The below is a list of my favourite theatre plays I’ve attended. It’s so hard to actually trim it down to just 5, so I’ve done and added honourable mentions. I’ve added a few thoughts, but I’ll try adding more about each production later.
Before we continue – these may seem like strange choices – little known productions, or theatres off the beaten track – but that usually has added to why they are so good. Also the themes or stories might have resonated more than others, and the actors might be just right in that role. Basically it can be a perfect convergence of so many things including the weather, mood.. but whatever the case, these are the ones that have stuck with me the most deeply:
#1 – On Bear Ridge – Royal Court, London (01/11/2019) ★★★★★
- ‘This is a play that has stayed with me so much it’s burrowed down into my DNA. It’s post apocalyptical, it’s set in a remote (likely) Welsh valley, it’s about loss, it is deep, and absolutely has not let me go since. I wish I’d managed to see it more than once, but when I was booking it I had no idea, and it was a very limited run.
- A review mentions ” memories are stored in words, and writer Ed Thomas’ characters speak and think in a “majority language” that is not their native tongue.” That really gets to the core of a world that’s changed and is still changing to something they don’t recognise, and no longer have the language to remind themselves of the now distant and unrecognisable past.
- Rhys Ifans was marvellous – even in the cafe before the performance where I said a quick “Shwmae” . Rakie Ayola was all strength and fragility – a revelation, and Jason Hughes brought so much weariness and wariness to the proceedings.
- Creatives
- Writer – Ed Thomas
- Director – Ed Thomas & Vicky Featherstone
- Cast
- Rhys Ifans; Rakie Ayola; Jason Hughes
- Some reviews:
#2 – Hamlet – Harold Pinter Theatre, London (multiple 2017) ★★★★★
- Andrew Scott has cost me so much money over the years – travelling to watch yet another brilliant performance/production – whether London, or New York. (He told me he’s ‘not responsible for my life choices’ when I told him that lol). Of them all, Hamlet with its brilliant direction (Robert Icke) and set (Hildegard Bechtler) and the amazing cast was the perfect combination.
- The 3 hours was so spellbinding, that I even got standing tickets rather than not see it again. The use of screens was done within the play not distracting from the scenes.
- This was also the first time I actually saw Ophelia as an actual person, it was quite revelatory.
- Not sure what else to say, but that play, that summer, the people I met through it, and the whole vibe around the audience was just so magical
- Creatives
- Writer – William Shakespeare
- Director – Robert Icke
- Cast
- Andrew Scott; Angus Wright; Jessica Brown Findlay; Juliet Stevenson
- Some reviews:
#3 – Thrill Me – Hope Theatre / Jermyn Street Theatre, London (multiple 2019/2022) ★★★★★
- I was in London before heading to LA with friends, and had a free night so thought I’d try a new venue for something that sounded interesting. The Hope is basically just a big room above a pub, but wow I was blown away by this play and its brilliant actors. It was so great I was absolutely gutted not to be able to come back the next night. Thankfully I got the chance three years later and it was as fabulous as before. The absolute craft of these actors elevated this production far beyond any venue and their “Offies” awards were very deserved.
- Creatives
- Musical Director – Stephen Dolginoff
- Director – Matthew Parker
- Cast
- Bart Lambert and Jack Reitman
- Some reviews:
#4 – Girl on an Altar – Kiln Theatre, London (multiple 2022) ★★★★★
- “The story focuses on Clytemnestra’s pursuit of justice and revenge against her husband, Agamemnon, for sacrificing their 10-year-old daughter, Iphigenia, to gain favourable winds for the Trojan War.” Another one that I wasn’t sure whether it would work but oh how it did… it was so good that later in the run I took a couple of days off to come down to watch it again before it closed. The cast was excellent and created something really powerful.
- Creatives
- Writer -Marina Carr
- Director – Annabelle Comyn
- Cast
- Eileen Walsh; David Walmsley; Jim Findley
- Some reviews:
#5 – Coriolanus – Donmar Warehouse, London (multiple 2013) ★★★★★
- I love Shakespeare, the Donmar is one of my favourites, and the cast was top tier – which made it definitely worth flying over from Amsterdam, where I was working at the time. The Donmar was the perfect sized setting for this production. The athleticism and energy of the actors made it even more urgent and tragic.
- Creatives
- Writer – William Shakespeare
- Director – Josie Rourke
- Cast
- Tom Hiddleston; Mark Gatiss; Deborah Findlay; Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Hadley Fraser; Alfred Enoch
- Some reviews:
Notable others:
Specific productions I wish I could see again
- Betrayal – Harold Pinter (London) 2019 ★★★★★
- Grief is the Thing with Feathers – Barbican (London) 2019 ★★★★★
- The James Plays (I, II, III) – Festival Theatre (Edinburgh) 2016 ★★★★★
Other excellent productions
- Britannicus – Lyric Hammersmith (London) 2022 ★★★★★
- Cyrano de Bergerac – Harold Pinter (London) 2022 ★★★★★
- The Motive and the Cue – National Theatre (London) 2023 ★★★★★
- Operation Mincemeat – Fortune Theatre (London) 2024 ★★★★
- Present Laughter – The Old Vic (London) 2022 ★★★★
- Vanya – Duke of York Theatre (London) 2024 ★★★★★