artsHub reviewers 2011 top picks

We’ve published almost 800 reviews this year from the mainstages to the smallest fringe venue, from books to DVDs, from dance to performance art. As 2011 winds down we asked some of our artsHub reviewers to name their favourite productions of the year.

Drive
Brisbane base film buff Sarah Ward said, picking the best cinematic experience of the year is far from an easy task, with the quantity and – in some cases, at least – quality of releases spoiling audiences for choice. 'However, one film has earned its place as my film of 2011: a nuanced neo-noir homage to the crime genre. That feature is Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, an effort that arrived amidst much fanfare. Starring smouldering man of the moment Ryan Gosling and garnering the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival, it chronicles the plight of a stuntman and getaway driver embroiled in a delicate underworld conflict courtesy of his romantic inclinations.'

'Making an immediate impact from the opening strains of the pulsating electro-pop soundtrack, Drive is a cinephile’s dream. An outstanding ensemble cast – complete with a scene-stealing turn from veteran Albert Brooks – is just the icing on the cake for this enthralling embodiment of the cinematic medium, with the smart script, stylish execution and sophisticated aesthetic resulting in a sublime combination of intelligence and artistry. As resonant on repeat viewings as it is upon initial discovery, the film shines with substance, whilst playfully referencing its inspirations. Indeed, there may not be another feature quite like Drive for some time, with Refn’s charismatic and calculating work truly something special.'

The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
For Melbourne based classical enthusiast, Suzanne Yanko, The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s Accordone, which was performed in Melbourne and Sydney in February and March 2011 was the highlight.

'This concert of baroque music was the realisation of a dream. A meeting in a little 6th century Italian church had initially connected the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s artistic director Paul Dyer with Italian ensemble Accordone’s founders tenor Marco Beasley and harpsichordist/composer Guido Morini.'

'Beasley’s sure and true tenor voice in his and Morini’s “Lamentation over Christ veiled” brought many listeners to empathetic tears. By contrast there were tears of laughter for 20-verse hilarious “Song of the Pomfret”, the amorous tale of the Pomfret, the Sardine, and her jilted lover, the Haddock, plus a battle involving 50 types of fish. Beasley stamped across the stage, engaged in duels and fist fights, shouted and threatened – and still, miraculously, kept singing. A truly one-off concert.'

Le Gateau Chocolat
A very different sort of show, was the highlight for Melbourne freelance writer Patricia Maunder, Le Gateau Chocolat which ran as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival in July.

'British-based Le Gateau Chocolat's debut solo show provides insights into the life of this man whose real name is under wraps – presumably because his Nigerian parents have no idea of the nature of his performance, let alone that he is gay. This, and other glimpses into his story, are revealed in charming between-song chats with the audience. But the songs themselves are the show's strength, the true window onto his soul. It helps enormously that Le Gateau has a magnificent voice that soars dramatically, and occasionally drops into the bass-baritone register. Astonishingly expressive delivery is what sets him apart, however.'

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
'There are quite a few standout performances for the year,' says Sydney based reviewer, Tomas Boot. 'But the one that still clings to my mind is the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s turn at the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, the very last concert of their Australian tour. ‘It was a concert of ‘most’s for me: the most anticipated of the year (by far), the most expensive of the year (even further still), and having also the most encores of the year. Christoph Eschenbach conducted the orchestra in Schubert’s Symphony No.8 in B minor (Unfinished), and Beethoven’s Symphony No.8 in F, with Matthias Goerne as the baritone for Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Youth’s Magic Horn).'

'The quality was up in the heavens, the concert completely sold out, and the atmosphere was more electric than a power station. After the first encore, the Hall exploded with red and white streamers, and the musicians had to fend for themselves as they proceeded to play Strauss’ Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, moving a stray streamer off their scores when need be. It’s an image I expect will stay in my mind for quite some time.'

Too many to choose
Sydney-based arts writer and theatre enthusiast, Lynne Lancaster has written over 60 reviews for artsHub this year and couldn’t hone her favourite to just one. Instead she has a list. Musicals: Dr Zhivago and Rent at Chatswood; Dance: Sydney Dance (both programmes) and Australian Ballet in After The Rain. and also The Last Emperor; Plays: Casanova (Ensemble) and This Year’s Ashes (Griffin). Also special mentions for STC's ThreePenny Opera and Songs For Nobodies.

Over in the West
'Having reviewed a right royal grab bag of performing arts shows this year, I am surprised to find the one that sticks out at the close was hardly calculated to entertain or impress. Yet it still has me thinking, and even reading up further on arguments covered in the production – a polemic about the importance of freedom of expression,' says Perth based Nerida Dickinson of Laryngectomy, which played at The Blue Room Theatre from 31 May to 18 June.

