Theatre / Features
Bristol Best of 2016: theatre
1. Trainspotting, Loco Klub
April 6-23 and September 1-24
Presented as part of Tobacco Factory Theatres’ Beyond season at the Loco Klub among the tunnels at Temple Meads, In Your Face’s Trainspotting re-imagines Welsh’s famous novel and the subsequent Danny Boyle film as an immersive theatre experience. Welsh himself was impressed: “I was shocked, and I wrote the fucking thing!” So good it returned to the same venue for a second sold-out run later in the year.
Read our review here
is needed now More than ever
2. The Grinning Man, Bristol Old Vic
October 13-November 13
The most distinctive thing to come out of the Old Vic’s endlessly varied and fascinating 250th birthday year was this extraordinary devised musical set in an alternative Bristol.
Read our review here
3. A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, Tobacco Factory Theatres
January 26-30
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing was simultaneously brilliant and awful. As a performance by a single actor, it was breathtaking. As a piece of theatrical writing, it was phenomenal. But the underlying story is so brutal, repetitive and without any relieving glimmers of light amidst the bleakness that audiences felt like they had been punched repeatedly in the face for 90 minutes.
Read our review here
4. The Orator, acta
September 27 – October 8
In a world where online writing packs such a punch, Marietta Kirkbride’s one-woman play – part of Theatre West’s showcase of local talent – had a whole lot of relevance. As Jenna and David grow closer online, it’s clear that all is not as it seems. But we can’t tell who is authentic and who isn’t, so when the final twist comes, it’s far from expected. Supported by an excellent video and suitably techy sound effects, this compelling piece of theatre deserves a wide audience.
Read our review here
5. Closer Each Day reaches 100 episodes, Wardrobe Theatre
June 20
Created in May 2011 in tandem with the inception of the original Wardrobe Theatre above the White Bear on St Michael’s Hill, Closer Each Day: The Improvised Soap Opera is a live, spontaneous and unique theatrical experience that has been thrilling audiences fortnightly for more than five years and is now (get this) the longest-running improvised soap opera in the world that follows one continuous storyline. Performed every fortnight at the Wardrobe Theatre’s new home in Old Market, Closer Each Day has grown a cult following in Bristol and celebrated its 100th episode on June 20.
Read the cast’s 10 favourite moments here
Read more: Mayfest to go biennial from 2018
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
