Memorable Theatre Performances #10:

Chris Tummings as 'Ray Pierre' in THE HARDER THEY COME (Barbican/Playhouse, 2008)

Memorable Theatre Performances #9:
Helen Mirren as 'Lady Torrence' in ORPHEUS DESCENDING (Donmar, 2000)

"Tough, feisty, calloused by an awful marriage, she still managed to suggest a yearning, a tenderness and finally a joy deep within" - Benedict Nightingale, Independant

Memorable Theatre Performances #8:

Harvey Fierstein as 'Edna Turnblad' in HAIRSPRAY (Neil Simon, NY 1983)

"Fierstein's deftly hilarious star turn intoxicates the audience from the moment he steps onstage. He's effortlessly adorable" - Charles Isherwood, Variety

"The best performance in a Broadway musical by an actor I’ve ever seen" - me, ChrisNThat blog

Memorable Theatre Performances #7:
Clare Higgins as 'Stella Kowalski' in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Mermaid, 1984)

"Sheila Gish's scenes with Clare Higgins as her sister Stella became the nexus of the evening, which, especially in the heart-wrenching closing scene, became, fascinatingly, a tragedy of two women." - Alan Strachan , Independant

"excellent support from Duncan Preston and a great Stella from a young Clare Higgins." - me, ChrisNThat blog

Memorable Theatre Performances #6:

David Haig in LOOT (Tricycle, 2009)

"What makes this a first-rate farce performance is Haig's suggestion that Truscott is a madman in the grip of an idée fixe" - The Guardian

"It was a joy to watch him prowl the stage drop-kicking Orton's outrageous one-liners into the audience with expert timing" - me, ChrisNThat

Memorable Theatre Performances #5:

June Watson as 'Mrs. Peachum' in THE BEGGAR'S OPERA
(Cottesloe, NT, 1983, seen here with John Savident)

"The actors seemed to be enjoying themselves... June Watson was particularly good as Mrs Peachum" - Peter Ackroyd, Times ~

In a production teaming with vivid, memorable performances June Watson was a wonderfully conniving and venal Mrs. Peachum, firing off endearments to her daughter Polly as "Not wiv an 'ighway man you sorry slut"

Memorable Theatre Performances #4:
Bryce Ryness as 'Woof' in HAIR (Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 2010)

"The production's veterans have honed their characterizations into second skins... Bryce Ryness' Mick Jagger-loving Woof drolly balances swagger and sweetness" - David Rooney, Variety

"The other men who made an impression were Bryce Ryness' Woof, a blissed-out giant going to great lengths to stress he was not gay but was gagging to sleep with Mick Jagger" - me, ChrisNThat blog

Memorable Theatre Performances #3:
Laura Osnes as 'Nellie Forbush' in SOUTH PACIFIC (Lincoln Center, 2010)

"Incadescent... With her ability to be adorable, charming and alluring all at once, she'll make you laugh your head off with her fearless comedic efforts." - Lee Hernandez, Latina

"She gave a wonderfully nuanced performance with no attempt to gloss over the character's more questionable side - oh that any of our graduates from the tv talent school shows should make such an impact." - me, ChrisNThat blog

Memorable Theatre Performances #2:

Danny La Rue in DANNY LA RUE AT THE PALACE (Palace, 1970-2)

"By 1970, when he performed in a long-running revue at the Palace Theatre in the West End, he was being described as the highest-paid entertainer on the british stage. He liked to describe himself as Max Miller in sequins" - The Times obituary

"Danny la Rue ruled that stage... holding the audience like a true star and managed to bring the house down with a look" - me, ChrisNThat blog

Memorable Theatre Performances #1:
Gillian Anderson as 'Nora' in A DOLL'S HOUSE (Donmar, 2009)

"A superb Nora, by turns sexy, neurotic, manipulative, terrified, and in the great last act absolutely merciless" - Charles Spencer, Telegraph

"Her realisation of her worth in her husband's eyes at the end of the play was admirably played, growing in strength and steely determination" - me, ChrisNThat blog