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Post by Jan on Dec 7, 2019 20:16:33 GMT
Best: All’s Well That Ends Well - Jermyn Street
Best: Runner-up: The Lady From The Sea - Norwegian Ibsen Company, Coronet
Worst Runner-up: Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear, NT
Absolutely the worst by a long distance and in my view genuinely offensive and borderline anti-Semitic for good measure: Vassa, Almeida
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Post by peggysue on Dec 8, 2019 16:37:55 GMT
Les Mis (tour)
Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
Present Laughter
Blood Brothers
Matthew Bourne’s Romeo & Juliet
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Post by AddisonMizner on Dec 8, 2019 19:38:59 GMT
I have one more show to see this year (DEAR EVAN HANSEN) at the end of the month, so I will update my list if necessary, but here are my thoughts so far.
I wouldn’t say that 2019 has been a vintage year, so I can’t really come up with a top five. I have seen a lot of good shows, but most of them not exactly ones that will stay with me. I have also seen some not-so-good shows that I wish I hadn’t bothered with.
However, there is one show that has stood head and shoulders above everything. I saw it early in the year with no expectations, and therefore it has probably ruined everything I have seen since. It is by far the best show I have seen this year, and one of the best shows I think I have ever seen. Listening to the cast recording, talking to people about the show, or even looking at the posters makes me a little emotional. That show is COME FROM AWAY. I am hoping for a return visit in 2020.
Coming in a close second would be IAN MCKELLEN: LIVE ON STAGE. The man was such a class act, and it was three hours of theatrical bliss.
Here’s to 2020!
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Post by theatregeek on Dec 19, 2019 17:20:00 GMT
Follies
42nd Street
Come From Away
Fiddler On The Roof
Les Mis Tour
But in another year, Dear Evan Hansen and Mary Poppins may have been on that list.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2019 17:43:42 GMT
i was very late to the party, but the Barbican JCS was easily the best thing i saw this year. i saw it 3 times in a month.
For the worst? Evita and Waitress.
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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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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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