Nancy’s 13 of 2013

1. Edward II

This will not come as a surprise to anyone. At all. The Hot House started my fascination with John Heffernan; Edward II cemented it. This production was insane, huge and sprawling and exciting, at times messy but, more importantly full of life. The whole cast were incredible - Kyle Soller cocky and impulsive as Gaveston, Vanessa Kirby a scheming, hysterical Queen Isabella, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith stoic and then manic as Mortimer - but at the centre of it all was frail, magnetic John Heffernan, with his bare feet and thin wrists and lovely tousled hair, delivering verse like he was born doing it and in turns drifting and storming around the stage. This production came at a time when I needed something to focus on and love, and it really helped me get through my first month at uni - I spent weeks reading and re-reading lines, and was kept going by having tickets for the last performance (which made me want to cry - seeing it one last time and being able to share it with Dakin). It may not be the best piece of 2013 theatre from an objective viewpoint, but it was and is so important to me, a beautiful, chaotic tragedy.