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Post by jgblunners on Dec 27, 2022 15:50:25 GMT
Here’s my contribution… I saw 78 performances this year, up from 53 in 2021 and 39 in 2020 but not quite back up to the 2019 level of 122. I started by drawing up separate top 5s for musicals, plays, and opera. Based on that process, I’d say it’s been an excellent year for opera, a mixed year for musicals, and a poor year for plays. I’ve decided not to include opera in my overall top 5 since we tend to focus on plays and musicals in this thread. Here’s what I settled on:
1. Cabaret (Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre) 2. Crazy For You (Chichester Festival Theatre) 3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Gielgud Theatre) 4. Iphigenia in Splott (Lyric Hammersmith) 5. Oklahoma! (Young Vic)
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Post by n1david on Dec 27, 2022 16:06:38 GMT
Now that I’ve seen my last show of the year, I’m at 74 shows, more than 2020 and 2021 put together but only about half the number from 2019. How did I find the time? Found it easy to get down to 10, but reduction to the final 5 was difficult. Took a personal decision to omit Cabaret, The Doctor, South Pacific, Company on Broadway and Operation Mincemeat all of which were re-visits but all could easily have made my long list. I’m not normally much of a person for going back to see things again, but all of these repaid a repeat viewing. So I’ve ended up with (in no particular order) 1. A Strange Loop (Broadway) - like nothing I’ve seen before - great that it got noticed, disappointing it couldn't sustain a long Broadway run 2. Sondheim’s Old Friends (tribute concert) - simply the most starry night I’ve spent in a theatre. Can't wait to see it again on Saturday! 3. Sing Yer Heart out for the Lads (Chichester) - went to some very dark places, much more significant than I expected. Hope it makes it to the NT at some point as planned. 4. Tammy Faye - Katie Brayben was the performance of the year for me. 5. Cruise - the revisit for which I’ve made an exception. I didn’t expect it to have the same impact on me second time around, but it did. Very excited to see what Jack Holden does next Honourable near-misses (but no points) to Cyrano de Bergerac, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Corn is Green, GBBO The Musical and Watch on the Rhine Oh and Marwood - you are allowed to do a Top 1, 2, 3 or 4 if you like - I find it interesting that this time last year ‘Cock’ was one of the most-anticipated plays, but thus far no-one has named it as a highlight of the year. But there’s still time… We’re now at more votes than last year, there is a clear leader but under that there’s a lot of jostling and several shows could still make it close to the top. I’ll close the voting at midnight on Hogmanay!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 27, 2022 17:44:47 GMT
After Covid I said I was going to pull back on theatre spending and only see things I really wanted to see. As a result I’ve only seen 18 shows this year, with an additional 5 or 6 that were cancelled or circumstances prevented me from going on the night. So of my limited selection my top 5 are
Company - Madrid A Chorus Line - Madrid Singin’ In The Rain - Tour South Pacific - Tour BABT - Tour
Runner up: Hedwig
Bottom of the pile: Looking Good Dead, laughably bad.
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Post by stevemar on Dec 27, 2022 18:30:10 GMT
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Post by n1david on Dec 27, 2022 18:56:57 GMT
Thanks stevemar - I'd seen that he was in this, but the reports on here had not yet enticed me to go even at heavily-discounted prices!
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Post by dlevi on Dec 28, 2022 9:18:09 GMT
Not a bad year really, though the return of "Hex" did put a damper on things.
The Band's Visit - an amazing achievement on all fronts.
The P Word - a surprising and beautiful play
The Southbury Child - a much underrated "state of the nation" play with a career best performance from Alex Jennings
Jack Absolute Flies Again - a wonderfully performed , often hilarious and surprisingly moving play.
The Corn is Green - Dominic Cooke's innovative and respectful revival was deeply satisfying and thanks to Nicola Walker's performance an unforgettable experience.
and in a category all it's own ABBA: Voyage - just thrilling - even the hot dogs were delicious.
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Dec 28, 2022 17:46:14 GMT
Well I've just seen my last play of the year, A Streetcar Named Desire, so I can finally give my top 5. Outside of my number 1 this was really tough to decide but anyway, here they are:
1. The Band's Visit 2. Cabaret 3. Oklahoma 4. For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy 5. Operation Mincemeat
Numbers 2-3 might as well be interchangeable, and that 5th slot was incredibly hard to narrow down but I'm a musical lover at heart so it went to Operation Mincemeat in the end. Some honourable mentions that just barely didn't make it: Trouble in Mind; Jerusalem; A Doll's House, Part 2; Cruise; and All of Us.
