Spotlight on: The Best Productions of 2017

2017 has given me a grand total of 61 performances to mull over to find the best of the best theatre and shows of the last year. Shows have included: RENT, Frankenstein, Chinese New Year extravaganza, Bianca Del Rio’s Not Today Satan, The Commitments, Dreamgirls, Blue Stockings, Wonderland, The Butcher, Rachel Tucker: Live at Zedèl, Narvik, Running Wild, La Strada, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, Sorry! No Coloureds, No Irish, No Dogs, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Evita, La Cage Aux Folles, Elephant and Castle, Something Terrible Might Happen, Rachel Tucker’s On the Road Tour, Golem, Gypsy, Unspoken, Romeo and Juliet, Barber Shop Chronicles, Flood, Circus Abyssinia’s Ethiopian Dreams, Doomed Resistance, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Half A Sixpence, The Wind in the Willows, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Kinky Boots, Sophie, Splinter, Filth, M.I.M.E.S, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Queen of Chapeltown, You’ve Changed, WOKE, Two Man Show, The Weir, Avenue Q, The Fall of the Master Builder, The Hunting of the Snark, Finding Joy, Greg Davies: You Magnificent Beast, Medusa, The Tin Drum, Things I Know to be True, Seaside Terror, Pink Sari Revolution, The Busy World is Hushed, War Horse, Flashdance, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Follies…

Reviews for all of those can be found on the blog, so get caught up if you missed any along the way! Perhaps one day I’ll be in a position to send out cute little trophies, but for now, productions have pride of place in a list! So without further ado, here are my top picks of theatre and shows of 2017…

Best comedy
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour

Best Drama
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Musical
RENT

Best Hybrid
La Strada

Best Kids’ Show
The Wind in the Willows

Best Alternative Production
Golem

Best One Hander
Filth

Best Shakespeare Production
Romeo and Juliet

Best Puppetry/ Mask Production

This is a tough category for me, because it’s by far my favourite. I’ve seen some fantastic puppetry this year in War Horse, Seaside Terror and some brilliant fill mask theatre in Finding Joy, But there can be only one production taking the title…and that production is:
War Horse