Cabaret

 

Cabaret, Playhouse Theatre, 2023.

Cast: Jake Shears, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, Nathan Ives-Moiba, Beverley Klein, Teddy Kempner, Wilf Scolding, Jessica Kirton, Liv Alexander, Natalie Chua, Laura Delany, Taite-Elliot Drew, Damon Gould, El Haq Latief, Grant Neal, Hicaro Nicolai, Travis Ross, Nic Myers.

Book: Joe Masteroff

Music: John Kander

Lyrics: Fred Ebb

I really should have seen this when it opened with Jessie Buckley and Eddie Redmayne but at the time I thought I'd seen this show enough and didn't need to see another production. Then it turned out to be an absolute sensation and it was just a matter of waiting until a cast change really appealed to me. I couldn't resist the idea of seeing Rebecca and Jake was an added bonus although in the end he wasn't performing the day I went (despite me going through the schedule and double checking). I took a risk and spent £100 on a ticket and it was worth every penny. I stumbled out at the end slightly dazed by it all and then had to go and be sociable with a friend. The staging and performances were both incredible. I'd definitely go back again for the right cast. The sticker on the front of the programme was to go over the camera in your phone so you didn't take any photos. A triumph.

The Motive and the Cue

 

The Motive and the Cue, Lyttelton Theatre, 2023.

Cast: Aaron Anthony, Tom Babbage, Allan Corduner, Janie Dee, Elena Delia, Ryan Ellsworth, Johnny Flynn, Mark Gatiss, Phoebe Horn, Aysha Kala, Tuppence Middleton, Luke Norris, Huw Parmenter, David Ricardo-Pearce, David Tarkenter, Kate Tydman, Laurence Ubong Williams, Michael Walters.

Writer: Jack Thorne

Director: Sam Mendes

Based on a true story of the time when Sir John Gielgud directed Richard Burton in Hamlet on Broadway not longer after Burton married Taylor, who was along for the ride but bored. An extraordinary play which I partly liked because I really like Hamlet and any discussion around that is good. But also because it's about celebrity and different kinds of acting. But mostly because the acting is incredible as is the staging - the ending was so theatrical it moved me to tears. I bought the play text and it was just as good to read it as to see it.

The Mousetrap

 

The Mousetrap, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2023.

Cast: Joelle Dyson, Laurence Pears, Elliot Clay, Gwyneth Strong, Todd Carty, Essie Barrow, Kieran Brown, Joseph Reed.

Writer: Agatha Christie

Directors: Ian Talbot & Denise Silvey

I definitely saw the 60th anniversary production but still feel like I've seen another one as well. Perhaps I'll never know. I wonder how many times I'd have to see it before I remember who did it? I remember liking this a lot, finding it a little less wooden and old-fashioned than it might have been.

Standing at the Sky's Edge

 

Standing at the Sky's Edge, Olivier Theatre, 2023.

Cast: Darragh Cowley, Ahmed Hamad, Severine Howell-Mari, Samuel Jordan, Bobbie Little, Robert Lonsdale, David McKechnie, Maimuna Memon, Rachael Louise Miller, Baker Mukasa, Alastair Natkiel, Faith Omole, Adam Price, Consuela Rolle, Nicola Sloane, Jake Small, Deborah Tracey, Rachael Wooding, Alex Young, Amira Anderson/Hallie Barthra/Neriah Boakye, William Barker/Luke Beggs/Harry Weston, Gloria Akinfe, Isabel Barbuk, Margot Edwards, Any Hawthorne, Zsara Jaeger, Rian Perle, Scott Westoby, Akil Young.

Music & lyrics: Richard Hawley

Book: Chris Bush

Director: Robert Hastie

The transfer that took a long while coming because of the pandemic, but when it arrived it felt unchanged from the original production (which was perfect) and was a complete joy all over again. I'm still a bit cross with myself that I didn't go and see the West End transfer, but I was hoping for cheap tickets and it was so popular that there weren't any.

Brokeback Mountain

 

Brokeback Mountain, @sohoplace, 2023.

Cast: Mike Faist, Lucas Hedges, Eddi Reader, Emily Fairn, Paul Hickey, Martin Marquez, Sophie Read.

Writer: Ashley Robinson 

Songs: Dan Gillespie Sells

Director: Jonathan Butterell

I had high hopes for this for several reasons: it was based on a film I loved so much I saw it four times when it was released; Dan Gillespie Sells was responsible for Everybody's Talking about Jamie, which is surely my favourite musical of recent years; and a brand new theatre right in the centre of London (silly name though).

The fact that it took me a minute to remember it was a musical suggests that part of the production wasn't a success. And perhaps it's too late to do this - I think people have started to feel different about the film, a "gay" story told entirely by straight people is a bit tricky now. The theatre was nice though, although typically I haven't found an excuse to go back.

The Third Bag

 

This covers 2023 and although it's wedged quite tightly with stuff I don't think there's as much in there as I'd expected. I hadn't gone out less, but the theatre in Norwich made it more difficult to buy programmes so quite often I didn't bother, thereby not knowing who I'd seen until I got home and could look it up online.

Brief Encounter

 

Brief Encounter, Theater by the Lake, 2022.

Cast: Anne-Marie Piazza, Pete Ashmore, Robert Jackson, Natasha Lewis, Lara Lewis, Joey Hickman, Rishi Manuel.

Adapted by Emma Rice

Director: Paul Robinson

I saw this in London years ago and loved it. This was in a beautiful theatre in the middle of a lovely week's holiday. The cast were excellent and one of them came and talked to us in character before it started and gave us a scone, and then we got a nod later. It's brilliantly written and incredibly lovely, a treat.