Should we have a Fringe 100 to complement The Stage 100?

It’s out. The Stage 100, billed as “UK theatre’s definitive power list”, has been published. But 2015’s list has caused both celebration and consternation. Anger has been voiced about the predominance of white men, but some also seemed ticked off about the creation of the list in the first place.

As someone who works predominantly on the fringes of theatre, I can understand that such a list seems alien. Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire, who have broken a new record for topping The Stage 100 list six years running, are obviously behemoths of the industry but they don’t form a direct part of my regular audience experience.

Except for a notable few – a diverse bunch including Purni Morell, Madani Younis and Indhu Rubasingham – the people who directly influence fringe theatremakers and audiences aren’t to be found here.

But this makes sense too – in many ways the world in which we work is an intimate, lo-fi one while power and influence are arguably statistical conclusions linked to audience exposure, international reach, financial pull or employees.

We don’t like to call ourselves an ‘industry’ on the fringe and that’s because we’re not. What we offer is bespoke, handmade theatre.

So I’m interested in the anger on display here. Surely we should accept The Stage 100 list for what it is – a barometer of commercial industry success.

The criteria set down may not be ones that we all agree on, but I would argue that they are obvious and consequently clear.

I think it’s helpful to have such lists because they give us a clear indication of how far the theatre world has to go in terms of diversity and make us interrogate where and what commercially we prize as success.

Would it be as helpful to compile an ‘Alternative Theatre 100’ list? What would such a list throw up? And what criteria would we choose to define who’s included, or indeed comes first?

A focus on regional as well as London fringe

Under my story 2015: the year ahead in fringe theatre last week, Steve F has commented: “Should this article not be titled ‘the year ahead in London fringe theatre’?”

Sure enough there were only three regional shows mentioned but I wish that Steve had also included some non-London tips of his own.

As a writer who lives in London it’s impossible to know about all the amazing fringe things going on around the country. So if you’ve got any regional top tips of your own please dive in on the comments below. I would love to hear about them.

How to spot a theatre wanker

A witty if worryingly perceptive piece from Australian performance art mag Maggie Journal called How to spot a theatre wanker was doing the social media rounds last week.

Now perhaps the term ‘wanker’ is a bit harsh (I prefer ‘luvvie’ myself) but its all good fun and serves the very healthy function of reminding us all of how – as with all human beings – slightly ridiculous we are.

After all as I was remarking to my friend Dame Judi – Dench, daaaarling – over a pinot noir just the other day, “Theatre is undoubtedly a transcendental experience, but it’s not life or death.” (Some of that last sentence may not be true – theatre is obviously life or death.)

If you only see five things on the fringe this week…

The Fever – May Fair Hotel, London
The Almeida branches out into the world of hoteliers with Wallace Shawn’s intimate play The Fever performed in the Amber Suite at the May Fair Hotel until 7 Feb. Oh yeah, and it’s directed by Robert Icke and staring Tobias Menzies. Too hot to handle this one.

Bull – Young Vic, London
A show that will prove equally difficult to get tickets for – but will be equally vital to sell organs to see – is Charles III author Mike Bartlett’s spikey Bull in the studio space at the Young Vic opening this week.

Othello – Lyric Hammersmith, London
Frantic Assembly brings its very successful, very physical production of Othello to the newly refurbished Lyric Hammersmith.

The Faction – New Diorama, London
The Faction start their 2015 rep season at the New Diorama – this year pulling out Romeo and Juliet, The Talented Mr Ripley and Joan of Arc out of the bag in what promises to be a typically energetic exploration of these classics.

Stardust – touring
Forest Forge has performed something of a coup by getting the rights to Neil Gaiman’s Stardust. This inspiring Hampshire-based touring company is sure to bring out its myriad delights. Touring nationally until the end of January.

Read more fringe columns from Honour Bayes