Omnibus Lists | Dan Coleman’s Top 5 Stage Adaptations

An obvious choice perhaps, but I think it’s a stunning adaptation and a real testimony to theatre’s ability to transport audiences to an imaginative space. A populist marvel that feels like it’s been made with real craft and devotion.

I saw this version by Little Soldier at Edinburgh in 2014, and I was just blown away by it’s wit, irrevererence and heart. What I found really interesting was the way the play managed to be ‘about’ Don Quixote rather than just being a re-telling of the story. It was in conversation with the book rather than being a slave to it, and I think that’s something we’ve tried to do with Gulliver Returns.

I was lucky enough to assist Emma Rice a couple of times and her process of adapting and devising had a big influence on my approach to Dawn State. Brief Encounter is a magical piece of work and a rare example of a film-to-stage adaptation, which is something I think we’re going to see more and more of over the next few years.

I have absolutely no idea who the company was, but I saw this at the Bristol Hippodrome when I was seven or eight and it blew my little mind. The spiders of Mirkwood are one of those theatrical images the will stay with me forever.

Not strictly an adaptation, but Yael Farber‘s South African version of Strindberg‘s classic feels so utterly unlike the original that it pretty-much counts as one. For me it sits in a really interesting place between translation, adaptation and interpretation, and is the perfect example of how to breath new life into an old story. Bloody hell it was good.