33 posts
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Post by Lopsided on Dec 19, 2019 17:45:42 GMT
I'm going for:
Blood Wedding (Young Vic) Rosmersholm (Duke of York's) The Damned (Barbican) Cypress Avenue (Royal Court) The Convert (Young Vic)
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Post by luke on Dec 19, 2019 20:13:33 GMT
1) Come from Away 2) Follies 3) All About Eve 4) Light in the Piazza 5) The View Upstairs
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Post by marob on Dec 19, 2019 21:32:51 GMT
(Not ranked) The Producers (Royal Exchange) Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (tour) Hair (tour) Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Theatre Royal Bath) Book of Mormon (tour)
Slightly underwhelming year for me. A lot of good shows, not many great. Best would be Swan Lake. Never been to a dance show before, and was worried I wouldn't get it or be bored, but I loved it. Absolutely deserves all the praise it gets. Hopefully it will show up again soon with next year being the 25th anniversary.
Worst show would be either Rough Crossing (decent cast, painfully unfunny script,) or Sweet Charity (So glad I saw Kaisa Hammarlund playing Charity in Manchester a few years back. I can't believe Anne-Marie Duff won an award for it with Debbie Kurup running rings around her.)
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Post by duncan on Dec 19, 2019 21:44:12 GMT
Top 5 -
1. Ulster American - Traverse 2. Touching the Void - Lyceum 3. Cato Street 1820 - Pleasance 4. The Duchess [of Malfi] - Lyceum 5. The Night Watch - Kings Edinburgh
and the worst five,
Frankenstein - Kings Edinburgh Trial By Laughter - Theatre Royal Crocodile Fever - Traverse Psycho Drama Queen - Somewhere godforsaken and wet on the Fringe The Stornoway Way - Festival Theatre
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Post by ftfadia on Dec 19, 2019 23:52:17 GMT
Mine in no particular order:
Sweat Death of A Salesman Cost of Living Leave To Remain Grief Is The Thing With Feathers
Only one I'd call out for a worst list—The American Clock.
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Post by ruperto on Dec 20, 2019 0:04:18 GMT
Here’s my top 5, also in no particular order:
Wolfie Rosmersholm Downstate Top Girls Sweat
However, I feel bad for leaving out these 4 in particular: Anna, The Convert, The Watsons and Imp (the fourth part of the Caryl Churchill set).
And I’ve still got three shows left to go to this year - Snowflake, The Book of Mormon and The Duchess of Malfi...
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Post by londonpostie on Dec 20, 2019 0:23:53 GMT
Giselle (Akram Khan/ENB) Death of a Salesman (Young Vic) The Doctor (Almeida) Downstate (NT)
.. the fifth is a struggle. In the two semi-Finals, Cyprus Avenue beat a joyful Midsummer Nights Dream (VAR assisted), and Sweat beat Sam Mendes' Lehmmn on penalties. In a controversial final, after extra time Sweat eventually persevered over Cyprus Ave. so:
Sweat (Donmar)
Merry Crimbo!
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Post by intoanewlife on Dec 20, 2019 3:13:54 GMT
Best
1. Six 2. Preludes 3. Fiddler On The Roof 4. Small Island 5. Lehman Trilogy
Others I loved - Hamilton - Ghost Quartet - Sweat - 42nd Street - Rutherford & Sons - Come From Away - A German Life - All My Sons
Worst
1. Falsettos 2. Caroline or Change 3. Twilight Zone 4. The Ocean at the End of the Lane 5. Jesus Christ Superstar
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2019 18:51:41 GMT
For me...
Jesus Christ Superstar Company (strictly speaking a show of 2018 but I saw it this year too and it’s my list) Fairview A German Life Come From Away
And the absolute turkey, possibly the worst thing I have ever seen; When We Have Sufficiently Tortured the Audience.
