Just a little bit late… Here’s 10 of my favourite shows, both online and onstage but fully acknowledging that I saw a lot less than usual, I might actually have broken the back of this theatre obsession – it just took a global pandemic to do it…!
Year in review: Ian’s 10 top theatrical moments of 2021
As distinct from my favourite shows of the year, this list celebrates the fact that sometimes the good and the not-so-good co-exist right next to each – some of my favourite moments.
‘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?
‘The routines are without fail breathtakingly good’: BRING IT ON – Queen Elizabeth Hall then Touring
Fabian Aloise’s banging choreography spikes, basket-tosses and split-lifts this cracking production of Bring It On – the Musical.
‘Eddie Redmayne & Jessie Buckley shimmer & scintillate in this striking reworking’: CABARET – West End
Director Rebecca Frecknall and designer Tom Scutt have done an awesome job in reconfiguring the Playhouse Theatre into the risqué surroundings of The Kit Kat Club.
Panto not your thing? Lucie Jones & other alternative festive shows this Christmas
Not up for seeing panto but still fancy getting out of the house before Omicron burns it all down? Here are some alternatives to pantomimes this month.
‘The show really is a visual treat like no other’: LIFE OF PI – West End
If it isn’t necessarily the best play around, Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre can seriously lay claim to being one of the finest productions open right now.
‘We’re joyously submerged in the thrills & terrors of this parallel universe once again’: THE BOOK OF DUST – La Belle Sauvage – Bridge Theatre
Nicholas Hytner returns to the world of Philip Pullman with an impressively atmospheric take on The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage at the Bridge Theatre.
‘A beautiful reunion for Michael Xavier & Emma Williams’: LOVE STORY 10th Anniversary Concert – Cadogan Hall
This 10th Anniversary Concert of Love Story was such a gorgeous way to spend a Sunday evening.
‘This play can’t help but end up as something of a disappointment’: MANOR – National Theatre
Despite the presence of Nancy Carroll and Shaun Evans, Moira Buffini’s Manor proves a disappointment at the National Theatre.
‘The questions that resonate really do feel pertinent’: ASSISTED – Golden Goose Theatre
Alexa who? Greg Wilkinson’s new play Assisted takes an amusing and assured look at the growing role AI takes in our lives.
‘We’re actually bearing witness to some serious soul-bearing’: WHAT THEY FORGOT TO TELL US (& other stories) – BOLD Elephant
A little elusive in nature but utterly enrapturing, devised piece What They Forgot To Tell Us (and other stories) makes for an exhilarating evening at BOLD Elephant.
‘Productions like this are precisely why Agatha Christie has endured so long’: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION – County Hall
Witness for the Prosecution is an absolute marvel in the atmospheric surroundings of County Hall.
‘Humorous then utterly heart-rending with much to say to all of us’: MUM – Soho Theatre
Following on from the brilliant Emilia, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s new play Mum is a powerfully bracing experience at the Soho Theatre.
‘A notoriously difficult play to stage well’: THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH – Almeida Theatre
At more than three hours, The Tragedy of Macbeth stretches the patience at the Almeida Theatre, despite strong work from Saoirse Ronan and James McArdle.
‘Heartbreaking but fiercely essential work’: THE NORMAL HEART – National Theatre
Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart receives a masterful revival courtesy of Dominic Cooke at the National Theatre, starring Ben Daniels.
‘A truly affecting and effectual performance’: HAMLET — Young Vic
Cush Jumbo is excellent, and there’s a great Ophelia, but do we really need another Hamlet? Three hours plus at the Young Vic will soon tell you
‘A revue is always tricky to review’: CLOSER THAN EVER – BroadwayHD (Online review)
This new production of Maltby and Shire’s Closer Than Ever just about gets there, though it occasionally struggles to break through the digital form.
‘Tear-jerkingly beautiful as ever’: HAMILTON — Victoria Palace Theatre
You know how it is, when a ticket to Hamilton falls into your lap, you can’t really say no to this… So a return to the Victoria Palace Theatre, my first since this behemoth of a show actually opened up and one which was surprisingly rewarding, over and above the pleasures of the show itself.
‘I’m damned glad we have something as good as this’: EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE – Prime Video
This cinematic adaptation of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is fabulously enjoyable, led by a fine performance by Max Harwood.