As the curtain falls on 2019, here are the top 10 shows that stood out for me this year, in the order that I saw them.
1. Three Sisters at the Almeida Theatre – this blew my Chekhovian socks off
2. A Belly Full at The Mill at Sonning – a hip-wiggling hit
3. Anna at the National Theatre – an unnerving Cold War thriller for the ears
4. The Lehman Trilogy at the Piccadilly Theatre – epic and intimate, theatre doesn’t get much better than this
5. A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge Theatre – like being at a wild party you don’t want to end
6. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium – energy so palpable you could make a coat out of it
7. What’s in a Name at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre – long-buried resentments explode messily like a dropped bowl of cous cous
8. The Watsons at the Menier Chocolate Factory – a fantastic timey-wimey trip into the Jane Austen universe
9. Death of a Salesman at the Piccadilly Theatre – poetic, moving and devastating
10. A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic – an absolute cracker
Other honourable mentions go to:
& Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre
The Doctor at the Almeida Theatre
Noises Off at the Garrick Theatre
Rosmersholm at the Duke of York’s Theatre
Original Death Rabbit at Jermyn Street Theatre
and a special mention for Ian McKellen on Stage at the Harold Pinter Theatre – my final theatrical experience of the year. Possibly the best one of all.
I’ll be back in the New Year with my top picks for 2020.
The Man in the Grand Circle 