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Post by intoanewlife on Dec 20, 2019 18:59:49 GMT
And the absolute turkey, possibly the worst thing I have ever seen; When We Have Sufficiently Tortured the Audience. It had far too many little moments that I loved for me to outright hate it, but as a whole it is probably one of the oddest things I've ever seen. As a mega David Lynch fan it probably didn't weird me out as much as it did a lot of people, but I can understand why people absolutely hated it. It was certainly an experience that's for sure LOL
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2,539 posts
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Post by n1david on Dec 20, 2019 23:34:00 GMT
My last show for the year tonight, and I think it's been a good year - I got to a shortlist of 10 very easily, but getting from 10 to 5 proved very difficult. But here they are:
Downstate (NT) Standing at the Sky's Edge (Crucible) Mouthpiece (Soho Theatre) The Doctor (Almeida) The Watsons (Menier)
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Post by intoanewlife on Dec 21, 2019 19:09:14 GMT
I'm so pissed I missed Downstate, The Son and Faith Hope and Charity.
Thankfully I can catch The Doctor next year, but I doubt I'll get another chance to see the other 3.
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Post by irisjeregenboog on Dec 22, 2019 9:15:47 GMT
I didn't see a whole lot of shows in 2019 and many of them weren't new, but my favourite shows/experiences were: - Cats - tour in Zürich (twice ) - The Book of Mormon - tour in Amsterdam & Zürich - The Last Days of Judas Iscariot - amateur production in Zürich - La Bohème - Vienna operahouse; very spontaneous, exciting experience. I don't go to the opera often -- if at all -- but I tried last minute tickets with a colleague (okay, he came up with the idea and I tagged along) and it really was magical - Norma - Zürich opera house; again very spontaneous with a bunch of friends/colleagues. The spontaneity of these opera trips just makes them so much more extra special. I realise now that it seems that 1. I really enjoy opera (I really know nothing about it, but I just happened to be a bit more spontaneous this year when people asked me if I wanted to join. and boy what a good choice that was). And 2. it seems like I am very Switzerland/Austria orientated. Well, I was, I guess, since I lived in Switzerland, but I moved out of the country yesterday and will be moving to the UK in less than two weeks. In the meantime I am chilling/packing bags at my home-home in the Netherlands with my parents. Hopefully I'll have a lot more shows to choose from when this thread comes around again at the end of 2020, because in the UK I can at least understand all the productions (German productions were not an option... )
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Post by zahidf on Dec 22, 2019 19:11:18 GMT
1. Sweat 2. Downstate 3. Small island 4 death of a salesman 5. Present laughter
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Post by stevemar on Dec 22, 2019 23:18:16 GMT
Best
1 Fiddler on the Roof (Menier) 2 Dear Evan Hansen 3 Small Island 4 Follies 5=The Hunt/Sweat/Downstate
Worst (no particular order)
An American Clock Richard II (Almeida) Shipwreck Two Ladies Europe
I don’t think it has been an outstanding year, and very unusual for me to see musicals featuring so heavily on the “best” list. Thumbs up to the Young Vic for constantly provocative and interesting productions, but the Almeida has fallen short for me this year.
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Post by zahidf on Dec 22, 2019 23:53:53 GMT
Oh worse was
1. Vassal (absolutely horrific) 2. Night of the iguana 3. American clock.
And romershom, Benjamin button and the doctor were great, just outside top 5
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Post by jgblunners on Dec 23, 2019 15:57:09 GMT
My top 5 would be:
1. Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production at the Barbican Theatre) 2. Come From Away (Phoenix Theatre) 3. Summer and Smoke (Almeida production at the Duke of York's Theatre) 4. Hadestown (Olivier, National Theatre) 5. Evita (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre)
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Post by artea on Dec 23, 2019 21:33:59 GMT
One point and 5 stars for each of:
1. Follies (2019 cast of course) 2. Cosi fan Tutte, ROH 3. San Francisco Ballet, Shostakovich Trilogy, Sadlers Wells 4. A German Life, Bridge 5. Les Damnés, Comédie Française, Barbican
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Post by dontdreamit on Dec 23, 2019 22:12:49 GMT
1= Joseph being back with JD, and the 3 January shows I managed for Bat Out Of Hell 3 Come From Away 4 Six 5 Emilia
Would be very surprised if my top two aren’t exactly the same next year!
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Post by steg on Dec 24, 2019 8:44:27 GMT
The top five, in no particular order:
The Producers (Royal Exchange, Manchester) Come From Away (Phoenix) Six (Arts & Tour) Hair (Tour) The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Theatre by the Lake, Keswick)
Honourable mentions to: In the Willows (Tour), & Juliet (Opera House, Manchester), Tell Me On a Sunday (Old Laundry, Bowness-on-Windermere).
