Tezza's Top Ten Shows of 2016
In 2016 I reviewed 180 shows either as a full reviewer or an assessor for the Offies. Most of my reviews are done for London Theatre 1 and Neil of LT1 has asked his reviewers for their top shows of the year. The full rundown can be found here, and includes all Neil's reviewers.
The list below is my own top 10 - and believe me it was very difficult to whittle it down to only 10, which is why there are honourable mentions at the end. You may agree or disagree with my list but, like reviewing itself, its subjective and if everyone liked exactly the same shows all the time, theatre would be exceptionally boring.
So, away we go with my countdown of the top 10 shows of 2016:
Andrew Lloyd Webber proved why he is still the master of musical theatre as he brings the 2003 comedy
film to London. Along with some great songs and a really excellent leading man, the shows boasts some of the most amazing all singing, all dancing, musical instrument playing child actors you will see on the stage.
Above the Stag is renowned as London’s No 1 LGBT+ theatre and Party was a wonderful example of the
work they put on. From the start I had a smile on my face and that stayed right to the end as this group of guys introduced me to the game of ‘Fact or Fantasy’. Although a lot of fun, the play was extremely realistic and covered some fascinating aspects of gay life and culture but without ever going too OTT.
Writing one musical must be hard work but in this show, but writing a show that mimics songs from the best musicals of the last sixty years and then slotting them in to Victor Hugo’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ sounds like an impossible task that would result in a scrambled egg of a show. However, not only do Stephen Lanigan-O’Keeffe and Owain Ros mange to avoid this, but they pull off the feat in fantastic style , producing a show that is definitely worthy of a West-End transfer.
All told, 2016 has not been a great year all round, but from a theatrical point of views, its been pretty dammed awesome and I can't wait to raise the curtain on 2017.
The list below is my own top 10 - and believe me it was very difficult to whittle it down to only 10, which is why there are honourable mentions at the end. You may agree or disagree with my list but, like reviewing itself, its subjective and if everyone liked exactly the same shows all the time, theatre would be exceptionally boring.
So, away we go with my countdown of the top 10 shows of 2016:
No doubt this is the No 1 show of the year for me. J K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, have captured the essence of the Harry potter books and brought them to life in wonderful style with these two fantastic plays. Relying on great story-telling and an amazingly strong cast, HP is a wonderful entry point for youngsters to start experiencing the joys of live theatre and has pretty much made toast of all the other openings this year.
Not a play but a truly fantastic dance piece from the UK’s foremost choreographer, Matthew Bourne. Base on the epic Powell and Pressburger film and using music by movie composer Bernard Herrman, the show is enchanting and holds the audience’s concentration from its great start to the awesome ending.
Andrew Lloyd Webber proved why he is still the master of musical theatre as he brings the 2003 comedy film to London. Along with some great songs and a really excellent leading man, the shows boasts some of the most amazing all singing, all dancing, musical instrument playing child actors you will see on the stage.
In a year when homophobia in sport has really been brought to the front, this one act play about a young closeted rugby player couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment. Matthew Marrs shone playing not only the potential rugby legend James Hall, but also every other character in this intense show that examines attitudes to gay sportsmen, which was performed on one of the most amazing sets I’ve ever seen in a fringe theatre.
My favourite off- west end musical of the year – I even dragged some friends to go and see the show when I went back for a second visit. A cross between the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Barbarella, and is high camp from start to finish. Making great use of every inch pf the King’s Head space and with lots of audience participation, this was a really enjoyable and fun show.
2016 was a terrible year in many respects, including the loss of some extremely important and influential music legends. One of those was David Bowie which made this one man show extremely poignant. However, it makes my top ten because the performance by Alex Walton was so good playing Martin, a young man with some mental health issues as he searched for his father that I really cared about the character and really wanted him to have a happy ending to his tale.
Above the Stag is renowned as London’s No 1 LGBT+ theatre and Party was a wonderful example of the work they put on. From the start I had a smile on my face and that stayed right to the end as this group of guys introduced me to the game of ‘Fact or Fantasy’. Although a lot of fun, the play was extremely realistic and covered some fascinating aspects of gay life and culture but without ever going too OTT.
This very dark and taut drama was amazing both in its timing – coming just after the EU referendum - and in its story and setting. The audience are deep in the action, sat inside a cargo container on packets which could contain anything from herbs like dill or parsley to toys destined to be the playthings of children from a better and freer society. The show is played out in real time and the audience is taken deep inside the world of asylum seekers trying to escape from one country to another where strong relationships can become fragile and your best friend could become your bitterest enemy.
Writing one musical must be hard work but in this show, but writing a show that mimics songs from the best musicals of the last sixty years and then slotting them in to Victor Hugo’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ sounds like an impossible task that would result in a scrambled egg of a show. However, not only do Stephen Lanigan-O’Keeffe and Owain Ros mange to avoid this, but they pull off the feat in fantastic style , producing a show that is definitely worthy of a West-End transfer. 
Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s 1897 play ‘La Ronde’, this show returns to London after a sell-out run in Edinburgh and has already extended its run into next year. Actors Richard De Lisle, Harper James, and Haydn Whiteside take the audience through the ten stories of sexual encounters with a style and panache that makes this show fresh and appealing no matter how often I’ve seen it.
So that’s my top ten. Some honourable mentions that just failed to make the list include: Half a Sixpence, Grey Gardens, I Loved Lucy, Scrooge and the Seven Dwarves and Hello Norma Jean. All great shows in their own right.
All told, 2016 has not been a great year all round, but from a theatrical point of views, its been pretty dammed awesome and I can't wait to raise the curtain on 2017.
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