So many good shows this 2019, what an amazing journey!
This is our Top 10. Probably it is different from any other one you will find out there, but these are the shows that, for us, said something new, fresh and different, this year.
We can't wait to hear your favourites too.
10
THE HOUSE OF YES
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The House of Yes is a dysfunctional play about a stormy Thanksgiving family reunion: the weird mother (Gill King), the dumb son Antony (Bart Lambert), the other son Marty (Fergus Leathem), and, finally, Jackie-O (Colette Eaton) the mentally troubled daughter, recently released from a psychiatric institution, who hides her sadness beneath the sarcasm. An explosive mix.
Read our review here
9
INALA
Inala means abundance of goodwill in isiZulu. The show was conceived five years ago to mark 20 years of democracy in South Africa to celebrate freedom, democracy and diversity.
Read our review here
8
AT LAST
It’s 2018 and after 10 years of being in power, the UK’s far-right government has fallen. It’s been a decade of struggles, political and social.
‘At Last’ is provocative, emotional, gritty and thought-provoking – the qualities you wish for from every play you ever watch.
Read our review here
7
ONCE ON THIS ISLAND
Once on this Island is, essentially, the loose re-telling of The Little Mermaid. Miles Away from the saccharine Disney world plot, this version by the British Theatre Academy is wonderful and captivating.
Read our review here
6
EXCLUDED
‘Excluded’ manages to keep the fundamental traits of each character as they are in Shakespeare’s works and then they’re all brought together in a modern-day classroom at William High – all teenagers taking their GCSEs.
Read our review here
5
AFTERGLOW
4
HEARTBEAT OF HOME
Heartbeat of Home is a spinoff show of its legendary big brother, Riverdance, that took 300 million people around the world by storm during the interval of 1994 Eurovision Singing Contest in Ireland.
Read our review here
3
LILIES AND SWEETS
Lilies and sweets, directed by Spencer Noll, is most of all a play about friendship, a heartfelt bond between two men of different ages and from complete different backgrounds.
Read our review here
2
NOW AND THEN
Now and Then is a musical, with a country score, that follows the love story of two men over a period of 40 years.
Easily one of the most truthful and touching musicals of the year.
Read our review here
1
& JULIET
& Juliet has arrived to the West End like a storm.
Famous songs, captivating love stories, an energetic cast and, most of all, an important message of universal acceptance come all together like pieces of a perfect puzzle. It may be cheesy, but it is pure, uplifting escapism.
Read our review here