Hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? A year in fact, as it’s that time when I remember I have a blog and decide to round up the best cultural moments of the year before 2024 is on us. So, without any further ado, here are the best 10 theatre shows I saw this year. Not in any particular order, just the best ten.
NO PAY? NO WAY!
Manchester Royal Exchange
May 2023
In 2022, a revival of a Dario Fo play, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, was one of my theatrical highlights of the year. This year, another Fo production was dusted down and staged at the Royal Exchange, and it was one of the most relevant and, more importantly, hilarious, plays of the year. Fo’s source material was updated brilliantly by Marieke Hardy, to make it incredibly relevant to today’s cost of living crisis.
It was a masterclass in unpredictable, controlled chaos – at no point were you entirely sure what was going to happen next – with slapstick, audience participation and a huge playground slide in which characters made their entrance. It was, first and foremost, a comedy but there was a huge stream of righteous anger running underneath, exemplified by the cast singalong of Italian anarchist song Bella Ciao in the last few minutes. Powerful, important and hysterical, nobody who saw this would forget it in a hurry.
My review of No Pay? No Way! for The Stage
THE AMAZING BANANA BROTHERS
Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh
AUGUST 2023 (Edinburgh Fringe show)
The best shows at Edinburgh are the ones where you sit there thinking “I will never see anything like this ever again”. Bill O’Neill’s ingenious story of two daredevil brothers and their quest to slip on 1000 banana skins in one hour was one such show. O’Neill plays both brothers, who (for obvious reasons) can’t be on stage at the same time – one is lairy, aggressive and obnoxious, and the other has….issues, shall we say.
So what is billed as a slapstick show, soon becomes incredibly deep, with O’Neill tale of sibling rivalry going to some dark, psychologically intense places. It was utterly chaotic, yet somehow still very controlled, thanks in no small part to the presence of director Natalie Palamides. It all becomes very dark and (if you’re the unfortunate person chosen to stand in for O’Neill’s brother) quite uncomfortable, but this was easily the highlight of my Fringe visit this year.
Brian Logan’s 5 star review of The Amazing Banana Brothers for The Guardian.
SINFONIA
Leeds Playhouse
MAY 2023
Sometimes, the best ideas are the simplest ones. Sinfonia is a great example of this – it was literally an hour of so of old people telling real life stories. But it was staged in such a memorable, moving way, that by the time the curtain fell, you could easily have sat there for another hour at least.
It was the work of the Leeds Performance Ensemble, comprising amateur performers aged 55 and older. Each member of the ensemble stepped up to the microphone and told a story about their life – with each story lasting no longer than a couple of minutes, and touching on subjects like taking up walking to stave off diabetes, or a righteous polemic against the Tory Government. The constant movement on stage meant thaat this was a visual treat as well. It’s back in Leeds next year – go and see it.
My review of Sinfonia for The Stage
MAYFLIES
Theatre Royal, York
May 2023
As the success of Standing At The Sky’s Edge has proven, there’s definitely still a market for new British musicals. I don’t know whether Mayflies will have a similar shelf life, but this was an excellent attempt by York’s Theatre Royal to launch a new blockbuster. It was a simple idea – two people meet online, and then spend two years getting to know each other (the average gestation period of a mayfly) before meeting in real life. However, Gus Gowland’s script was written so it could be performed by anyone, regardless of gender, race or sexuality – and the York performance featured a rotating cast of three, with different cast members taking on the roles on each performance.
It was a sweet story, and enhanced by some genuinely excellent songs (one of which, Running On Empty, is on my Best of 2023 playlist), and the non-linear storytelling was fresh and grabbed the attention. Gowland’s protagonists were easy to identify with and root for, and the relatively short running time of 90 minutes meant that, while there wasn’t much room for character development, it was a bright and breezy show that you’re easily swept along with.
My review of Mayflies for The Stage
THE TIME MACHINE
Derby Theatre
March 2023
One for fans of The Play That Goes Wrong conceit, this wasn’t really anything to do with HG Wells’ classic novella. Instead, Original Theatre Company’s version uses The Time Machine as a jumping off point for the trio of performers to launch into a couple of hours of ad-libs, audience participation, and some very silly songs. Not one for purists of HG Wells then.
For everyone else, it was a gloriously daft evening of entertainment. There was so much energy and chaos happening onstage, that it was sometimes difficult to keep track of what was happening. There was a dizzying amount of pop culture references (from the Muppets to Harry & Meghan) and while it may have stretched the conceit a bit too far – it may well have worked better as a tight hour rather than the 2 hours it eventually clocked in, this was still a riotously entertaining evening of fun.
