour, Lyttelton) ~ LINDA BASSETT (Our Country's Good)

BRID BRENNAN (Dancing at Lughnasa) ~ DIANE BULL (Ivanov)

DIANE BULL (Man of The Moment, Globe) ~ HELEN BURNS (The Last Yankee)

CHERYL CAMPBELL (Volpone) ~ FRANCES DE LA TOUR (When She Danced)

PATRICIA HODGE (Money, Olivier) ~ CELIA IMRIE (The Sea, Olivier)

ROSEMARY LEACH (Separate Tables, Albery) ~ PHOEBE NICHOLLS (Three Sisters, Queens)

ANITA REEVES (Dancing at Lughnasa) ~ EMMA THOMPSON (King Lear, Dominion)

SOPHIE THOMPSON (Wildest Dreams, The Pit)

MARGARET TYZACK (Talking Heads) ~ HARRIET WALTER (Ivanov)

BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL

 

DENIS QUILLEY - Sweeney Todd (Lyttelton, NT)

 

ROGER ALLAM (City of Angels) ~ ALUN ARMSTRONG (Sweeney Todd, Cottesloe)

SIMON RUSSELL BEALE (Candide, Olivier) ~ DAVID BURT (Pippin)

BRENT CARVER (Kiss of The Spider Woman, Shaftesbury)

DANIEL EVANS (Candide) ~ DAVID FIRTH (Assassins)

HENRY GOODMAN (Chicago) ~ LAURENCE GUITTARD (A Little Night Music)

ANTHONY HEAD (The Rocky Horror Show, Piccadilly) 

ROY HUDD (A Funny Thing Happened on The Way To The Forum, Regents Park)

LARRY LAMB (Nine) ~ ADRIAN LESTER (Company)

JOSEPH McFADDEN (Rent, Shaftesbury) ~ RICHARD O'CALLAGHAN (The Boys From Syracuse)

CLARKE PETERS (Five Guys Named Moe) ~ CLARKE PETERS (Guys and Dolls, Olivier)

PHILIP QUAST (Sunday In The Park With George, Lyttelton) ~ GILZ TERRERA (Honk!, Olivier)

BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL

 

JULIA McKENZIE - Sweeney Todd (Cottesloe, NT)

 

LYNDA BARON (Gypsy, Chichester) ~ SHARON BENSON (Carmen Jones, Old Vic)

JUDI DENCH (A Little Night Music) ~ MARIA FRIEDMAN (Lady In The Dark, Lyttelton)

LOUISE GOLD (Anything Goes, Prince Edward) ~ LOUISE GOLD (The Boys From Syracuse)

JAN HARTLEY (Show Boat) ~ PATRICIA HODGE (Noel and Gertie)

MEG JOHNSON (Carousel) ~ STEPHANIE LAWRENCE (Blood Brothers, Phoenix)

UTE LEMPER (Chicago) ~ PATTI LuPONE (Sunset Boulevard, Adelphi)

JULIA McKENZIE (Into The Woods, Phoenix)

LILIANE MONTEVECCHI (Grand Hotel, Dominion)

ETTA MURFITT (Deadly Serious) ~ CHITA RIVERA (Kiss of The Spider Woman)

IMELDA STAUNTON (Guys and Dolls) ~ IMELDA STAUNTON (Into The Woods. Phoenix)

SOPHIE THOMPSON (Into the Woods, Donmar)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MUSICAL

 

HENRY GOODMAN - City of Angels (Prince of Wales)

 

DAVID BAMBER (Honk!) ~ MATTHEW BOURNE (Deadly Serious)

DAVID BURT (Honk!) ~ BERNARD CRIBBINS (Anything Goes)

JAMES DREYFUSS (Lady In The Dark) ~ HENRY GOODMAN (Assassins)

DAVID HEALY (Show Boat) ~ CIARAN HINDS (Assassins)

BRUCE HUBBARD (Show Boat) ~ BARRY JAMES (Grand Hotel)

BARRY JAMES (Sweeney Todd) ~ ADRIAN LESTER (Sweeney Todd)

DAMIAN LEWIS (Into The Woods) ~ PAUL J MEDFORD (Five Guys Named Moe)

