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Post by TallPaul on Dec 30, 2020 12:24:43 GMT
Although Anything Goes is next year, if anything goes this year, then straight in at number 1, again, is the filmed version of 42nd Street. Pure joy from beginning to end. 🙂
Number 2 - Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) at Leeds Playhouse. I usually hate swearing, but its use here was devastatingly funny.
Number 3 - Opening night of the Everybody's Talking About Jamie tour at Sheffield Lyceum. It's far from being my favourite musical, but the atmosphere that night was incredible.
Number 4 - English National Ballet's archived production of Romeo and Juliet. I've heard excerpts being played so many times on Classic FM, it was nice to finally put everything in the right order.
Number 5 - Northern Ballet's production of Dangerous Liaisons at Leeds Playhouse. My first time in a 'real' theatre for 237 days plus, for the first time at a ballet, I was able to afford a seat at the front, so was actually able to see facial expressions. If NB's dancers aren't the best 'actors' in the business, then I'm Rudolph Nureyev!
An honourable mention for The Glee Club at Cast in Doncaster. A very tight company, despite only working together for a few weeks, and it's always interesting, I think, to see a piece of theatre in the place where it is set.
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Post by justfran on Dec 30, 2020 19:42:47 GMT
Priscilla Queen of the Desert - UK tour A Christmas Carol - Old Vic (streaming) Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake (Sky Arts) Coriolanus - NT Live (streaming) Eugenius - The Other Palace (streaming)
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Post by dontdreamit on Dec 30, 2020 22:27:07 GMT
I managed 21 live shows this year.
1. Jesus Christ Superstar- this show feels like the saving of 2020 for me and I don’t regret for a moment the amount of times I managed to see it, especially now with life being where it is again 2. Comedy About A Robbery 3. Mamma Mia tour 4. Six (with Littlest who can’t wait to go and see it again) 5. Small Island (online)
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382 posts
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Post by stevemar on Dec 30, 2020 23:02:19 GMT
Thanks for this n1 David.
Of the 12 live shows this year (26 postponed or cancelled), my top 5 are:
Albion - Almeida. As good as the first time in 2017, with stellar performance by Victoria Hamilton and excellent direction from Rupert Gould.
Death of England - Dorfman. A decent play raised to a different level by Rafe Spall’s sheer energy and commitment.
The Boyfriend - Menier Chocolate Factory. Ah, how distant this joyful show from February 2020 seems. Pure joyous fluff.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears - London Palladium. OTT, loud, unsubtle but filthily funny turns, and crazily fast motorbikes.
GH Boy - Charing Cross Theatre. Committed performances in a flawed play about gay drugs culture, but so good to be in a theatre post 2nd lockdown.
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4,442 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Dec 30, 2020 23:36:33 GMT
A great thread. Even with this year, I saw 55 shows/concerts (10 streamed).
Top 5 are:
5. Pantoland at the Palladium - the most fun I think I've probably had in years
4. Turn Up London - important, inspiring, incredible.
3. City of Angels - the best assembled cast in the West End in so long (and Nicola Roberts). They deserved such a longer run.
2. A Little Night Music (Holland Park) - first show after a 22 week break due to lockdown. Amazing to be in an audience again.
1. Romantics Anonymous - such a special piece of theatre. Saw it in person 4 times this year (it only played 18 live shows...)
Its been a hard year. Next year looks hard too, but this thread is filling my heart.
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1,846 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on Dec 31, 2020 15:27:26 GMT
In total 49 visits to the Theatre in 2020, about a quarter of the visits over the last few years.
Top five in date order:
Uncle Vanya - Harold Pinter Theatre Leopoldstadt - Wyndham’s Krapp's Last Tape, Eh Joe, The Old Tune - Jermyn St. Theatre The Seven Streams of the River Ota - National Theatre After Play - Coronet
Theatre of the Year: Bridge (Pulled out all the stops to get Theatre up and running again post lockdown)
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7,505 posts
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Post by alece10 on Dec 31, 2020 16:56:42 GMT
In total 49 visits to the Theatre in 2020, about a quarter of the visits over the last few years. Top five in date order: Uncle Vanya - Harold Pinter Theatre Leopoldstadt - Wyndham’s Krapp's Last Tape, Eh Joe, The Old Tune - Jermyn St. Theatre The Seven Streams of the River Ota - National Theatre After Play - Coronet Theatre of the Year: Bridge (Pulled out all the stops to get Theatre up and running again post lockdown) I must get my eyes tested as I read your 4th choice as Seven Streams of Rita Ora and thought it was an odd choice for a play.
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1,846 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on Dec 31, 2020 17:17:51 GMT
alece10 Coincidentally in my head I always called it that and had to check that I had got the name right before posting.
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Post by intoanewlife on Dec 31, 2020 18:43:19 GMT
Going to include the end of last year as well as I didn't see much this year.
Best 1) Preludes 2) Fairview 3) Six 4) Musik 5) Ghost Quartet
Worst 1) My Brilliant Friend 2) Ocean at the End of the Lane 3) Prince of Egypt
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503 posts
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Post by jampot on Dec 31, 2020 19:08:27 GMT
Uncle Vanya Romantics anonymous The seagull Albion Talking heads
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2,529 posts
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Post by n1david on Jan 1, 2021 13:50:54 GMT
Well the eggnog has been drunk, the New Year bells have been rung, the sovereignty has been controversially regained and I've counted the votes showing this year's TheatreBoard favourites. Thanks for all your votes, it's been a nice reminder of what has been good about this year. I was careful to count all the votes, even those celebrating the defeat of my football team and the painful reminders of my cancelled Broadway trip at Easter.
We got nominations for an impressive 126 events, 26 fewer than last year but close to 2018's total, although we only had 175 votes in total compared to last year's 325. It's interesting - but pointless - to speculate on which titles would have finished further up the list if their scheduled runs had been allowed to complete, like City of Angels (3 votes) or Leopoldstadt (2.5 votes).
So without further ado this year's winner is UNCLE VANYA with 6.5 votes - I'm guessing it could have grabbed another 1 or 2 after its showing on TV the other night.
Following very close behind and the highest-scoring musical was JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (6 votes).
Runners up were & Juliet (4 votes, to add to its 6 last year) The Death of England (3.5 votes) and Prince of Egypt (3.5 votes, although I should point out it got a negative vote too, but I didn't count that...)
We should also mark Talking Heads which got a total of 5 votes, spread across the series as a whole or individual or pairs of monologues.
Difficult to assess how many votes streaming shows got, as some shows were both streamed and on-stage (eg Old Vic Christmas Carol), but it's clear from the voting that in-person theatre holds much stronger appeal than its on-screen counterpart. We did get a significant number of nominations for shows in Fringe theatres or that didn't run in London, although none of them got more than 2 votes.
Here's to 2021, and more shows, more performances, more theatres, before too long. See you this time next year?
(As before, the "part votes" are from people who voted for more than 5 shows, in order to equalise the effect on the final tally - so if you listed 10 shows, they got 0.5 each)
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4,960 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 2, 2021 9:48:26 GMT
Thanks for all your hard work, n1david. Should you volunteer again this year, I think we all hope, in the nicest way possible, that your task takes even longer, with many more votes to collate. 🤞🙂
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