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Post by Someone in a tree on Dec 24, 2019 9:55:32 GMT
Top 5.
Merrily we roll along (New York) is that allowed? If not then. Assassins (Watermill) Silver Lake (ETO) Cunning little Vixen (LSO) Our Town (Open Air) Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
Bottom 5. In no particular order. Violet Light in the piazza Orphee (ENO) Preludes Little miss sunshine
But also can I give a huge shout out to Jenna Russel, Laura Pitt Pulford, Chita, Fiasco Theatre, Pattie, Jonathan Bailey, Kirsty Findlay, Bethany Tennick, Janie Dee, Sara Poyzer and Bill Buckhurst for fabulously dazzling me.
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Post by maggiem on Dec 24, 2019 11:54:19 GMT
1) The Lehman Trilogy (if only I had a ticket for NY next year...) 2) Hamilton (1st time seeing it in July and I have already been back twice before Xmas!) 3) Hansard (2 brilliant performances) 4) Hobson's Choice @ REX (very funny update of the original) 5) Gaslight touring @ Birmingham Alexandra (lovely to see this one at last, as I'd seen "Rope" years ago. Good performances all round)
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Post by wannabedirector on Dec 24, 2019 12:05:41 GMT
Sas my final show of 2019 last night, so can finally compile my top 5! In chronological order based on what I’ve seen this year, they are: Sweat (Donmar Warehouse) Downstate (NT Dorfman) Small Island (NT Olivier) Death of a Salesman (Young Vic) The Doctor (Almeida) Looking back on the year, it is those five plays that stick out, so much so that it was almost fairly easy to narrow it down to 5. Having said that Andrew Scott’s performance in Present Laughter is worthy of an honourable mention, as was Hansard, Appropriate, Anthony and Cleopatra and All My Sons.
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Post by clair on Dec 24, 2019 12:12:46 GMT
I seem to have been to more concerts this year (top 5 of those would be far more difficult!) plus had a few months out of seeing anything due to illness so sadly missed many things that I would have liked to have seen, hoping for a better theatre going year 2020!
In no particular order
9 to 5 Benjamin Button Islander Anahera Intra Muros
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Post by Dave B on Dec 24, 2019 12:16:58 GMT
Death of A Salesman (Young Vic) Equus (Trafalgar) The Lehman Trilogy (Picadilly) Cyprus Avenue (Royal Court) Betrayal (Pinter)
An honourable mention to Chemistry at Finsbourgh for two truly great performances.
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Post by dazzerlump on Dec 24, 2019 12:23:59 GMT
Follies Bridges of Madison County Les Mis Tour The View Upstairs Falsettos
The worst has to be when we have sufficiently tortured each other and I was also really let down by Evita
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Post by Nicholas on Dec 24, 2019 13:34:14 GMT
Best show of the year? It’s between Company and Six. Both five stars, both gems, both loads between their ears, both huge fun, both shows I’ve thought about non-stop all year. Oh, and conveniently, both shows with fab cast recordings – Not I/Footfalls/Rockaby didn’t have quite the same listenability.
Now, though – I ADORED Company, but having relistened to Six a few times, I think we really need to stop simply stanning that show and just seriously, tediously, academically look at how brilliantly these songs are written – how concise it is, how many witty lines just are smuggled in, how the medium is the message, and how cruelly apt its messages are. I think if you have 90s pop on the one side and 30s Kabarett on the other, to compare Six with Kander and Ebb isn’t just accurate – it shows how GREAT Six is that this comparison is deserved. But sod that, I loved loved loved it, I wonder if I’ll ever stop being excited by the cast recording.
So apologies Marianne Elliott, but the show of the year just has to be Six.