JOHN NORMINGTON (Guys and Dolls) ~ DENIS QUILLEY (Candide)

DENIS QUILEY (Sweeney Todd, Cottesloe)

ALISTAIR ROBINS (Forbidden Broadway, Jermyn Street) ~ HUGH ROSS (Passion, Queens)

 

 BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MUSICAL

 

KARLA BURNS - Show Boat (Palladium)

SHARON D CLARKE (Guys and Dolls) ~ BJ CROSBY (Smokey Joe's Cafe, Prince of Wales)

MARILYN CUTTS (Show Boat) ~ SUSANNAH FELLOWS (City of Angels)

SUSANNAH FELLOWS (Nine) ~ JENNY GALLOWAY (The Boys From Syracuse)

JENNY GALLOWAY (Nine) ~ SHEILA GISH (Company)

LOUISE GOLD (Assassins) ~ HAYDN GWYNNE (City of Angels)

SARAH-JANE HASSELL (City of Angels) ~ PATRICIA HODGE (A Little Night Music)

MEG JOHNSON (Chicago) ~ SARA KESTELMAN (Nine)

MAZZ MURRAY (Pippin) ~ LYNNETTE PERRY (Grand Hotel)

SIAN PHILLIPS (A Little Night Music) ~ SHERIDAN SMITH (Into The Woods)

SOPHIE THOMPSON (Company)

BEST DIRECTOR

 

RICHARD EYRE - King Lear (Cottesloe, NT) 

 

ROBERT ALLEN ACKERMAN (When She Danced) ~ MICHAEL BLAKEMORE (City of Angels)

STEPHEN DALDREY (An Inspector Calls) ~ HOWARD DAVIES (The Iceman Cometh)

DECLAN DONNELLAN (Angels in America) ~ DECLAN DONNELLAN (Sweeney Todd)

RICHARD EYRE (John Gabriel Borkman) ~ RICHARD EYRE (Racing Demon)

RICHARD EYRE (Richard III) ~ JONATHAN KENT (Ivanov)

JONATHAN KENT (Medea) ~ PATRICK MARBER (Closer)

PATRICK MASON (Dancing at Lughnasa) ~ SAM MENDES (Assassins)

SAM MENDES (Othello) ~ TREVOR NUNN (The Merchant of Venice)

ANTHONY PAGE (Absolute Hell) ~ ANTHONY PAGE (Three Tall Women)

IAN RICKSON (The Weir, Duke of Yorks)

 

BEST DESIGNER

 

IAN MacNEIL - An Inspector Calls (Aldwych)

 

SETSU ASAKURA (Tango At The End of Winter, Piccadilly)

HILDEGARD BECHTLER (The Merchant of Venice)

STEPHEN BRIMSON LEWIS (Les Parents Terribles) ~ BOB CROWLEY (The Iceman Cometh)

BOB CROWLEY (King Lear) ~ BOB CROWLEY (The Night of The Iguana)

BOB CROWLEY (Racing Demon) ~ BOB CROWLEY (Richard III) 

BOB CROWLEY (When She Danced) ~ JOHN GUNTER / DEIRDRE CLANCY (Absolute Hell)

TIM HATLEY (Suddenly Last Summer) ~ RICHARD HOOVER (Not About Nightingales)

JEREMY HERBERT (The Lights, Royal Court) ~ JOHN NAPIER (Sunset Boulevard)

NICK OMEROD (Sweeney Todd) ~ MARK THOMPSON (The Wind In The Willows, Old Vic)

ROBIN WAGNER (City of Angels) ~ ANTHONY WARD (John Gabriel Brokman)

ANTHONY WARD (Othello)

BEST LIGHTING

JEAN KALMAN - King Lear (Cottesloe, NT)

NICK CHELTON (The Rehearsal, Almeida) ~ PAULE CONSTABLE (The Weir)

TREVOR DAWSON (Dancing at Lughnasa) ~ ARDEN FINGERHUT (When She Danced)

RICK FISHER (An Inspector Calls) ~ RICK FISHER (Medea)

PAUL GALLO (City of Angels) ~ MARK HENDERSON (Absolute Hell)

 MARK HENDERSON (The Iceman Cometh) ~ MARK HENDERSON (John Gabriel Borkman)

