Theatre Mid-Year Review

I’ve attended 15 shows in 6 months. Which is on pace to be a record year. 2020 was a right off but I did see a solid 12 shows last year (from May onwards). This post will share my rankings & reflections so far.

Rankings

15) Hex National Theatre

Our colourful and big-hearted new musical returns for Christmas. Deep in the wood, a lonely fairy longs for someone to bless. When she is summoned to the palace to help the princess sleep, her dream turns into a nightmare and her blessing becomes a curse. Soon, she is plunged into a frantic, hundred-year quest to somehow make everything right.

I’ve been writing 3 key words for every show along with a score. The intention being this would help me recall thoughts on these shows. Well, this show had “gollum”, “songs” and “suitors”. What I remember is the actual main character was very much like the Lord of the Rings Gollum. Not in a good way, in a kinda annoying way. I think however the songs were decent and I remember the gaggle of suitors to the princess were very much the greatest thing about the show. A bumbling assortment of loveable oddballs. Show was fine, definitely not terrible, but not excellent.

14) The 47th Old Vic

It is 2024 and as America goes to the polls, democracy itself is on the brink. Who takes the White House – and at what cost?

Black comedy. A friend had said that their American friend found the whole experience triggering and had to leave in the interval. I can see why. This is a hardcore Trumpian dystopian show. It is quite Shakespearean in its own way but felt quite shell shocked by the end of it. It was good but sorta unpleasant, which I think is on purpose. The show will not make you happy.

Joint 12) The Human Voice Harold Pinter Theatre

The searing story of a woman’s heartbreak over the course of a final phone call with her former lover.

Ruth Wilson performs this solo. She was good. It’s quite an odd thing to watch. You see only one side of a phone call which is filled with grief. I think it did a great job of showing someone falling apart and also included a great use of a Radiohead song at one point. It wasn’t a happy show.

Joint 12) The Father and the Assassin National Theatre

The story of the man who murdered Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi: lawyer, champion of non-violence, beloved leader. Nathuram Godse: journalist, nationalist – and the man who murdered him. This gripping new play traces Godse’s life over thirty years during India’s fight for independence: from a devout follower of Gandhi, through to his radicalisation and their tragic final encounter in Delhi in 1948.

Enjoy history so watching this was really great to uncover a story I didn’t really know much about. Lets just say it shares some similarities with the 47th in its discussions of right-wing politics. In general it was good, seems like I hated it by saying 12th but that’s more a reflection on the stuff that was pretty good this year. The show featured a snarky patron on my row who felt aggrieved because they didn’t want to stand up to let me get to my seats. Not sure what they wanted me to do, fly to my seat? They score 1/10.

11) Jersey Boys Trafalgar Theatre

They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard… and the radio just couldn’t get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story — a story that has made them an international sensation all over again.

A side hustle of mine is to try to visit as many different theatres in London as I can. I don’t think I’d been to this one despite working in the area for a few years. The theatre was quite nice but not the best of the year (spoiler for review later). Also, this wouldn’t be my usual bag. I bought these tickets partly as a gift to take uncle & aunt but you know what… It has some cracking tunes & I did enjoy myself. The average age of the audience was about 79 but people still got up and moved their hips. I popped on the best of Frankie Valli and enjoyed singing along on my cycle back home straight after the show. Including this banger:

Joint 8) Straight Line Crazy Bridge Theatre

For forty uninterrupted years, Robert Moses was the most powerful man in New York. Though never elected to office, he manipulated those who were through a mix of guile, charm and intimidation. Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives of New York City’s workers, he created new parks, new bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors. But in the 1950s, groups of citizens at grass roots began to organise against his schemes and against the motor car, campaigning for a very different idea of what a city was and for what it should be.

Sat on the front-row for this, amazing seats with Ralph Fiennes in excellent form. The story is about planning, segregation and sorta about hero complexes. It was very interesting. Might be a bit niche for some but they made planning of highways in New York state very engaging.

Joint 8) A Christmas Carol Alexandra Palace Theatre

Mark Gatiss (Dracula, The League of Gentlemen, Doctor Who) stars as Jacob Marley in his own retelling of Dickens’ classic winter ghost story alongside Nicholas Farrell (Chariots of Fire, The Crown, The Iron Lady and 37 Days) as Scrooge. Filled with Dickensian, spine-tingling special effects, prepare to be frightened and delighted in equal measure as you enter the supernatural Victorian world of A Christmas Carol.

The award for best theatre I’ve visited this year goes to Alexandra Palace Theatre. Recently reopened and wonderfully atmospheric for a ghoulish retelling of a Christmas Carol. Mark Gatiss was great. Was the first thing I saw in 2022 (delayed due to COVID from December).

Joint 8) The Collaboration Young Vic

New York, 1984. Fifty-six-year-old Andy Warhol’s star is falling. Jean-Michel Basquiat is the new wonder-kid taking the art world by storm. When Basquiat agrees to collaborate with Warhol on a new exhibition, it soon becomes the talk of the city. As everyone awaits the ‘greatest exhibition in the history of modern art’, the two artists embark on a shared journey, both artistic and deeply personal, that re-draws both their worlds.