…but my secret favourite event of the year? Wife. I think it’s a great play for anyone, but Samuel Adamson could have written it just for me, being about being inspired not just by theatre in general but especially by A Doll’s House. I still feel inspired by A Doll’s House from 2013, and now I feel doubly inspired by Adamson’s appreciation, anger, optimism, and affection too. It’s a surprisingly fiery play which acts as a manifesto to take plays out into the real world – honestly, I hope I do bring a bit of Nora with me wherever I go, and this inspired me to keep that fight. It also reminded us that LGBT rights still must be fought for even in places as liberal as Kilburn, and illiberal attitudes aren’t historical at home or abroad – and I’ve definitely taken that with me too. I absolutely adored everything about this anyway – the fact it’s about one of my favourite plays sweetened the deal. It’s easy to say WHY great theatre inspires us, but in the real world hard to say HOW it has inspired us. This play argues for the fiery power of inspiration, allegory, theatre, and equality. If you missed it – too few people saw it – buy the script, read it, love it.
Also, Patti Lupone, second row.
Most exciting part of the year? The surprise of that small show Six being SO enjoyable, SO political, SO intelligent, SO thrilling, then SO successful… Fleabag was up the road, and that’s similarly exciting too – fiercely independently-minded shows are becoming such big hits. I think these successes could make producers riskier next time they’re at the fringe, and young artistes stick to their guns and bonkers ideas. I bloody hope so.
Also, Patti Lupone, second row.
Best performance of the year? For all the show’s flaws, Reese Shearsmith’s performance of Putin literalised the man’s inadequacies, and grip on power, in a left-field and scary way.
That said, when I remember Company, I of course remember “Being Alive” and “Marry Me a Little” – but I also remember “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” for Rosalie’s confusion over this barrage of insults, “Side By Side” for her overwhelming isolation, even “Ladies Who Lunch” for her engagement with Patti’s intensity. I think her performance in Company was one of the best dramatic performances I’ve ever seen, by being so intensely thoughtful and reactive – and that’s ignoring the fact that it’s a musical performance, and she has THAT voice! I honesty would say Rosalie is one of the top 5 performances of my life.
Also, Patti Lupone, second row.
Worst show of the year? I’ve avoided any true stinkers in my very limited theatregoing this year. These days, having so few opportunities, I either get fed what NT Live feeds me – and there’ve been no Macbeths this year. When I am in London, I try to pick things I know will at least TRY, so I can’t be disappointed – I enjoy a show ‘falling with style’. For example, like some of you on this thread, I may have been largely negative on When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, but blimey did I enjoy the mental badinage it forced me to do with it, even though it didn’t work IMHO – I also think a good heart can save a show, and I think WWHSTEO IS invested in gender diversity, literary criticism, and its strangely romantic end – so I’m very glad it problematically exists.
The only show I’ve seen this year and felt unsatisfied by was when Jack Thorne set up so much political and familial potentiality and then wrote a wet fart in The End of History – but especially given how stupendous Lesley Sharp was, to say that that was bad bad…
Oh wait! Was I’m Not Running this year? What narked me off about that is that a study of why people run, from diverse backgrounds, would be fascinating, intelligent, and prescient: why would this doctor turned accidental politician run, and why would a politician’s son run, and why would a young immigrant run? However, by focusing on Sian Brooke’s life alone, the play is a dull character piece about an uninteresting fictional anomaly whose life is just bland. It therefore makes no commentary. The play’s just so boring and aimless. Outside the play, though, ask – why did Sir David write about her and only her? Looking at the show, and having seen Sir David’s smug-as-sin NT Live interview, it’s clear why – because Sir David thinks that this character is a great feminist hero, a great rallying cry for the NHS, and a blow against a misogynist Labour party; Sir David thinks that left-wing feminism is failing, and the only person able to bring it to life is him. God, the play’s smugness almost overrides its tedium. Almost. The play’s actual feminist lines were fairly terribly judged, anyway – as feminist literature it was oversimplistic and even offensive! Sir David wrote an excellent left-wing character study in The Absence of War which used its character to truly excoriate left-wing and Labour faultlines, and the focus there worked because this one character COULD personify broader class and culture so well. Here Sir David so limited in scope because Sir David honestly thinks HIS is the voice left-wing feminists need, and his character the perfect encapsulation thereof, for left-wing feminism to rise up. That’s myopic, offensive, and (to quote a non-left-wing non-feminist) onanistic. Mind, watching the first act I had the best nap, so I’m Not Running is also my show of the year.