MARK HENDERSON (Les Parents Terribles) ~ MICK HUGHES (Sweeney Todd)

JEAN KALMAN (The Night of The Opera) ~ JEAN KALMAN (Richard III)

PETER MUMFORD (The Merchant of Venice) ~ CHRIS PARRY (Not About Nightingales)

PAUL PYANT (Assassins) ~ PAUL PYANT (Othello)

PAUL PYANT (Talking Heads)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

 

ANN REINKING / BOB FOSSE - Chicago (Adelphi)

CHARLES AUGINS (Five Guys Named Moe) ~ TERRY JOHN BATES (Dancing at Lughasa)

MATTHEW BOURNE (Deadly Serious) ~  MATTHEW BOURNE (Highland Fling)

MATTHEW BOURNE (The Percys of Fitzrovia/The Infernal Gallop)

JONATHAN BUTTERELL (Nine) ~ ALETTA COLLINS (Honk!)

PETER DARLING (Oh What A Lovely War!)

LAURA DEAN, CHARLES MOULTON, MARGO SAPPINGTON (Billboards, Festival Hall)

LINDSAY DOLAN (Show Boat) ~ STUART HOPPS (Carmen Jones)

WAYNE McGREGOR (A Little Night Music) ~ KENNETH McMILLAN (Carousel)

JOEY McNEELY (Smokey Joe's Cafe) ~ KENN OLDFIELD (The Boys From Syracuse)

WALTER PAINTER (City of Angels) ~ VINCENT PATERSON (Kiss of The Spider Woman)

DAVID TOGURI (Guys and Dolls) ~ TOMMY TUNE (Grand Hotel)

 

 

 

THE COVID CHRISSIES: EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN - THE 1980s

Around about now I would be compiling the nominations for the annual Chrissies Awards for best in 2020 theatre but in this time of COVID that is impossible to do.  So I thought why not look further back than a mere 12 months?  

The Chrissies were invented for the blog era but what about the earlier amazing productions and performers which molded my love of theatre and - more often than not - have proved definitive.  Although details are lost in time, these have all left a theatrical glitter twinkling in my mind's eye like a cavernous diamond mine.

They all live in my head and heart... here is a remembrance of things 1980s (and a few from a few years further back) - the names in bold are those no longer with us:

BEST PLAY

 

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES by Christopher Hampton (Ambassadors)

 

THE ASPERN PAPERS (Redgrave, Haymarket) ~ BEDROOM FARCE (Ayckbourn, Prince of Wales)

BENT (Sherman, Criterion) ~ FOOL FOR LOVE (Shepard, Cottesloe)

GHOSTS (Ibsen, Wyndhams) ~ GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (Mamet, Cottesloe)

HAMLET (Shakespeare (Olivier) ~ LOOT (Orton, Ambassadors)

ONCE A CATHOLIC (O'Malley, Wyndhams) ~ ORPHEUS DESCENDING (Williams, Haymarket)

PRAVDA (Brenton & Hare, Olivier) ~ THE RIVALS (Sheridan, Olivier)

SCHWEYK IN THE 2ND WORLD WAR (Brecht, Olivier) ~ THE SEA GULL (Ibsen, Queens)

THE SHAUGHRAUN (Boucicault, Olivier) ~ TALES FROM HOLLYWOOD (Hampton, Olivier)

TORCH SONG TRILOGY (Fierstein, Albery) ~ WILD HONEY (Ibsen, Lyttelton)

WOMAN IN MIND (Ayckbourn, Vaudeville)

  

BEST MUSICAL

GUYS and DOLLS by Frank Loesser / Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows (Olivier, NT)

 

42nd STREET (Warren/Dubin, Drury Lane) ~ ANYTHING GOES (Porter, Bloomsbury)

 THE BEGGAR'S OPERA (Gay, Cottesloe) ~ BLUES IN THE NIGHT (various, Piccadilly)

A CHORUS LINE (Hamlisch/Kleban, Schubert, NY)

FOLLIES (Sondheim, Forum Wythenshawe) ~ FOLLIES (Sondheim, Shaftesbury)

GYPSY (Sondheim/Styne, St Martins, NY) ~ HOW LUCKY CAN YOU GET (Kander/Ebb, Donmar)

