2022 Theatre Roundup

A roundup of all my favourite things I've seen over the past year.

In 2022 I saw 37 shows (I blame the Fringe, which provided nearly half of this). I won't bore you with a review of every single one, so here are my top shows of each category that I could think up.

First, the stats:

10 plays

8 musicals

5 amateur

11 improvised

10 touring productions

13 scripted comedy (plays, stand-up or solo shows)

And now... the winners!

Best Play: Private Lives

You can read my review for Private Lives here. A joyous, energised, hilarious comedy, with a bit of a melancholy undercurrent lent by the older ages of the main cast. Patricia Hodge, Nigel Havers, Natalie Walter, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart and Aicha Kossoko gave pitch-perfect performances.

Best Musical: Come From Away

I saw Come From Away right at the end of the year, but it's somehow managed to top the list! I've been listening to the cast album for the last 18 months, so it makes sense that I loved it. I wasn't prepared for how funny the book scenes would be, and the incredible choreography makes it absolutely spellbinding to watch.

Best Improvised Show: Mischief Movie Night - Doctor Banjo

This was a very tough call but eventually Mischief Movie Night beat the others. Out of the three times I saw it, I'm specifically thinking of the show on the 12th August called Doctor Banjo. It was a medical drama starring (you guessed it) Doctor Banjo, an Associate Physician called Lara, the Chief of Medicine and (in a surprisingly emotional subplot) a hot and a cold tap. It was utterly mad and hilarious but the plot contained some incredible twists and turns, and all resolved impeccably.

Best Amateur Show: Calendar Girls

You can read my review of Calendar Girls here. As you can tell from the review, I was utterly enamoured with the production, which was done to a professional level. Excellent singing, full commitment to their parts and stunning scenery elevated this production to the next level.

Best Touring Show: The Play That Goes Wrong with the original cast

I've slightly cheated the categories to ensure this and Private Lives both get a mention. The original cast joined the UK tour for just two weeks, meaning that the audience was full of fans of Mischief Theatre. The atmosphere was amazing and it only made the laughs bigger in this already hilarious play. A highlight was Chris Bean (Henry Shields) shouting at the audience when he couldn't find his ledger, a section which went on for a full 5 minutes of tear-inducing laughter.

Best Scripted Comedy: Paul Williams - In the Moonlight

Paul Williams is a New Zealand comedian most recently known for playing the Taskmaster's Assistant on the New Zealand version of the British comedy show Taskmaster. There were no references to this in his Fringe show, which instead dealt with Google Maps reviews, the adorable story of his relationship with girlfriend, whimsical songs and his ongoing quest to get a five-star review. He certainly got one from me.

I've missed out so many brilliant shows but writing this has really made me realise how lucky I've been to be able to see this amount of stagey excellence in one year. I wonder how many there'll be in 2023...