And there were lots of others not far behind these still, so overall a very successful year of theatre going for me (31 visits to the theatre in total with only 1 repeat show, plus only 2 shows I didn't end up enjoying).
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617 posts
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Post by mrnutz on Dec 28, 2022 20:37:24 GMT
I couldn't get it down to five, so here - in no particular order - are my top six of 2022: -
- Cabaret - Moulin Rouge - ABBA Voyage - South Pacific - Dear Evan Hansen - Jerusalem
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Post by emmy on Dec 28, 2022 21:22:26 GMT
1. Jerusalem 2. Into The Woods (Broadway) 3. The Southbury Child 4. For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy 5. Much Ado About Nothing (National)
57 shows total, sadly being ill has led to a lot of cancellations recently. Overall quite a mixed year, a lot of shows I felt rather meh about, but with a few really special performances. Looking forward to seeing to more next year!
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Post by theatrefan77 on Dec 29, 2022 1:33:33 GMT
I've seen 91 productions this year and these are my top 5:
1. The Magic Flute - ROH 2. The Band's Visit - Donmar 3. Watch on the Rhine - Donmar 4. Tammy Faye - Almeida 5. As You Like It - @sohoplace
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Post by fiyero on Dec 29, 2022 11:12:20 GMT
My top 5 are: 1 Billy Elliot (Leicester) 2 Into the Woods (Bath) 3 Nativity! 4 Operation Mincemeat 5 Cabaret This only includes professional staged musicals (not concerts, pantos etc..) and is with the help of a ranking engine. Full list of 44 below as a spoiler in case anyone is interested. {Spoiler - click to view} 1 Billy Elliot (Leicester) 2 Into the Woods (Bath) 3 Nativity! 4 Operation Mincemeat 5 Cabaret
6 Newsies
7 Hamilton
8 Come from Away
9 Prince of Egypt
10 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Paris)
11 Legally Blonde
12 From Here to Eternity
13 Matilda
14 Wicked
15 Beauty and the Beast
16 &Juliet
17 Les Miserabes
18 Fantastically Great Women
19 Six
20 Frozen
21 The Book of Mormon
22 Back to the Future
23 Sister Act
24 Rock of Ages
25 Anyone can Whistle
26 Mary Poppins
27 Crazy for you (CFT)
28 Dear Evan Hansen
29 Everybody's Talking about Jamie
30 The Drifters Girl
31 Dreamgirls
32 Hex (2021)
33 Cinderella
34 Oklahoma!
35 Anything Goes
36 My Fair Lady
37 Jersey Boys
38 The Producers (Paris)
39 Singin in the Rain
40 Beautiful
41 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
42 The Cher Show
43 Pretty Woman 44 Friendsical
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Post by AddisonMizner on Dec 29, 2022 11:46:32 GMT
Here is my top 5. The top 3 are the ones that really wowed me:
1. It’s A Wonderful Life (ENO) 2. Prima Facie (Harold Pinter) 3. South Pacific (UK Tour - Theatre Royal, Nottingham) 4. La Belle Sauvage (Bridge Theatre) 5. The Band’s Visit (Donmar)
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Post by nottobe on Dec 29, 2022 15:36:27 GMT
Here is my top five
1- Jerusalem- Apollo Theatre 2- The Southbury Child- Bridge Theatre 3- The Unfriend- Chichester 4- Life of Pi- Wyndams 5- Tammy Faye- Almeida
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Post by catcat100 on Dec 29, 2022 16:59:50 GMT
Bit of time on my hands so thought I would do a full culture review of the year.
Theatre Top 5 1 Band's Visit 2 My Neighbour Totoro 3 Like Water for Chocolate (Ballet, ROH) 4 Prima Facie (mainly for Jodie Cromer) 5 Iphigenia in Splott Honourable mentions to Jack Absolute Giselle (Ukraine ballet) 101 Dalmations corn is green Grease Yeast Nation As you like it (@sohoplace) Worse Southbury Child
Saw 84 new to me productions in 22, compared with 59 in 21, 40 in 20 and 92 in 2019.
