Cowbois

Cowbois, Royal Court, 2024. 

Cast: Vinnie Heaven, Sophie Melville, Emma Pallant, Bridgette Amofah, Lemuel Ariel Adou, Alexander Joseph, Philip Kamau, Lucy McCormick, Lee Braithwaite, Paul Hunter, Shaun Dingwall, Michael Elcock, Colm Gormley, Julian Moore-Cook, LJ Parkinson.

Writer: Charlie Josephine

Directors: Charlie Josephine & Seaan Holmes

A rare but fun trip to the Royal Court to see a play with music about queer cowboys - if I remember rightly the men of the town go away and leave the women in charge and they like it. I can't imagine it will be revived anywhere but it's a pity it doesn't exist in some format as it was too good to be so fleeting.

Wreckage

 

Wreckage, Key Theatre, 2024.

Cast: Tom Ratcliffe, Taofique Folarin.

Writer: Tom Ratcliffe

Director: Rikki Beadle-Blair

It's quite unusual for small scale gay stuff to reach the country but the theatre in Peterborough is quite good at finding this kind of thing for their studio theatre. This was about a gay man whose partner is killed in a car crash. I remember liking it a lot.

Nye

 

Nye, Olivier Theatre, 2024.

Cast: Remy Beasley, Matthew Bulgo, Dyfan Dwyfor, Roger Evans, Ross Foley, Jon Furlong, Daniel Hawksford, Bea Holland, Stephanie Jacob, Kezrena James, Tony Jayawardena, Michael Keane, Nicholas Khan, Rebecca Killick, Oliver Llewellyn-Jenkins, Mark Matthews, Rhodri Meilir, Ashley Mejri, Lee Mengo, David Monteith, Mali O'Donnell, Sra Otung, Michael Sheen, Sharon Small.

Writer: Tim Price

Director: Rufus Norris

This is one of those rare pieces of theatre that manages to be both important and entertaining - not an easy combination to pull off. It helps that it had the full force of the National Theatre behind it: big stage, big cast, big set - you couldn't fail to be impressed by itt. And you'd be an idiot to leave and not feel full of love for the NHS.

& Juliet

 

& Juliet, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2024.

Cast: Matt Cardle, Geraldine Sacdalan, Lara Denning, Sandra Marvin, Ranj Singh, Jordan Broatch, Kyle Cox, Jack Danson, Harriet Caplan-Dean, Alexander Kranz, Jade Johnson, Andilé Mabhena, Rachel Moran, Psalms-Nissi Myers-Reid, Liam Morris, Michael Nelson, Toni Paise, Rosie Singha, Aaron Shales, Nia Stephen, Samuel Wilson-Freeman.

Music: Max Martin & friends

Book: David West Read

Director: Luke Sheppard

I saw this in London and loved it so definitely had to see it on tour. It was just as much fun the second time around. I was worried the friend I went with wouldn't love it but they did, as did the many younger people in the audience. It's a lot cleverer than you'd give it credit for considering it uses existing pop songs.

And then there were none

 

And then there were none, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2024.

Cast: Bob Barrett, Joseph Beattie, Oliver Clayton, Jeffery Kissoon, Andrew Lancel, Nicola May-Taylor, Louise McNulty, Katy Stephens, Lucy Tregear, Sophie Walter, Matt Weyland, David Yelland.

Writer: Agatha Christie

Director: Lucy Bailey

I've seen this before, seen TV adaptations, and read the book, but now as I think about it I still have no idea who did it. It's a brilliant book and it works really well on stage.

Closer to Heaven

 

Closer to Heaven, Turbine Theatre, 2024.

Cast: Frances Ruffelle, Glenn Adamson, Connor Carson, Courtney Bowman, Kurt Kansley, Lewis James, Beth Curnock, Jaime Tait, Cian Hughes, David Muscat.

Music & lyrics: Pet Shop Boys

Book: Jonathan Harvey

Director: Simon Hardwick

This is the third revival of this I've seen and I hope it won't be the last. Always a fun show, this worked well in the small theatre under the arches, getting really up close to the cast.

The theatre has since closed, with allegations against the man who ran it and yet I've seen his name appear on stuff since so goodness knows what happened there.

A Chorus Line

 

A Chorus Line, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2024.

Cast: Adam Cooper, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Jocasta Almgill, Yuki Abe, Fin Adams, Lydia Bannister, Bradley Delarosbel, Katrina Dix, Archie Durrant, Imogen Ross Hart, Laura Hills, Joshua Lay, Katie Lee, Josh Kiernan, Mireia Mambo, Kanako Nakano, Manuel Pacific, Ashley-Jordan Packer, Kate Patt, Rachel Jayne Picar, Redmand Rance, Chloe Saunders, Toby Seddon, Joshua Steel, Amy Thornton, Louie Wood.

Book: James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante

Music: Marvin Hamlisch

Lyrics: Edward Kleban

Director: Nikolai Foster

My second viewing of this - the first was at a half empty Palladium - but I remember nothing about it. I'm sure there was tap and it was spectacular.

Witness for the Prosecution

 

Witness for the Prosecution, London County Hall, 2024.

Cast: Karlu Akumas, William Baylis, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Michael Cochrane, Isabel Della-Porta, Kriss Dosanjh, Ben Galvin, Nicky Goldie, Harry Gostelow, Robert Hands, Oxa Hazel, Thomas Judd, James Lavender, Avril Maponga, Alfie Noble, Shivam Pallana, Georgia Rona, Steve Watts.

Writer: Agatha Christie

Director: Lucy Bailey

I don't know why it took me so long to see this (it opened in 2017). It's brilliant! It makes really good use of the space (hard to imagine them ever using it for anything else now, like the theatre that has Cabaret in it). It would have been nice to have a bit more of a nose around the building.

Despite its age it still works really well and is a thrilling piece of theatre. I wonder if Lucy Bailey minds being the woman who now has to put on the Christie plays all the time?