The famous oversized Bengal tiger snarled personally in my face. I had wanted to see the puppetry, of course.
‘This ensemble piece is exceptionally well cast & full of energy’: EAST IS EAST – National Theatre At Home (Online review)
East Is East is a recent addition to National Theatre’s At Home catalogue and only appeared as a live production back in October.
‘Is it too early to herald the theatrical event of the year?’: CABARET – West End
I doubt I will see another show in 2022 that matches the allure and sense of occasion as Rebecca Frecknall’s much-anticipated production of Cabaret.
‘Dynamic, energetic & paced like an 800m race’: FAIR PLAY – Bush Theatre
Ella Road’s new two-hander is set in the world of track athletics, but the two characters, Ann (NicK King) and Sophie (Charlotte Beaumont) are not just any runners.
‘A bonkers funfest of innuendo, audience interaction & toe-tapping tunes’: ROCKY HORROR SHOW – Touring
Having seen the show a few times beforem I knew exactly what to expect from the affectionate pastiche of old B-Movies, but my husband (and co-blogger) was a newcomer, having never even seen the film adaptation.
Year in review: My favourite in-person shows 2021
When I had a look through my list of shows, it wasn’t too hard to choose a top 10 – the hardest thing was getting them in the right order
‘Genius programming for winter 2022’: FORCE MAJEURE – Donmar Warehouse ★★★
Inspired programming here. You’d find a decent overlap in any January Venn diagram of regular Donmar audiences and people who wish they were skiing.
‘It’s naughty & not always nice’: HABEAS CORPUS – Menier Chocolate Factory ★★★★
Joe Orton had been dead six years when Alan Bennett’s 1973 Habeas Corpus made its West End debut in a production starring Sir Alec Guinness.
‘Shades of Scandi humour on the slopes’: FORCE MAJEURE – Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse’s stage has been converted into a French ski resort for Force Majeure.
Force Majeur…
‘A celebration of acting & theatre’: David Suchet: Poirot & More, A Retrospective – West End ★★★★
An evening spent in the company of David Suchet is an evening well spent as this fascinating and warm show proves.
‘Tamsin Greig is exceptionally funny, candid & cutting in equal measure’: PEGGY FOR YOU – Hampstead Theatre
What is a play? A message to the future, a fart in your face or a pain in the arse?
What is a play? A message to the future, a fart in your face or a pain in the arse? Just a few of the suggestions that the writer clients of agent Peggy Ramsay offer up when a young ingenue asks that fatal question in her office one otherwise ordi…
‘Ruth Wilson is strong casting in the central role’: HEDDA GABLER – National Theatre At Home (Online review)
Ruth Wilson is strong casting in the central role with a, for once, restrained Ivo van Hove directing.
‘There’s a truthful dramatic core to the whole venture’: FOLK – Hampstead Theatre ★★★★
There’s a lovely serendipity. The main theatre is running Peggy for You while the little downstairs space has Nell Leyshon’s rather lovely new play imagining Cecil Sharp collecting folk-songs in Somerset.
‘A chance to get inside & interact with the Whoniverse’: DOCTOR WHO: Time Fracture – Unit Headquarters ★★★★
Designing an immersive experience for an audience as obsessive as Doctor Who fans would seem almost completely impossible.
‘Plenty of stunning gymnastic-inspired choreography, high levels of energy & joy’: BRING IT ON – Queen Elizabeth Hall then Touring ★★★★
This pom-pom filled musical might be slight in story, but it certainly has much to enjoy thanks to Fabian Aloise’s choreography.
‘Relentlessly upbeat & cheerful to watch’: ANYTHING GOES (Online review)
Light as a souffle but such a delight. It’s doubtful whether there has ever been a classier bit of froth than this Cole Porter show.
‘This revival can’t help but resemble a middling 1970s sitcom’: HABEAS CORPUS – Menier Chocolate Factory
Alan Bennett’s Habeas Corpus gets a belated revival at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Stuck in the past, should it have been left in the past too?
‘Beautiful, a bit strange, quite sinister & entirely transporting’: CABARET – West End ★★★★★
I’m not sure anything prepared me for quite how earth-shatteringly sensational Rebecca Frecknall’s take on Cabaret would turn out to be.
‘A smart story about composition & the appropriation of music’: FOLK – Hampstead Theatre
With its interest in identity, ownership, tradition and the ‘rules’ applied to written rather than oral forms, Nell Leyshon’s play, which aired on Radio 3 in 2021, now earns a fully-staged run.
‘Coward’s classic fits the quarrelsome exasperated affections of middle age perfectly’: PRIVATE LIVES – Touring ★★★★
May as well tell you, I had the ultimate pensioner experience, and it was a blast. A midweek, senior-price matinee for the new touring production of Private Lives.