Top films Everything, everywhere, all at once Matilda
Top art Whistler - Woman in white - RA America in Crises - Saatchi Louise Bourgeois - Heywood
Music Kae Tempest @ Green Man Festival Hotcongotronics (Hot Chip & Kasai Allstars) @ Meltdown Festival
Best double day European vocal double bill of Frozen & Dakhabrakha
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Post by greeny11 on Dec 29, 2022 17:40:10 GMT
I'm seeing Newsies tomorrow, which I suspect will make my list, but so far (and I'm sticking to shows I'm seeing for the first time in 2022, otherwise Come From Away, & Juliet and Six would be on there):
1. Choir of Man (loved it in Edinburgh, but loved the extended version currently in London even more) 2. My Son's A Queer (Edinburgh Fringe) 3. Kathy and Stella (Edinburgh Fringe) 4. Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club 5. Moulin Rouge
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Post by Hamilton Addict on Dec 30, 2022 17:50:16 GMT
These were some really tough choices, but here's what I ultimately settled on:
1) The Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall - Having been a big follower of the awards for the past six years, it was a dream come true to be in the room where it happens. 2) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Curran Theatre (San Fransisco) - I first saw the original production of the the Cursed Child in 2017, and seeing the reimagined version all these years later reminded me exactly why I had considered it one of my all-time favourites. 3) Oklahoma at the Young Vic & the Golden Gate Theatre (San Fransisco) - Was completely blown away by the production at the Young Vic, so much so that I ultimately decided to see it a second time during my time in San Fransisco! 4) Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre - I know Cinderella isn't everyone's cup of tea (especially not on this board!), but I still think it's one of the best original scores the West End has had over these past few years. 5) Best of Enemies at the Noël Coward Theatre - James Graham is one of my favourite playwrights (if not my absolute favourite), and I was thrilled to see that his latest play is a worthy addition to his repertoire.
Honourable mentions to The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Moulin Rouge, and Cyrano de Bergerac!
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Post by Dave B on Dec 30, 2022 21:24:45 GMT
205 shows seen. Top 5 (in no particular order) The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much - Omnibus (and seen a second time at The Pleasance). For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy - Royal Court Jerusalem - Apollo Dog / Actor - Etcetera All This Must Pass - Lion & Unicorn (returns to L&U first week of Jan - truly worth a visit.) Thanks for doing this David!
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Post by wannabedirector on Dec 30, 2022 23:05:26 GMT
My top 5, in chronological order:
1) Best of Enemies (Young Vic) 2) Animal Farm (Theatre Royal Newcastle; Children’s Theatre Partnership production directed by Rob Icke) 3) Jerusalem (Apollo) 4) Patriots (Almeida) 5) The Crucible (National - Olivier)
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Post by mistressjojo on Dec 31, 2022 5:55:57 GMT
I wasn't going to contribute as most of my theatre going was restricted to Sydney this year, so I don't expect my choices to rate. But why not?
1. RBG: Of One, Many . ( Sydney Theatre Company) 2. Good (Harold Pinter Theatre) 3. Mary (Hampstead Theatre) 4. The Upstart Crow ( Apollo) 5. The Tempest (Sydney Theatre Company)
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Post by n1david on Dec 31, 2022 10:15:12 GMT
Last call now for any remaining Top Fives you would like to share with the community! We've had more Top 5s posted this year than any year before (and we did it first in 2018).
Some really interesting stuff at the top of the table, some really interesting facts about some shows that have been around for a while, probably the best showing ever for a show outside London… all will be revealed tomorrow!
Cut-off is midnight tonight, I will post the outcomes tomorrow when I get over my Hogmanay hangover…
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Post by couldileaveyou on Dec 31, 2022 11:22:15 GMT
I thought it was a poor year for theatre, the only truly sensationally good thing I saw was the Ashton triple bill at the Royal Opera House. So, I'd say: - Ashton Triple Bill – ROH
- Romeo and Juliet – ROH (particularly Richardson & Magri's debut, and Bonelli & Nunez)
- Theodora – ROH
- Jerusalem – Apollo
- Life of Pi – Wyndham's
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Post by Wilf on Dec 31, 2022 12:45:10 GMT
1 Singin’ in the rain. UK tour Birmingham Hippodrome, superb chemistry between the three leads. 2 South Pacific. UK tour Birmingham Alex, great cast. 3 Mary Poppins Prince Edward Theatre Went to a Saturday matinee and saw all the leads. 4 Waitress UK tour Wolverhampton Grand, Chelsea Halfpenny and David Hunter outstanding.
Couldn’t separate these new musicals. 5= Bake off Cheltenham So many excellent performers, but JOJ brilliant, how versatile he is. 5= The Osmonds Grand Theatre Wolverhampton such a talented group of child performers and a strong adult cast. 5= Fisherman’s Friends Birmingham Alex, strong ensemble. 5= Cher Show Grand Theatre Wolverhampton, top performances from the three Cher’s
Looking forward to being able to make more trips to the West End, railways permitting, and more theatre visits locally. There are several musicals which I’ve always wanted to see that have UK tours so hopefully 2023 will be an exciting year.
