Top 10 Theatre 2023
Last cultural list of the year. And probably the one closest to my heart- theatre. A caveat – when I say “Top 10”, this is my favourite 10. However, I don’t rank them, as how can I compare a big budget London show like My Neighbour Totoro with a 1h fringe production? Also making theatre in the UK is bloody hard and seriously underfunded. If you made art at all, then well done to you.
Another note. I live in the North of England. I was privileged enough to see some London theatre. I do love London theatre, and have seen some amazing things there. BUT Northern theatre is massively ignored in the wider sector, and should be featured more on lists.
Which is why I’ve tried to have a balance of London / things I saw in not- London. (Though I appreciate the lines get blurred in that I saw Standing at the Sky’s edge at The National, but that originated in Sheffield. Also, I saw Faun at Alphabetti, but that was a co-pro with Alphabetti / Cardboard Citizens / Theatre 503).
This is basically my round about way of explaining why the Paul Mescal Streetcar just misses this list. Which I acknowledge I was bloody lucky to see.
Anyway. Here’s 10 shows I liked, in no particular order.
Clementine, Rosalie Minnitt. Underbelly, Cowgate.
God I loved this. I saw it at the Fringe and if I’d been in London during its subsequent run at SOHO theatre, I would have gone again. Clementine is the creation of artist Rosalie Minnitt, and is described as: “When her latest beau goes missing, Clementine embarks on a hilariously unhinged quest to solve the mystery of her ill fortune. But with neither sense nor sensibility, will our romantic heroine find love in time? Set roughly “in the past”, this is a story about sickly sisters, self-love and Sylvanian Families.”
I’m not going to lie, I booked purely on the fact that I saw on Twitter that there would be Sylvanian Family stickers. I had the best time and am praying for another run.
Faun, Vinnie Heaven. Alphabetti/Cardboard Citizens / Theatre 503
Faun is the story of 22 year old Ace, who is homeless and has to rely on friends letting them stay. At the start of the play, Ace has just secured sofa number 13. Things get tricky however, when they start turning into a Faun… This play is probably one of my favourite ever things I’ve seen at Alphabetti. Aitch Wylie gave such an engaging performance as Ace, really making us understand just how unfair their circumstances were. Faun takes into a world of magical realism, without making us lose sight of just how precarious homelessness is. A great night out.
Good, CP Taylor. NT Live (originally Harold Pinter Theatre)
In December, I wrote about David Tennant performances this year, where I featured this play and why I liked it.
Groundhog Day, Tim Minchin/Danny Rubin. Old Vic Theatre.
I do get sick of the trend to turn nearly every film into a musical (eg Heathers, The Devil Wears Prada, Pretty Woman, Cruel Intentions, to name a few). But every so often comes a show that transcends the material it came from and becomes its own thing.
Groundhog Day the musical is exactly that. I’m one of those people that missed it first time around and grew to love it through the cast album. Tim Minchin and Danny Rubin have written a cracking show, and Andy Karl as Phil Connors, gives one of those performances that was an absolute privilege to have seen. If I lived in London, I would have gone multiple times if I could. Karl has gone with the show to Australia. An absolute 5 star gem of a show.
Kidnapped, Isobel McArthur. Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.
I am a huge, huge, fan of Isobel McArthur.
She had a massive hit with Pride & Prejudice (*sort of), which began in Glasgow, toured regionally, and then to London, where it opened against all odds, in those shaky days in 2021 when things were opening up again. I actually saw P&P sort of for a 3rd time when it came to Newcastle in January with a new cast. I saw Kidnapped in Edinburgh in April and then again when it came to Newcastle, and I saw her show The Grand Old Opera House Hotel at the Edinburgh fringe.
What I love about McArthur’s work is the use of music (P&P had Austen’s characters sing karaoke, Kidnapped had the actors play music and sing to an 80’s soundtrack, GOOHH sing modern lyrics to opera music), her ability to present a classic story through a modern lens without losing the spirit of the original, and that her plays are so flipping funny. McArthur’s latest adaptation, The Fair Maiden of the west, has been playing at The RSC in Stratford over Christmas. I love love loved Kidnapped, and can’t wait to see what she does next.
Modest, Ellen Brammar/Milk Presents/ Middle Child. Northern Stage (on tour).
Middle Child are an amazing company based in Hull, and I’m so happy that in 2023, I finally got to see one of their shows. Modest was a show about the artist Elizabeth Thompson, who was a hit of the Victorian art scene. Famous for her painting Roll Call, she was just two votes short of being the first woman to be voted into the Royal Academy. What Modest does, is to tell her story through a Queer lens, using actor-musicians, music hall, and drag king cabaret. I was a huge fan of the very talented cast, Elizabeth’s story, and the sheer energy of this show. Beautiful.
My neighbour Totoro, Tom Morton-Smith/Royal Shakespeare Company/Barbican
I first fell in love with Studio Ghibli by complete accident. Many many years ago, I was at a surprise screening at either the Glasgow or Edinburgh film festival. It was as it sounds – buy a ticket for a film but you don’t know what it is. It turned out to be Spirited Away. A few people walked out “because it was just a cartoon”. We stayed and I was riveted.
I’ve caught up with a huge part of the Ghibli cannon since, and My Neighbour Totoro with its cat bus, the music, and the mystical giant being that is Totoro, has made it a big favourite of mine. I wasn’t sure exactly how they were going to replicate that on stage, but boy did they pull it off. There are no photos out there of Totoro because they want to keep that reveal a secret (there was a charming sign up in the theatre from Totoro asking his “friends” not to ruin the surprise), and rightly so. The puppetry in this show is amazing. As was the cast – Mei Mac and Ami Okumura Jones give such convincing performances as the wee girls, Mei and Satsuki, I still find it hard to believe they are played by fully grown adults. The show is currently showing again at the Barbican until March. If you have the means in which to do so, do see.
Sleepova, Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini. Bush Theatre.
Sleepova is the story of Join Rey, Elle, Shan and Funmi, and the sleepovers they have. They gossip, they eat junk food, they talk about their crushes, they argue, and they have each other’s backs. The play also explores Shan’s (Aliyah Odoffin) sickle-cell disease, Elle’s (Shayde Sinclair) Christianity, Rey’s (Amber Grappy) relationship with her stepmother, and Funmi’s (Bukky Bakray) Nigerian heritage. I absolutely adored these girls and wanted to live in their world with them. You can buy the playtext here.
Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote, Tim Benzie. Tyne Theatre. (Touring)
Easily one of the best nights I had at the theatre this year, I previously wrote about this show here.
Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Chris Bush/Richard Hawley. National Theatre/Sheffield Theatres.
Absolute barnstormer of a show. I previously wrote about it here. It comes to the West End from February.
And that’s it! Thanks so much for reading, all the best for 2024! Xx