INTO THE WOODS (Sondheim. Martin Beck, NY)

KERN GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (various, Donmar) ~ LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (Herman, Palladium)

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (Sondheim, Piccadilly)

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Ashman/Menkin, Comedy)

ME AND MY GIRL (Gay/Furber/Rose, Adelphi)

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (Sondheim, Bloomsbury)

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (Holmes, Savoy)

THE RINK (Kander/Ebb, Forum Wythenshawe)

WEST SIDE STORY (Bernstein/Sondheim, Her Majestys)

BEST ACTOR - PLAY

 

IAN CHARLESON - Hamlet (Olivier, NT)

 

TOM BELL (Bent) ~ IAN CHARLESON (After Aida, Old Vic)

IAN CHARLESON (Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Lyttelton) ~ IAN CHARLESON (Fool For Love)

IAN CHARLESON (Youth Training Benefit, Roundhouse)

MICHAEL GAMBON (Tales From Hollywood)

MICHAEL GAMBON (View From The Bridge, Aldwych)

ANTHONY HOPKINS (Pravda) ~ ANTHONY HOPKINS (M Butterfly, Shaftesbury)

MICHAEL HORDERN (The Rivals) ~ IAN McKELLEN (Wild Honey)

STEPHEN MOORE (Bedroom Farce) ~ DEREK NEWARK (Glengarry Glen Ross)

BILL PATERSON (Schweyk in The 2nd World War) ~ JONATHAN PRYCE (The Sea Gull)

LEONARD ROSSITER (Loot) ~ MARTIN SHEEN (The Normal Heart, Royal Court)

JACK SHEPHERD (Glengarry Glen Ross) ~ TOM WILKINSON (Ghosts)

 

BEST ACTRESS - PLAY

VANESSA REDGRAVE - Orpheus Descending (Haymarket)

 

CHERYL CAMPBELL (Miss Julie, Duke of Yorks)

PAULINE COLLINS (Shirley Valentine, Vaudeville)

JULIE COVINGTON (Tom & Viv, Royal Court) ~ ELEANOR DAVID (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)

FRANCES DE LA TOUR (Moon For The Misbegotten, Mermaid)

JUDI DENCH (Pack of Lies, Lyric) ~ SHEILA GISH (A Streetcar Named Desire, Mermaid)

GERALDINE McEWAN (The Rivals) ~ JULIA McKENZIE (Woman In Mind)

VANESSA REDGRAVE (The Aspern Papers) ~ VANESSA REGRAVE (Ghosts)

VANESSA REDGRAVE (The Sea Gull) ~ VANESSA REDGRAVE (Youth Training Benefit)

NATASHA RICHARDSON (The Sea Gull) ~ MAGGIE SMITH (Lettuce & Lovage, Globe)

LILY TOMLIN (The  Search For Signs Of Intellegent Life In The Universe, Schubert Chicago)

JULIE WALTERS (Fool For Love) ~ BILLIE WHITELAW (Tales From Hollywood)

PENELOPE WILTON (The Secret Rapture, Lyttelton)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - PLAY

 

MICHAEL BRYANT - Hamlet (Olivier, NT)

MICHAEL ALDREDGE (Bedroom Farce) ~ PETER BLYTHE (Woman In Mind)

IAN CHARLESON (An Evening with Frances de la Tour, Young Vic) 

GEORGE COSTIGAN (Love On The Plastic - Half Moon) ~ GG GOEI (M Butterfly)

DAVID HAIG (Tom & Viv) ~ TONY HAYGARTH (Glengarry Glen Ross)

PAUL JESSON (The Normal Heart) ~ IAN McDIARMID (Tales From Hollywood)

DEREK NEWARK (Bedroom Farce) ~ JOHN NORMINGTON (Animal Farm, Lyttelton)

JOHN NORMINGTON (Coming Apart, Soho Poly)

JOHN NORMINGTON (Danton's Death, Olivier)

JOHN NORMINGTON (The Deep Blue Sea, Haymarket) ~ JEREMY NORTHAM (The Shaughraun)

ERIC PORTER (Cat On A Hot Tin Roof) ~ DAVID RYALL (Animal Farm, Cottesloe)

KEVIN SPACEY (Long Day's Journey Into Night, Haymarket)