‘The auspices were not good: an experimental-looking, serious production, "with a message", in the middle of winter, created by a man better known in Perth for his mad technical skillz rather than playwright credentials. And yet the desperately frenetic pace, the impression of a group of passionate people trying to cram in every argument possible, the extreme stunts to get their points across and the calm, nearly devoid of any humanity, recital of facts and figures to further hammer home some difficult truths... all of this lingers on once the gasps and giggles evoked by other shows have died away.'

‘I wouldn't want to see too many shows like Laryngectomy; I might lose the part of me that is so deeply impressed by such an earnest display of principle.’

Also across in the west Carol Flavell Neist was impressed by Helix (solo dance performance by Daryl Brandwood) at the State Theatre of WA (8-11 June 2011) and The West Australian Ballet's The Taming of the Shrew at His Majesty’s Theatre, 9-24 Perth September.

Pina and Hold the Pickle
Melbourne-based reviewer Nicole Eckersley, despite getting grinchier with every review, is unable to deny she's seen some excellent things this year. "There was the magnificently beautiful, heartstring-tugging and gently funny Pina, Wim Wenders' 3D rendering of the works of German choreographer Pina Bausch - a piece of worldwide cultural importance, as well as a really lovely way to spend two hours," she said.

"Rachel Berger's Hold the Pickle was also absolutely fantastic, probably the best thing I've seen on stage this year - funny and bitter and extremely evocative, and more than a little close to the bone of the lives of so many of Melbourne's Jewish immigrants. It's not often you get genuinely funny comedy without a dry eye in the place."

The Danger Ensemble and great anti theatre
‘My favourite performance this year was The Danger Ensemble's The Hamlet Apocalypse, says Brisbane reviewer Simon Tate. ‘It was so raw and existed on three planes simultaneously and was constantly destroying and reconstructing the pretense of character while at the same time creating an incredible personal connection and relationship with the audience. It cut to the quick by undermining everything that theatre is said to be.'

'For the same reason I also enjoyed Black Lung's I Feel Awful as a great example of anti theatre. Nothing in that show should have worked, but it all did in some way that I cannot fathom.'

Across the arts
Richard Watts, artsHub’s National Reviews Editor, has seen over 100 productions this year, ranging from Fringe Festival and Comedy Festival shows through to mainstage and touring international productions. Several of his 2011 arts highlights have already been nominated by other reviewers – such as Le Gateau Chocolat at the Melbourne Cabaret Festival, and Nicolas Winding Refn’s masterful, minimalist neo-noir film Drive – but there are other highlights he’s keen to share, as well as numerous runners-up he’d like to mention, including playwright Lally Katz’s A Golem Story at the Malthouse, choreographer Jo Lloyd’s masterful Future Perfect at Trades Hall, and the remarkable Nederlands Dans Theatre I, who performed an exclusive season at the Arts Centre in July.

Save for Crying
“The mercurial Angus Cerini continues to fascinate, whether on stage or working behind the scenes. Having seen many of his works over the past decade, this deeply disturbing and deeply moving production about the exploitation of society’s most vulnerable members – staged at La Mama in February this year – was absolutely his most accomplished work to date,” Watts says.

“With Cerini as both writer and director, a stunning and surprising production design by Marg Horwell, the always impressive Kelly Ryall handling the sound design, and a superb cast in Peta Brady, Ben Grant and LeRoy Parsons, Save for Crying was hands down my favourite independent theatre production of the year.”

Namatjira
“I waxed lyrical about this production in my review back in August, and it remains one of the most beautiful and moving stage works I’ve seen all year. Rarely have I ever been so close to completely breaking down in a theatre as I was at the climax of this intensely touching and inspiring production,” Watts continues.

“I’d also like to mention the Melbourne International Arts Festival co-production Foley, and the current production at La Mama Courthouse, Coranderrk: We Will Show the Country – both created by Ilbijerri Theatre Company – as among the significant works I’ve seen this year. Never has learning about our nation’s Indigenous history been such an engaging and profound experience.”

New Art Club – Big Bag of Boom
“From the sublime to the gleefully ridiculous: the British duo New Art Club, both classically trained choreographers and dancers, were my favourite act this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Taking the piss out of contemporary dance is relatively easy, but making it funny – that’s art. My other Comedy Festival highlight was another British comedian, Paul Foot. His surreal ramblings about homophobic Clydesdale horses reduced me to helpless, shrieking laughter. Don’t miss him if he tours again in 2012,” Watts concludes.

Thank you to all our reviewers who have contributed to artsHub in 2011.