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Post by TallPaul on Dec 31, 2022 12:48:21 GMT
What do you mean I can't give all five places to Standing at the Sky's Edge!? 🙂
It'll have to be just my top three then:
1. Standing at the Sky's Edge
2. Nine Night at Leeds Playhouse, in tribute to the late Josephine Melville
3. Newsies on BBC iPlayer
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Post by greeny11 on Dec 31, 2022 13:02:13 GMT
I'm seeing Newsies tomorrow, which I suspect will make my list, but so far (and I'm sticking to shows I'm seeing for the first time in 2022, otherwise Come From Away, & Juliet and Six would be on there): 1. Choir of Man (loved it in Edinburgh, but loved the extended version currently in London even more) 2. My Son's A Queer (Edinburgh Fringe) 3. Kathy and Stella (Edinburgh Fringe) 4. Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club 5. Moulin Rouge After Newsies: 1. Choir of Man 2. Newsies 3. My Sons A Queer 4. Kathy and Stella 5. cabaret
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Post by supongo on Dec 31, 2022 13:23:23 GMT
1. Nick Cave (APE Victoria Park) 2. Nish Kumar (Glastonbury Festival) 3. Jerusalem (Apollo) 4. Operation Mincemeat (Southwark 5. Peter Grimes (ROH)
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Post by FrontroverPaul on Dec 31, 2022 15:04:10 GMT
I've just been through my diary and it tells me I've seen exactly 274 shows in 2022. 276 booked, one missed due to a delayed train to a "no latecomers admitted" venue and one stuck on a motorway for two hours behind a very serious accident. I've excluded the four cancelled by the venues
Only left once at the interval (and that was partly because it was the evening Her Majesty passed away) and just two others I didn't enjoy. The five shows I most wanted to see again immediately the final curtain fell were...
The Clockmaker's Daughter, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Colchester Operatic Society 42 Balloons, Vaudeville Theatre London Great British Bake Off Musical, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham Identical at Nottingham Playhouse.
I genuinely believe that always having so many shows booked and spending so few days just at home helps me to remain fit and well in my senior years.
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Post by Dawnstar on Dec 31, 2022 15:30:58 GMT
I'm not sure my top 5 will be much use to this thread because they're all ballet & opera apart from one musical (done by an opera company!). I saw 49 performances altogther - losing 2 to having covid & another 2 to train strikes, grr - which is about half the number I was averaging anually in the years leading up to covid. This is partly because I saw mostly weekday performances & so did very few 2-show days, whereas I used to often go on a Saturday & see a WE show matinee before opera/ballet in the evening. Chronologically:
Romeo & Juliet Royal Ballet Scenes de Ballet/A Month in the Country/Rhapsody triple bill Royal Ballet (of which Month was the best for me) A Little Night Music Opera North Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci Royal Opera Mayerling Royal Ballet
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Post by Latecomer on Dec 31, 2022 16:21:22 GMT
Didn’t see much this year…only started travelling back to London quite late in the day
1. Patriots 2 .Mary 3. Jerusalem 4. Best of Enemies 5. Othello
I’m pretty sure Tammy Faye would have made it on to the list if I had managed to catch it, but it was cancelled on the last day! Lots more booked for next year…hurrah!
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Post by foxa on Dec 31, 2022 16:38:23 GMT
I didn't see nearly as much as I was seeing pre-pandemic, but my faves were:
1. Eureka Day (Old Vic) audience laughter at this made me realise how much I missed live theatre. 2. The Band's Visit (Donmar) 3. Folk (Hampstead) 4. Jitney (Old Vic) 5. Much Ado (National)
Also enjoyed: Oklahoma (Young Vic), Tammy Faye Musical (Almeida) and Collaboration (Young Vic.)
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Post by londonpostie on Dec 31, 2022 16:53:38 GMT
Scenes de Ballet/A Month in the Country/Rhapsody triple bill Royal Ballet (of which Month was the best for me) couldileaveyou said: Ashton Triple Bill – ROH
londonpostie said: Ashton Triple: Scènes de ballet / A Month in the Country / Rhapsody - perfection (ROH, Ashton/Carr)
It won't make a pennyworth of difference to the sums but, in case of confusion, can I just mention these were all the same event
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