Looking back: London's best theatre shows, 2022

Our Generation, National Theatre ★★★★★

Back in February, verbatim maestro Alecky Blythe returned to the National Theatre with Our Generation: a tour de force spotlighting the experiences of British teens today, whittled down from 656 hours of recorded interviews with 12 young people living across the UK. It was terrific and a triumph.

My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre ★★★★★

Adapting a beloved family film for the stage is a weighty task bearing the potential for disappointment. Fortunately, composer Joe Hisaishi, adaptor Tom Morton-Smith and director Phelim McDermott’s reimagining of Japanese anime My Neighbour Totoro for the RSC got it spot on, bringing the story to life through a flurry of lovable puppets, energetic leads and a grinning awareness of itself as a piece of magical realism.

Patriots, Almeida Theatre [STAR:5]

Peter Morgan’s Patriots is that rare thing: a play of historical and philosophical heft that sparkles like the bubbles in a flute of the best champagne, with fizzing, often very funny, dialogue.

It's good news for those who missed it: following a sell-out, critically acclaimed run at the Almeida Theatre, Patriots is getting a West End transfer in 2023, with Tom Hollander (The Night Manager) reprising his starring role as Berezovsky. Click here to book tickets.

Antigone, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre ★★★★★

Playwright and poet Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles, Three Sisters) not only modernised Sophocles’ great tragedy Antigone, the third of his Theban plays, he turned the 2,000-year-old story into a charged state-of-the-nation drama about contemporary Britain.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Piccadilly Theatre ★★★★★

After many a trial and tribulation to make it onto stage, writer John Logan and director Alex Timbers’ Tony-winning, Broadway-charming Moulin Rouge! The Musical proved ‘spectacular, spectacular’ – and worth the wait.

Prima Facie, Harold Pinter Theatre ★★★★★

Jodie Comer delivered a compelling stage debut in Prima Facie, Australian playwright Suzie Miller’s award-winning play about a criminal justice system stacked against rape victims.

The Seagull, Harold Pinter Theatre ★★★★★

The Jamie Lloyd Company (Cyrano de Bergerac) thrilled us again, this time with a minimally dressed take on Chekhov’s classic The Seagull, which was brought vividly to life by a skilled ensemble including Emilia Clarke and a show-stealing Indira Varma.

Blues for an Alabama Sky, National Theatre ★★★★★

Samira Wiley (Orange Is the New Black) and Giles Terera (Hamilton) delivered stunning performances in Lynette Linton’s mesmeric revival of Pearl Cleage’s 1995 play Blues for an Alabama Sky at the National Theatre.

Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City, Woolwich Works ★★★★★

Pioneering immersive theatre company Punchdrunk returned to London for the first time in eight years with The Burnt City, an eerie, dance-led journey through the fall of Troy. If its storylines were ropey in places, it made up for it in atmosphere and the thrill of choose-your-own-adventure possibility.

Jitney, Old Vic Theatre ★★★★★

Jitney, August Wilson’s 1977-set play about an unlicensed firm of taxi cab drivers, hadn't been seen on the London stage in 20 years. But in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in the US, and the Windrush scandal in the UK – incidents which have led to a moral reckoning and an awakening to the reality of white privilege – Jitney was ripe for a revival, so bravo to the Old Vic, Headlong and Leeds Playhouse, who co-produced a brilliant touring production, directed by Tinuke Craig.

BEST REVIVALS

Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem, Apollo Theatre [STAR:5]

Jez Butterworth’s smash-hit play Jerusalem returned to the stage after 2009’s sell-out five-star premiere and equally lauded West End and Broadaway transfers. Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook reprised their starring roles, and a whole new audience discovered why the show has been dubbed 'the greatest play of the century'.

Iphigenia in Splott, Lyric Hammersmith [STAR:5]

Taking its title from Greek drama, this one-woman play relocates the mythic heroine Iphigenia to the Welsh town of Splott. Effie, as she is known, is on a downward spiral of substance abuse and hangovers. Sophie Melville reprised the starring role, after winning The Stage award for acting excellence.

A HIGHLY COMMENDED ONE TO WATCH

Age is a Feeling, Soho Theatre

Haley McGee's moving, life-affirming and exquisitely written Age is a Feeling got the crowds talking at Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, before promptly selling out at Soho Theatre where it transferred for the autumn. Narrated in the second person, it sees a woman reflect on moments from her long life – moments which the audience chooses from a range of potential scenes. If you missed it last time, book now to catch its return in February.