In case that was last year I’ll nominate Bitter Wheat, sight unseen – I did borrow the script and read it, and on the page it’s pants. Of all the ways to tackle Weinstein’s abuse and its impact on our culture, Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich in an Adam Sandler fatsuit as our bumbling comic hero, by the guy who wrote Tony Hopkins vs a bear, is about as wrong-headed as can be (I guess the Berkoff wasn’t meant to be great, but this was BIGGER and more mainstream, and I think that matters). It’s unfocused, it’s shallow, and the comedy is just unsuccessful. The idea of viewing this story through such a macho superficial lens is just rank. Its actual writing of Weinstein is icky, sympathetic to him like all comedies love bumbling monsters. This, as theatregoers, is all we have to go on for one of the most important social movements of the last five years – the pretentious wrestler who wrote Oleanna sniggering behind the schoolsheds. Is it unfair to judge a show just on script and guesswork? Yes! But hey ho, the existence of this show in the West End is unfair. So with the caveat that I’m unfair, and life’s unfair – Merry Christmas – 2019’s worst show is Bitter Wheat.
But… I was so profoundly inspired by Wife, and by Company, and ESPECIALLY by Six, that I want to end this list on a high. Wife showed that passion in theatre matters, as long as we take that passion back out on the streets. Company showed, well, Marianne Elliott is a genius, and turned Bobbie into (ironically?) more of an Everyman, whose emotional journey will stick with me for a long time. Six… where to begin on a show so political, so critical, so clever, so tuneful, so exciting?
There ya go. However you celebrate, enjoy yourself, Merry Christmas, hope 2020 validates what’s been a great millennium of theatre so far, and a Happy New Year.
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Post by Marwood on Dec 24, 2019 16:01:56 GMT
Not a particularly amazing year, and I didn’t see as much as in previous years but for me:
1.Sea Wall/A Life (Hudson Theatre, NYC) 2. A Midsummer Nights Dream (Bridge Theatre) 3. A German Life (also at the Bridge) 4. The Starry Messenger (Wyndham’s) 5. The End Of History (Royal Court)
Worst is a toss (and I can’t think of a more appropriate word) up between Bitter Wheat and When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other.
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Post by ampersand on Dec 28, 2019 20:07:11 GMT
Going to cheat a little bit and put 6 as I'm finding it impossible to bump any of these from the list
West Side Story - Royal Exchange Hamilton - Victoria Palace Come From Away - Phoenix 9 to 5 - Tour Waitress - Adelphi Les Miserables - Tour
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Post by Forrest on Dec 28, 2019 21:05:39 GMT
Going to cheat a little bit and put 6 as I'm finding it impossible to bump any of these from the list I will do the same. Sorry about that. There were many brilliant plays I've seen this year, but when I think in terms of favourites these are the first that come to mind... 1. Richard III, Headlong Theatre I know most reviews focused on how funny it was (and it was) and how cruel, but I thought it was the saddest thing (and the most haunting performance) I'd ever seen on stage. It broke my heart into a million pieces the first time I saw it - and I literally could not stop thinking about it for days after that - as well as every subsequent time. And it got me to fall in love with theatre all over again. 2. The Doctor, Almeida Theatre It was the first play by Robert Icke I'd seen (finally!) and I thought it was absolutely brilliant from start to finish, and so clever it constantly felt as if I was being outsmarted, but in the best way possible. 3. Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp., Royal Court I've had a few new theatre crushes this year, and Caryl Churchill is one of them. Kill was my favourite - I thought the way it encapsulated the recurring madness of humanity was genuinely amazing - followed by Imp, but I loved all of the stories. And thought they came with some pretty phenomenal performances too. (Never thought I'd love Toby Jones on stage so much, but it has been a most welcome surprise!) 4. The Hunt, Almeida Theatre I thought (and still think) the film was phenomenal, but found the play even better in terms of both the dynamics and the aesthetics. 5. The Antipodes, National Theatre/ Present Laughter, The Old Vic In terms of authors, Annie Baker is my second big crush of 2019 and The Antipodes was just as brilliant as I expected after John and The Flick. Present Laughter was simply the most charming play I'd seen this year, and I say that fully aware that i am not a comedy person at all.
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