"The 50 Best Theatre Shows of the 21st Century"

This is a strange, inherently flawed list, not because it’s wrong, or bad, but because it’s unclear whether it means “the best works of drama apropos of their staging” or “the best pieces of theatremaking”. The mention of specific performances (Tim Piggott-Smith MADE King Charles III) suggests productions elevated the scripts (a bit like, you know, theatre). The inclusion of Punchdrunk, or The Encoutner, or even Hamilton, show how impossible it often is (and should be?) to separate the live, performed experience from the mere existence of its text. The decision to only choose texts written after 2000 just for their text is thus bizarre, misses the point, and limits how post-2000s theatre can be understood, for the worse. The list seems to be “plays written after the year 2000 and perhaps with the benefit of a good production”. The problem is that’s isolationist at best and meaningless at worst. God, I’d forgotten how pretentious I get when I come on here.

I think it’s hard to disagree, for example, that theatre was profoundly changed, for the better, by the appearance of A View from the Bridge in the West End and on the NT Live – specifically, its post-Young Vic life. It was a stunning production, still haunting to this day – but even above that I really do think it has held up as a line-in-the-sand production like Brook’s Midsummer, occupying a position in theatrical history. By selling out the West End and Broadway, and doing so well in cinemas across the world, this extraordinary, strange, European, artsy-fartsy production touched many many people in many many ways, fundamentally changing what ‘mainstream’ can be. In a list of vital theatre shows since 2000, its omission is ridiculous. But obviously it must be omitted from this list.

Its exclusion, though, ignores what’s made post-2000 – and especially post 2012ish – theatre so exciting. The best contemporary playwrights – Simon Stephens, Duncan Macmillan, Caryl Churchill – clearly write with space for their directors to direct. I loved Visitors (which I had assumed MUST be on this list, but apparently no) – a seemingly quite conventional modern masterpiece – and even then Barney Norris was fairly upfront about how his collaboration with Alice Hamilton gave his early shows (also Eventide) the brilliance that Laurie Sansom’s Nightfall lacked. To praise the text, and only the text, ignores how the text came to be and why the text works. I just find that sad.

I also thought the Guardian was legally obligated to call Fleabag the best everything. Whilst I personally didn’t really like it, it’s been so influential – and clearly has merit – that its omission does seem like that, an omission.

Lungs also should be on this list. My guess/hope is that too few of the contributors saw its original run, and will kick themselves come November. You guys seeing it at the Old Vic, you’re in for a treat. It’d be in my top ten new texts, and probably ten new productions regardless.

It’s hard to argue with Jerusalem as number one, nor Hamilton as number two. Great to see things like London Road and Fun Home and Mr Burns remembered. In some ways it’s a good list. However, it’s just a deliberately incomplete, misleading list, over-praising playwrights for what made great theatrical experiences, ignoring how and why contemporary theatre – artistically and culturally – is changing for the better.

They’ll probably do a top twenty revivals soon anyway, so this rant is meaningless. God, I’d REALLY forgotten how pretentious I get when I come on here.

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If I had to do a top ten Best Theatre Shows of the 21st Century (since you’ve all asked me to do it…), personal preference aside (to an extent), I would go:

1. The Shakespeare Trilogy – indisputably – profound and insightful Shakespearean interpretations, the brunt-bearer of early wrong-headed criticism of further pioneering gender-blind productions, also class-blind, age-blind, body-blind, race-blind, utterly revisionist and remarkable in their ownership of Shakespeare, a bold use of time never seen before or since, sensitive and provocative studies into our justice system, a vital collaboration with Clean Break, Harriet Walter storming away heading an extraordinary committed cast, transmitted on the BBC, free for under-25s, blisteringly good productions. Egalitarian in every way, brilliant in every way. New plays framed around Shakespeare, or revivals finding the newness therein? Genius and game-changing either way. This will always be one of the most special experiences, theatrical or not, of my life.
   
2. Hamilton
3. A View from the Bridge
4. Oresteia
5. Jerusalem
6. The Encounter or mebbe an earlier Complicite that was more influential but bugger I loved this one
7. London Road
8. The Jungle (as an umbrella for David Lan’s political and theatrical fire)
9. Black Watch, with Harry Potter as a footnote
10. We Will Rock You A Doll’s House would be my personal choice – but thinking more broadly than my tastes, I’m torn at to what takes the last spot

So, what deserves the tenth place? Something mainstream, important, and door-opening, like Marianne Elliott’s War Horse, or Marianne Elliott’s Curious Incident? Fleabag, a fine fringe show that became a global phenomenon, including back on stage – or The Play that Goes Wrong or the spectacular Six for similar reasons? His Dark Materials, which really pioneered the best of Hytner’s hugely influential NT (and what a cast!), or Harry Potter reinvigorating/ruining that franchise? Should we, too, include the Twitter-trending Iliad? The Globe-to-Globe festival then the Globe-to-Globe Hamlet? Three Kingdoms more for the discourse it provoked? NT Connections more for the doors they open? A show like Queens of Syria, or Belarus Free Theatre, or театр.doc, putting unbearable distant real lives within our world? BP or not BP taking to the stage, grassroots protest theatre that HAS made a difference? What about We’re Here Because We’re Here? The Michael Sheen Passion? The 2012 Opening Ceremony? All of these deserve focus. But let’s pick A Doll’s House because I love it.

I’m also a wee bit tempted by Phedre, simply by virtue of being the first NT Live. However, I think A View from the Bridge was SO influential because it got onto the NT Live, so its inclusion is cap-doffing to the influence and importance of global transmission (and why it beats Roman Tragedies). It’s arguable too that Oresteia was a great beginning but Hamlet found the biggest audience – Oresteia’s shocking newness has the edge though.

My list is also weighted towards the last ten years, because I’m only ten years old, although I do also think that’s because that’s when fringier theatre got more outwards-looking and the West End more daring, and the influence of David Lan and Louise Jeffreys trickled down. It’s also a bit biased against shows I was scared of like Punchdrunk despite their influence. There are pplenty of great shows I simply missed, or maybe even forgot. It also breaks my heart to exclude a show like Fun Home or Nell Gwynn or Lungs (thus far) because they didn’t have that breadth of influence. I’d comfortably concede to changes. I’d not concede the top three, however. Those are all extraordinary theatre, and extraordinarily influential.

Whilst I do think that’s a half-decent list, I’m not sure that’s true to everyone. What show brought most people into the theatre? What show really changed theatre? What show transcended its theatre? Far more people were affected by We Will Rock You – sh*te but popular – than Fun Home – magisterial but largely overlooked. Break my heart though it does, one almost would have to choose We Will Rock You over Fun Home or London Road and maybe even Hamilton as with bums-on-seats the biggest – thus, arguably, best – musical since 2000. Hmmm.

In short, all lists are arbitrary, but mine’s better.