 DAVID TROUGHTON (Fool For Love)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - PLAY

 

MARGARET TYZACK - Tom & Viv (Royal Court)

 

SAMANTHA BOND (Les Liaisons Dangereuses) ~ CHERYL CAMPBELL (Bedroom Farce)

JUDI DENCH (Hamlet) ~ JUDI DENCH (Waste, Lyric)

CLARE HIGGINS (The Secret Rapture) ~ CLARE HIGGINS (A Streetcar Named Desire)

WENDY HILLER (The Aspern Papers) ~ MIRIAM KARLIN (Torch Song Trilogy)

LINDA KERR SCOTT (Ghetto, Olivier) ~ SUSAN LITTLER (Bedroom Farce)

MAGGIE McCARTHY (The Garden Girls, Bush)

IMELDA STAUNTON (The Corn Is Green, Old Vic)

SADA THOMPSON (The Little Foxes, Victoria Palace)

SOPHIE THOMPSON (The Garden Girls) ~ SOPHIE THOMPSON (Hamlet, Phoenix)

GLEN WALFORD (Love On The Plastic) ~ MARCIA WARREN (Blithe Spirit, Vaudeville)

MARCIA WARREN (Stepping Out, Duke of Yorks) ~ JUNE WATSON (Thump/Sad, Royal Court)

BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL

 

IAN CHARLESON - Guys and Dolls (Olivier, NT)

 

TOM ALDREDGE (Into The Woods) ~ DAVID BURT (The Mystery of Edwin Drood)

GEORGE COSTIGAN (Blood Brothers, Lyric)

MICHAEL CRAWFORD (The Phantom of The Opera, Her Majestys)

BERNARD CRIBBINS (Guys and Dolls, Olivier revival)

GEORGE HEARN (La Cage aux Folles) ~ TERENCE HILLYER (Figaro, Ambassadors)

BOB HOSKINS (Guys and Dolls) ~ BARRY JAMES (Little Shop of Horrors)

PAUL JONES (The Beggar's Opera) ~ DAVID KERNAN (The Ratepayer's Iolanthe, QE Hall)

ROBERT LINDSAY (Me and My Girl) ~ ROBERT LuPONE (A Chorus Line)

CLARKE PETERS (Guys and Dolls, Prince of Wales) ~ JONATHAN PRYCE (Miss Saigon, Drury Lane)

DENIS QUILLEY (La Cage aux Folles) ~ MARTIN SMITH (How Lucky Can You Get)

KEVIN WILLIAMS (Snoopy, Duchess) ~ CHIP ZIEN (Into The Woods)

BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL

 

 JULIA McKENZIE - Guys and Dolls (Olivier, NT)

 

JOSEPHINE BLAKE (Follies, Wythenshawe) ~ JOSEPHINE BLAKE (How Lucky Can You Get)

JOSEPHINE BLAKE (The Rink) ~ GEORGIA BROWN (42nd Street)

JULIE COVINGTON (Guys and Dolls) ~ TYNE DALY (Gypsy)

ELLEN GREENE (Little Shop of Horrors) ~ JAN HARTLEY (West Side Story)

DIANE LANGTON (How Lucky Can You Get) ~ DIANE LANGTON (The Rink)

CLAIRE LEACH (42nd Street) ~ MAUREEN LIPMAN (Wonderful Town, Queens)

NATALIA MAKAROVA (On Your Toes, Palace) ~ NICOLA McAULIFFE (Kiss Me Kate, Old Vic)

JULIA McKENZIE (Follies, Shaftesbury) ~ BELINDA SINCLAIR (The Beggar's Opera)

IMELDA STAUNTON (The Beggar's Opera) ~ EMMA THOMPSON (Me and My Girl)

DOROTHY TUTIN (A Little Night Music)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MUSICAL

 

DAVID HEALY - Guys and Dolls (Olivier, NT)

 

JEFF DANIEL (Starlight Express, New Victoria) ~ DREW GERACI (A Chorus Line)

MICHAEL GRUBER (A Chorus Line) ~ DAVID HEALY (Follies, Shaftesbury)

TERENCE HILLYER (Little Shop of Horrors) ~ DAVID KERNAN (Kern Goes To Hollywood)

