Beautiful Thing Archives - UPSTAGED MANCHESTER

My Favourite Productions of 2015

It has been an exciting year for Upstaged Manchester and I feel blessed and nostalgic as I remember the productions that have lifted my heart, helped me to question and generally captivated me this year. Here is a list of my theatrical highlights for 2015.

Yen at The Royal Exchange

I couldn’t shake this 2013 Bruntwood Prize Winner by Anna Jordan for quite a while – it left my mind doing somersaults. Jordan’s phenomenal writing and her vivid characters combined with Ned Bennett’s clever direction and Georgia Lowe’s sparse set design gave an unforgettable fusion of total brilliance.

Nirbhaya at The Contact Theatre

This brave, real and haunting piece of work, exploring the effect of the brutal attack that Jyoti Singh endured on board a bus in Delhi on December 16th 2012, stopped me in my tracks and left me speechless. A perfect example of the role that theatre has in spreading an important message and how art can bring about change.

Shooting With Light at The Lowry

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This is by far the best production I have ever seen in the Lowry Studio – slick choreography and an atmospheric soundscape. Idol Motion will certainly be a theatre company that I will be looking out for in 2016.

The Rolling Stone at The Royal Exchange

The Rolling Stone had me captivated – on the edge of my seat throughout. With outstanding performances from all, Chris Urch’s Bruntwood Prize Winner about the persecution of gay men in Uganda stays with you for a long time. I am so pleased that it is being performed at Orange Tree Theatre in January and February of 2016.

Boeing Boeing at Oldham Coliseum

I had never seen a farce done well – until I saw this version of Boeing Boeing directed by Robin Herford. An energetic production with an outstanding cast – their timing and delivery was impeccable. It really lifted my heart to see the performance propelled along by gasps, laughter and impromptu applause from the audience.

Beautiful Thing at The Lowry

The combination of Jonathan Harvey’s brilliant writing and Nikolai Foster’s intelligent direction managed to bring out every nuance in the script – I found myself noticing elements that I hadn’t fully appreciated in previous interpretations. This production felt like a celebration and a salute to how far rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people have come over the last 20 years, and a recognition that we still have a fair way to go.

Kafka’s Monkey at HOME

What an accomplished performer Kathryn Hunter is – such a rich tone and incredible physicality. Masterfully directed by Walter Meierjohann, I feel blessed to have witnessed a performance like this – this show certainly put Manchester’s new arts space HOME on the map.

Golem at HOME

A true theatrical spectacle and a perfect amalgam of animation, live performance, music and claymation. Golem was like nothing that I had ever seen before – sharp interaction between the performers, Paul Barritt’s eye-popping animation and Lillian Henley’s brilliant silent movie-esque score.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at The Lowry

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a tremendous piece of theatre – a perfect collaboration with outstanding performances throughout. Gripping and heartfelt – the perfect example of the power that theatre has to change the way that we view the world.

Wicked at The Lowry

Emily Tierney as Glinda & Ashleigh Gray as Elphaba. ©Matt Crockett

Well, I’m a big fan of Wicked and despite having seen the production before it just gets better and better for me every time. With magnificent music and lyrics, Wicked is a theatrical feast for your eyes, ears and hearts.

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you – thank you for all of your support this year.

Wishing you all the best in 2016.

-Kristy Stott

Thomas Law & Sam Jackson © Anton Belmonte

Date: 13 april 2015

Upstaged rating:

Jonathan Harvey wrote Beautiful Thing when he was just 24 years old. The production first premiered in 1993 at the Bush Theatre and now this critically acclaimed award-winning play, directed by Nikolai Foster, returns to the stage at The Lowry.

Heated by the backdrop of a glorious summer, Beautiful Thing is an urban love story which captures how it feels to be a teenager, coming of age and the pangs of first love. Troubled teen Jamie (Sam Jackson) lives with his feisty mum, Sandra (Charlie Brooks) on a rundown council estate in South East London. When his neighbour and classmate Ste (Thomas Law) gets beaten so badly by his alcoholic father one night, Sandra suggests he stay with them and sleep ‘top-to-tail’ with Jamie.

Charlie Brooks’ comedy timing as the loud, brash, attention seeking Sandra is highly entertaining, particularly when all five characters are on stage together. Vanessa Babirye is outstanding in the role of Leah, the Mama Cass obsessed neighbour – she steals the show completely when she takes LSD, dresses up in Mama Cass attire and believes that she is the dead singer. And Sandra’s ‘artist’ boyfriend Tony (Gerard McCarthy) also puts in a superb performance as the latest in transient string of lovers.

Both actors, Sam Jackson and Thomas Law play the bedroom scenes with the right amount of teeny awkwardness. Jamie appears quite brave about his sexuality whereas Ste comes across as more vulnerable – their scenes together are well played with the right balance of fuzzy warmth and sexual tension.

Ben Cracknell’s balmy lighting design complements Colin Richmond’s gritty, urban set design, which includes a rising platform which offers itself as a bed and an outside air vent which swiftly transforms into a bedside table.

Jonathan Harvey’s writing is still immensely brilliant and still relevant; Nikolai Foster’s direction manages to bring out every nuance in the script and I found myself noticing elements that I hadn’t fully appreciated in any of the previous interpretations that I have seen. This production felt like a celebration and a salute to how far rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people have come over the last 20 years, and a recognition that we still have a fair way to go. It all stands to prove that this love story between two working class boys is still as beautiful and as powerful as when it was first written over two decades ago.

Beautiful Thing is at The Lowry, Salford until Saturday 18th April. There will be a post show Q & A with the cast on Thursday 16th April – hosted by Manchester Pride and chaired by British Actor and Writer Arthur Bostrom (‘Allo, Allo!). This event is free to ticket holders.