Young Vic is a great theatre which often puts on awesome shows. Probably has one of the highest hit rates of the the theatres I have been to. This was also very interesting. Paul Bettany was good but Jeremy Pope was magnetic. In my key words I have “DJ” as they had a DJ playing before the show… which is unusual. Then also “cheese twist”. Oddly myself and friend popped across the road to get a baked treat mid show which was a first.

7) Cirque Du Soleil Royal Albert Hall

LUZIA takes you to an imaginary Mexico, like in a waking dream, where light (“luz” in Spanish) quenches the spirit and rain (“lluvia”) soothes the soul. With a surrealistic series of grand visual surprises and breathtaking acrobatic performances, LUZIA cleverly brings to the stage multiple places, faces and sounds of Mexico taken from both tradition and modernity.

Does this count? Maybe. Well I’d never seen a Cirque Du Soleil show before. Seemed far too middle class but I got some discounted tickets and rocked up. It was actually very good. Strong Mexican theme with some excellent music. I remember a fun cactus consume and the contortionist utterly baffling. Some people had to turn away as his limbs were too flimsy. If you want to escape reality then these shows are great for it. Some hit or miss parts but all utterly lavishly crafted.

6) Come From Away Phoenix Theatre

Come From Away shares the incredible real-life story of the 7,000 air passengers from all over the world who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11, and the small Newfoundland community that invited these ‘come from aways’ into their lives.

This was heartwarming. Very sweet. I’d been hoping to see this for a while and I enjoyed it. Some odd accents thrown in there but nicely staged. Will make you feel happy when you leave the show.

5) Best of Enemies Young Vic

1968 – a year of protest that divided America. As two men fight to become the next President, all eyes are on the battle between two others: the cunningly conservative William F Buckley Jr., and the iconoclastic liberal Gore Vidal. Beliefs are challenged and slurs slung as these political idols feud nightly in a new television format, debating the moral landscape of a shattered nation. Little do they know they’re about to open up a new frontier in American politics, and transform television news forever…

Super interesting and enthralling show that charts how TV changed politics. Packed show and moved at a swift pace. Even James Baldwin showed up among many other figures in history. After the show I ended up watching/reading about the debates and main characters. Was very good. Another Young Vic home run.

Joint 3) Back to the Future Adelphi Theatre

When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history. Now he’s in a race against time to fix the present, escape the past and send himself… back to the future.

This has no right to be as fun as it is. The Flying car scene was done amazingly. Obviously the songs and setting are super fun. There was an odd scenario when the show/set broke down. Was a 10min break as they fixed the stage due to the whole thing shutting down at a pivotal scene towards the end. The only down point was two people eating a big bag of crisps in the theatre. I’m not a fan of crunchy noises while in the theatre. Noiseless food is more than accepted but crisps cross a line I’m not comfortable with.

Joint 3) The Book of Dust Bridge Theatre

Philip Pullman sets The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage twelve years before his epic His Dark Materials trilogy. Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Went with a friend who loves the books which made the show feel more special. Was a thrilling tale, production was great. Well, I say that, there is a baby in the show and it looked like they’d just picked it up from Toys’R’Us about 7mins before the show started. Someone else who saw it after me said it was in fact a real baby on stage but I think that is a huge lie. Surely nobody is using real babies in the theatre?

2) Matilda Cambridge Theatre

Matilda The Musical is the multi-award winning musical from the Royal Shakespeare Company, inspired by the beloved book by the incomparable Roald Dahl.With book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, Matilda The Musical is the story of an extraordinary little girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.

Had high expectations of this. Had wanted to see it for ages. It did not disappoint. Absolutely fab show. The scene where the kid gets flung is amazing. The set design, the alphabet song and the performances are all brilliant. Highly recommended. Assume most have seen it but if not then definitely worth getting a ticket.

1) To Kill a Mockingbird Gieguld Theatre

Set in Maycomb, Alabama in 1934, To Kill a Mockingbird has provided American literature with some of its most indelible characters: lawyer Atticus Finch, the tragically wronged Tom Robinson, Atticus’ daughter Scout, her brother Jem, their housekeeper and caretaker Calpurnia and the reclusive Arthur “Boo” Radley. For the past six decades and for every generation, this story, its characters and portrait of small-town America have helped to, and continue to, inspire conversation and change.

Maybe this is shameful but I’ve never actually read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. I can say the theatre show is brilliant though. Amazing acting and with a script by Aaron Sorkin that probably helps. The set design was good too, they made it feel like a court or a porch with real grace. Definitely worth seeing. Going to be hard to beat.

What is next?

I have 3 that look pretty good in the second half of 2022:

• Oklahoma!
• Les Miserables (another classic I’ve not seen yet!)
• Jerusalem

I doubt I’ll squeeze in 15 shows but let’s see. If I see another 10 then I’ve surpassed my 2018 record :)