DAVID KERNAN (Side By Side By Sondheim, Donmar) ~ JOHN NORMINGTON (Guys and Dolls)

DAVID RYALL (The Beggar's Opera) ~ DAVID RYALL (Jean Seberg, Olivier)

JOHN SAVIDENT (Jean Seberg) ~ ANDREW SCHOFIELD (Sweeney Todd, Half Moon)

MICHAEL STANIFORTH (Starlight Express) ~ STEPHEN TATE (Figaro)

HARRY TOWB (The Beggar's Opera) ~ HARRY TOWB (Little Shop of Horrors)

DONALD WAUGH (La Cage aux Folles) ~ ROBERT WESTENBERG (Into The Woods)

KEVIN WILLIAMS (The Beggar's Opera)

 

 BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MUSICAL

 

ELISABETH WELCH - Kern Goes To Hollywood (Donmar Warehouse)

PP ARNOLD (Starlight Express) ~ CAROL BALL (42nd Street)

LYNDA BARON (Follies, Shaftesbury) ~ DEBBY BISHOP (Blues In The Night)

NICOLA BLACKMAN (Little Shop of Horrors) ~ JOSEPHINE BLAKE (Jean Seberg)

 FLAMINIA CINQUE (Anything Goes) ~ MARILYN CUTTS (The Mystery of Edwin Drood)

ELAINE DELMAR (Kern Goes To Hollywood) ~ SUSANNAH FELLOWS (Me and My Girl)

DOLORES GRAY (Follies, Shaftesbury) ~ SUSAN HAMPSHIRE (A Little Night Music)

DAWN HOPE (Little Shop of Horrors) ~ MEG JOHNSON (Follies, Wythenshawe)

NANCY LaMOTT (It's Better With A Band, Donmar) ~ PATTI LuPONE (Les Miserables, Palace)

JUNE WATSON (The Beggar's Opera) ~  SARA WEYMOUTH (A Little Night Music)

CAROL WOODS (Blues In The Night)

BEST DIRECTOR

 

RICHARD EYRE - Guys and Dolls (Olivier, NT) 

 

ALAN AYCKBOURN (View From The Bridge) ~ ALAN AYCKBOURN (Woman in Mind)

BILL BRYDEN (Glengarry Glen Ross) ~ HOWARD DAVIES (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)

HOWARD DAVIES (The Secret Rapture) ~ HOWARD DAVIES (The Shaughraun)

RICHARD EYRE (The Beggar's Opera) ~ RICHARD EYRE (Edmond, Royal Court)

RICHARD EYRE (Schweyk in The 2nd World War) ~ PETER GILL (Fool For Love)

PETER GILL (Tales From Hollywood) ~ PETER HALL (Animal Farm)

PETER HALL (Orpheus Descending) ~ DAVID HARE (Pravda)

JONATHAN LYNN (Loot) ~ MIKE OCKRENT (Me and My Girl)

HAROLD PRINCE (The Phantom of The Opera) ~ DAVID THACKER (Ghosts)

PETER WOOD (The Rivals)

 

BEST DESIGNER

 

JOHN GUNTER - Guys and Dolls (Olivier, NT)

 

MARIA BJORNSON (Follies, Shaftesbury) ~ MARIA BJORNSON (Phantom of The Opera)

ALISON CHITTY (Fool For Love) ~ ALISON CHITTY (Tales From Hollywood)

BOB CROWLEY (After Aida) ~ BOB CROWLEY (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)

WILLIAM DUDLEY (Mutiny!, Piccadilly) ~ WILLIAM DUDLEY (Schweyk in The 2nd World War)

WILLIAM DUDLEY (The Shaughraun) ~ HAYDEN GRIFFIN (Glengarry Glen Ross)

HAYDEN GRIFFIN (Golden Boy) ~ JOHN GUNTER (The Beggar's Opera)

JOHN GUNTER (The Rivals) ~ JOHN GUNTER (Wild Honey)

EIKO ISHIOKA (M Butterfly) ~ PHILLIP PROWSE (The Duchess of Malfi, Lyttelton)

PHILLIP PROWSE (Phedra, Old Vic) ~ MARK THOMPSON (A Little Night Music)

CARL TOMS (The Aspern Papers)