My review of The Time Machine for The Stage
BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF
Royal Court, Liverpool
SEP-OCT 2023
Over 40 years ago, Alan Bleasdale’s searing, passionate account of how Thatcherite politics had destroyed communities on Merseyside broke new ground when it was transmitted on the BBC. Characters like Yosser Hughes and his catchphrase “Gizza job” chimed with the public consciousness, and episodes such as George’s Last Ride, in which a retired dock worker was wheeled round a derelict Albert Dock lived long in the memory.
It’s a brave writer who attempts to update Boys From The Blackstuff, especially in the city it was set in, but James Graham did an excellent job in bringing Bleasdale’s characters to the screen. Barry Sloane took on the iconic role of Yosser and was superb, while veteran Scouse actor Andrew Schofield captured all the pathos and resigned dignity of George. Graham was smart enough to keep it set in the 80s, while making it still relevant to today’s issues – and there were plenty of nods to the original for anyone old enough to remember it.
Although Boys From The Blackstuff is intrinsically linked with Liverpool, it would be great to see this at somewhere like the National – or even for a new generation of working-class writers like Bleasdale to have a new production commissioned.
Dave Fargnoli’s review of Boys From The Blackstuff for The Stage
I LOVE YOU, NOW WHAT
Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh
Aug 2023 (Edinburgh Fringe show)
The Pleasance Courtyard is usually home to hour-long comedy shows during the Fringe, but if you dig a bit deeper, you can also find some excellent theatre. Sophie Craig is probably best known as a comedian and performer who’s made her name on YouTube and TikTok, but I Love You Now What was a very personal piece about trying to embark on a relationship while in the throes of grief.
It centred around two life-changing events – embarking on a new relationship, and dealing with the death of a parent. And if those two events coincide, the results are not going to pretty. Part rom-com, part memoir on mourning, Craig’s script beautifully balanced the conflicting emotions – it was never sacharrine or miserable, but instead beautifully touching, while managing to remain, at times, laugh out loud funny.
A funny, sad and poignant play that marks Sophie Craig out as a real name to watch.
Maisie McGuffie’s review of I Love You, Now What for The Student Newspaper
GROUNDHOG DAY
Old Vic, London
May – Aug 2023
A few years ago, Tim Minchin was transformed from cult indie comedian to theatrical powerhouse when he turned Roald Dahl’s Matilda into a genuine West End and Broadway phenomenon. In 2016, he then followed up Matilda with a musical version of the Bill Murray comedy classic Groundhog Day – although the London run was well received, its Broadway run was brought to an end after just five months and a planned US tour was cancelled.
So this revival at the show’s original home seven years later was very much welcome – a rare adaptation of a cinematic classic that actually works. There were enough familiar moments for fans of the film to recognise, but the musical was very much a piece on its own. Minchin’s songs were excellent (if not quite as memorable as Matilda’s score), and Andy Karl was an excellent Phil Connors. There were also some lovely inventive touches from director Matthew Warchus, who used miniature effects and video projections to create some memorable scenes.
Not so much a stage remake of Groundhog Day but a companion piece, this was an experience you could have happily repeated over and over again during its run.
Sam Marlowe’s review of Groundhog Day for The Stage
STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY
Summerhall, Edinburgh
AUGUST 2023 (Edinburgh Fringe show)
I always make a point of going to see at least one Paines Plough play in the Summerhall’s Roundabout space every Fringe – firstly, because the Roundabout is such a lovely little venue, bringing the audience right up close to the stage, and secondly because Paines Plough is a guarantee of quality.
Miriam Battye’s two-hander simply followed two people on a date, having met in that most modern of ways: the dating app. Neither protagonist is given a name (referred to simply as Him and Her in the script), and Battye’s script brilliantly shows the tiresome ritual of getting to know a stranger, just on the off chance that they may be ‘the one’.
The back and forth between the couple (played by Letty Thomas and Archie Backhouse) was mesmerising, and the audience are gradually pulled in, wanting to know more about the pair and whether they’ll actually get together. Like a real date, it’s sometimes painful and awkward, and sometimes magical – at times, it felt you were watching a real date evolve, rather than a pair of actors.
Lyn Gardner’s review of Strategic Love Play for The Stage
THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
March 2023
This was Bertolt Brecht but not as you know him. Anthony Lau’s bold and inventive retelling of Brecht’s morality tale was surreal and engaging – this was a set which was designed to look like a soft play area, surrounded by a moat full of black and white balls. Actors dressed as giant rats and frogs suddenly appeared, characters made their entrances on children’s slides, and the was a soundtrack of synth pop.
Brecht purists will have hated it, but Lau really brought this story up to date – it was full of energy (sometimes, it was almost too fast-paced, like a theatrical sugar-rush) but it was inarguably a brave and fun way to bring a classic play to a brand new generation.
My review of The Good Person of Szechwan for The Stage
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