10. Memphis
Why it made the top
10:
To be perfectly honest, Memphis
is worth seeing alone for Beverley Knight’s vocal. After an underappreciated pop career, she’s
finally found a new home on the West End stage with a hugely powerful voice of
soulful tones and impressive riffing.
Add in a superb supporting cast, some energetic choreography and a heavy
dose of fun, and it more than makes up for the sometimes lacklustre score and
important, if overdone, narrative of racial integration.
“In short
Beverley Knight is a sensation.”
9. King Charles III
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Why it made the top
10:
Mike Bartlett’s reimagining of our modern day Royal Family
as a Shakespearean history play is an incredibly clever piece of satire. Grand stately drama is juxtaposed with witty
modernisms, whilst the performances are biting without resorting to
impersonation. The play’s ending could
have pushed the boundaries further, but this remains a gripping indication of
the imminent future of our monarchy.
“This is no
dramatic flight of fancy – instead it offers both intelligent comment on the
current state of Britain and a tightly-woven family drama.”
8. The Scottsboro Boys
Why it made the top 10:
Musicals are a frequent platform for issues of racism, but few
are as daring as Kander and Ebb’s ironic minstrel show. Its contrast of dark comedy with social
message is hilarious and provocative in equal measure, the show full of
powerful imagery and storytelling. The
score doesn’t quite match the duo’s best, but the direction, choreography and
performances of this production ensure the show is as entertaining as it is
thought-provoking.
“The Scottsboro Boys may
not be the strongest show in the Kander and Ebb canon, but this production
still packs an emotional punch with its earnest social agenda.”
7. Once
Why it made the top 10:
One simple reason
really – I cried. For a cold hearted
bastard like me, that says a lot. Why so
emotional? Really it’s the show’s sense
of honesty. The characters are
touchingly human, the production is subtle and intimate, and the music impresses
for its yearning melodies, sublime harmonies and authentic onstage performances. Recent cast changes may have altered the tone
of the piece (I haven’t witnessed Ronan Keating myself, though Zrinka Cvitešić
and Declan Bennett were
outstanding at the start of the year), but few shows offer such an
emotional night at the theatre.
“By the end, the
opening notes alone of Falling Slowly were enough to set
me off. I think I’ve found my kryptonite.”
6. In The Heights
Why it made the top 10:
Yes the story of
this Tony Award winning Broadway hit is the usual trite about young love, but the
show’s UK premiere at the start of the summer proved that sometimes plot can be
outweighed by a superb production. Latin
fire pairs with American hip-hop in both the contemporary score and sizzling
choreography and whilst the hugely talented young cast performed with boundless
and infectious energy, they also mastered effortless cool.
“ In The Heights is all of the best ‘s’ words: sassy yet sensual, sweaty,
smouldering and simply superb.”
5. The Book of Mormon
Why it made the top 10:
Mormon has proven to be a phenomenal West End hit and with high
ticket prices and limited availability, it took me until this year to finally
see it. And it was worth the hype. As you’d expect from the creators of South Park, it’s rude, crude and
obscenely hilarious – certainly one of the most extreme shows out there. Yet beneath it all is a slick, polished and
well-constructed musical. The score
cleverly parodies other shows whilst maintaining its own adult charms; the book
is crammed with biting wit in its portrayal of modern religion; and the cartoon
performances are exceptional. There
really is nothing else like it currently running on the West End.
“It is
breathtakingly funny and silly, but it’s got the music, comedic book and
talented cast to back it up.”
4. Matilda The Musical
Why it made the top
10:
Another show that took me until this year to see, Matilda was definitely worth the
wait. Far from a revolting children’s
show, the mischievous humour and gruesome violence is more than “a little bit
naughty”, providing enough entertainment for all the family. Wonderful directorial touches bring the show
to life into the audience, whilst Miss Trunchball is one of the greatest stage
villains of recent years. At its core
though is the heart-warming relationship between the plucky Matilda and the
meek Miss Honey, the source of much of the show’s boundless charm.
“Matilda The Musical is
the very definition of feel-good theatre that will have you grinning from ear
to ear and wishing you never have to grow up…”
3. American Psycho
Why it made the top
10:
Rupert Goold’s production of this new musical, based on the
book by Bret Easton Ellis, received a short run at the turn of the year that
made a lasting impression. By downplaying
the novel’s brutal violence, the narrative took on a more psychological tone in
its dark satire of capitalism and the superficial, hedonistic lifestyle of
1980s Wall Street. Some complained about
Duncan Sheik’s vacuous electronic pop score, but that was somewhat the point. Everything about the show was cold, clinical
and artificial – from the use of autotuned vocals, to the stunning set design
and the vibrant fashion of the costumes.
The flat, awkward performance from Matt Smith in the central role of
Patrick Bateman was a perfect fit in what was one of the year’s sexiest yet
most disturbing shows. A West End
transfer still needs to happen.
“No other musical
since Sweeney
Todd has revelled in psychotic, villainous behaviour quite like
this.”
2. Let The Right One
In
Why it made the top
10:
Let The Right One In brought
some Nordic noir flair to the West End this year, based on the Swedish film of
the same name but reimagined in the dark, snowy highlands of Scotland. At its heart, the story is a simple
coming-of-age tale twisted into a surprisingly tender story of vampires and
bullying that celebrates the outsider. Here,
its painfully sad story unfolded at a glacial pace through sombre atmosphere, beautiful
set design and melancholic music, punctuated by horrifying stage effects. The sympathetic performances only added to
the chilling nature of this unnerving romance.
“Its stunning
production elevates this twisted tale of the outsider into something strangely
and tragically beautiful.”
1. Assassins
Why it made the top
10:
By now you’ve probably noticed my taste for dark, twisted
theatre and 2014 saved the best until last.
And of course it took a Sondheim show to make it happen. His humanising of America’s most notorious
killers is wickedly unhinged, satirising the American Dream in a slightly
convoluted plot that blurs reality with a fictional circus game (“you wanna
shoot a President?”). The cast of
characters are truly psychotic yet curiously sympathetic, singing in a variety
of styles that mock traditional American music.
In Jamie Lloyd’s production (still running at the Menier Chocolate Factory)
the circus setting is grimly realised with monologues delivered from dodgem
cars, an oversized clown head dominating the stage, ‘hit’ and ‘miss’ signs
lighting up after each gunshot, and stunning use of blood red confetti. The cast, too, are exceptional - some hilarious, some mournful, all of them weirdly
engaging. Assassins is a show that revels in darkness and gleefully subverts
our expectations.
“There’s plenty
of humour in this dark satire, yet for all its psychotic performances and
cleverly fantastical directorial touches from Jamie Lloyd, there is a
frightening realism bristling beneath the surface.”