BEST LIGHTING

 

DAVID HERSEY - Guys and Dolls (Olivier, NT)

ANDREW BRIDGE (The Phantom of The Opera) ~ ROBERT BRYAN (Bent)

ROBERT BRYAN (Dalliance, Lyttelton) ~ ROBERT BRYAN (The Rivals)

ROBERT BRYAN (Wild Honey) ~ WILLIAM BUNDY (Schweyk in The 2nd World War)

JOE DAVIS (The Aspern Papers) ~ MARK HENDERSON (Follies, Shaftesbury)

MARK HENDERSON (The Shaughraun) ~ DAVID HERSEY (John Gabriel Borkman, Old Vic)

DAVID HERSEY (Old Times, Haymarket) ~ DAVID HERSEY (Woman In Mind)

GERRY JENKINSON (The Duchess of Malfi) ~ CHRIS PARRY (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)

ANDY PHILLIPS (Glengarry Glen Ross) ~ ANDY PHILLIPS (M Butterfly)

PAUL PYANT (Orpheus Descending) ~ PETER RADMORE (The Beggar's Opera) 

STEPHEN WENTWORTH (Fool For Love)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

GOWER CHAMPION - 42nd STREET (Drury Lane)

TOM ABBOTT / JEROME ROBBINS (West Side Story) ~ BOB AVIAN (Follies, Shaftesbury)

MICHAEL BENNETT (A Chorus Line) ~  EDIE COWAN (Little Shop of Horrors)

SHEILA FALCONER (Merrily We Roll Along) ~ RON FIELD (Kiss Me Kate)

GILLIAN GREGORY (Me and My Girl) ~ PAUL KERRYSON (Follies, Wythenshawe)

PAUL KERRYSON (The Rink) ~ GILLIAN LYNNE (Cabaret, Strand)

DONALD SADDLER / GEORGE BALANCHINE (On Your Toes)

SCOTT SALMON (La Cage aux Folles)

TOMMY SHAW / AGNES DE MILLE (Brigadoon, Victoria Palace)  

PETRA SINIAWSKI (Poppy, Half Moon) ~ MICHAEL SMUIN (Anything Goes, Price Edward)

DAVID TOGURI (The Beggar's Opera) ~ DAVID TOGURI (Guys and Dolls)

DAVID TOGURI (Wonderful Town) ~ BONNIE WALKER / JEROME ROBBINS (Gypsy)

DVD/150: SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS (FW Murnau, 1927)

In 1927 German director FW Murnau was invited to Fox with full artistic freedom.  Murnau created SUNRISE just as talkies happened and, although silent, it was Fox's first Movietone film, utilising a syncronised soundtrack with music and sound effects.  Murnau's sublime film has illuminated cinema for 93 years.

In a coastal village, popular with city vacationers, a young married couple struggle with a failing farm and a new baby; he has also started an affair with a sexy vamp from the city.

She pursuades him to drown his wife in a supposed boating accident but once out on the water he cannot do it after seeing his wife's terror.

On shore, the wife runs onto a city-bound tram but he pursues her.  In the frentic bustle of the city the couple slowly discover their love again.

Sailing back, their boat is overturned in a sudden storm... will fate intervene?

Shelf or charity shop? Shelf.  At the first Academy Awards ceremony, SUNRISE won three: Janet Gaynor's performance won her Best Actress (along with her performances in Borzage's 7TH HEAVEN and STREET ANGEL), Charles Rosher and Karl Struss' visual story-telling won Best Cinematography and it won the only Academy Award given for Best Unique and Artistic Picture.  It's that and more, a truly extraordinary film where Murnau showed the world what it was going to lose at the loss of silence - forced perspectives, montage, double exposures to show a split-screen, model-work, superimposed imagery and fluid dream-like tracking shots. Gaynor's exquisite - but never cloying - performance as The Woman is complemented by George O'Brien's glowering as The Man and Margaret Livingston as the nasty Woman From The City.  What makes SUNRISE so magical is that it includes many witty touches with lovely detailed work in a photographic studio, a barbershop and in the riotous funfair the couple visit: not every cinematic classic can find time for a woman's permanently slipping shoulder straps and a drunken piglet!  One of my all-time favourites.