I watched 44 (possibly more) theatre/dance/comedy things this year; these were the best (in chronological order):

Woolf Works, Royal Opera House

I’m not particularly familiar with Virginia Woolf’s works — I’ve read Orlando, but that’s it. But the beauty of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works is that I could enjoy it regardless: the choreography was so perfect that at every moment I knew exactly what was happening. Paired with an absolutely devastating soundtrack from Max Richter (which I’ve listened to on repeat since) and gorgeous set design, this was really unforgettable.

Phaedra, National Theatre

Simon Stone’s good at just about everything, and this was no exception. Everything just felt very real — the overlapping dialogue, the naturalistic set, even the way the cast moved around the space. And it’s a very good story, about a very terrible person.

A Morte do Corvo, Lisbon

Putting together good immersive theatre is hard. Two of the duds I list below are testament to just how badly things can go when the creators miss. Happily, A Morte do Corvo was a hit. The heavily Punchdrunk-inspired Lisbon show grabs you right from the start with a funeral parlour waiting room, setting the mood for the show to come. Once let out, you’re loose in a surprisingly huge set, full of wonderfully detailed sets (complete with hidden areas), terrifying 1:1s, and excellent sound design. The story didn’t quite cohere for me, but the atmosphere more than made up for it.

Romeo and Juliet, Almeida Theatre

I produced an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet at university, which made me pretty sick of the play (seeing something over and over again has a habit of doing that). But this was lovely nonetheless. There was real, tangible chemistry between the leads; the whole thing moved at a breakneck speed towards the horrifying end; and the candle-lit finale was just stunning.

Oklahoma, Wyndham’s Theatre

Patrick Vaill’s performance in this was probably the best I saw this year. It was the highlight of an impeccable production: I’ve not seen Oklahoma before, but my understanding is that this version radically reinterprets it, turning a fun and folksy musical into a genuinely disturbing story about terrible men and terrible America. It had the best use of on-stage camera work and projections I’ve seen outside of van Hove’s work, and that blood-spattered finale will haunt me forever.

Marina Abramovic Institute, Southbank Centre

Was this theatre? I don’t know. But it was excellent. While crowds flocked to Abramovic’s exhibition at the RA, this was a showcase of her legacy — the artists working at her institute who have been inspired by her, now let loose over both the stages and backstage areas of the Southbank Centre. They were uniformly excellent. As you wandered around the building’s corridors, time seemed to move differently — everything was slower, more purposeful, more meditative. And the performances transfixed: whether it was the astonishing physical control of Sandra Johnston, the terrifying policeman patrolling a corridor and smashing his stick against the wall right next to you, or the artist in a metal suit having nails violently thrown at her. Truly unforgettable.

The Burnt City, One Cartridge Place

I went to The Burnt City three times this year, and each time returning to Troy and Mycenae was a delight: three hours of near perfect immersion in a world filled with the most tender, heartbreaking moments you can imagine. Two moments from this year’s visits particularly stand out: the incredible energy of the final show, with the cast swapping roles mid-show and a tangible feeling of celebration and mourning suffusing the characteristically excellent choreography; and the intimate 2:1 I experienced with Hades and Persephone, the perfect culmination to a mesmerising three loops spent with the couple (including a jawdropping experience in a hidden part of the set). While The Burnt City never quite got me the way The Drowned Man did, it was still a magical show. I’m sad it’s over, but very excited to see what Punchdrunk do next.

Ahir Shah: Ends, Soho Theatre

I didn’t see much comedy this year, and I’m sort of glad I didn’t — because nothing would have been able to top this show. A deeply moving and inspiring show about immigration, the South Asian experience in Britain, and historical trends, it somehow still managed to be very funny. Mostly, though, I was impressed that it was a political show which bravely pushed against mainstream leftist opinion about the world getting worse — and did so thoughtfully, leaving me with a renewed sense of optimism for the country and the world.

Bacchanalia, Crypt

Yes, this is the third immersive show on this list. And I think that’s telling! While the continued COVID-recovery has normal theatres increasingly defaulting to fairly bland crowd-pleasers, immersive companies are now leading the charge of interesting and innovative theatre. Bacchanalia is a perfect example: the debut production from Sleepwalk, a new theatre company, it was a small but perfectly assembled show. Led by an almost unbelievably charismatic cast, it took an age-old story and transformed it into something that felt fresh and alive. I’m very glad I saw this, and suspect Sleepwalk will soon be a very big deal.

Infinite Life, National Theatre

Something about Annie Baker’s writing is really special. She manages to make plays where very little happens feel utterly engrossing, mostly thanks to better-than-realistic dialogue and pitch perfect pacing. More than almost any other writer, she manages to get to the heart of what it means to be human, I think, and the thematic swirl that was Infinite Life was a wonderful demonstration of that.

Kind-of-cheating bonus #1: Heresy: 1897, Future Proof

Heresy: 1897 is not quite a theatre show. It’s an escape room, with a theatre component — actors that pop up throughout your experience, steering you in certain directions and shaping your story. And it’s also a choose-your-own-adventure puzzle: unlike a normal escape room, there are branching paths depending on choices you make, such that you won’t experience every puzzle or even every room in a single session. And, if that weren’t enough, the choices you make in this experience carry over to Doors of Divergence’s second show, Madness: 1917. It’s a stunningly ambitious project, and it’s incredible that they pulled it off. With unbelievably high production qualities (the sets felt real!), clever puzzle design and really great acting, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had this year.

Kind-of-cheating bonus #2: Richard III, Schaubühne

It’s a little depressing that in a year where I saw 44 shows, one of the best was a recording of a show from 2015. But, here we are. Thomas Ostermeier’s Richard III was both terrifying and tragic, utterly vile and surprisingly tender. Anchored by Lars Eidinger, it was a show that reminded me of just how good continental European theatre is at its best — and how rarely the Anglophone world manages to produce anything nearly as good.

Honourable mentions, opera and dance: Akhnaten, Creature, Valse a Newton, Resurgam, Free Your Mind

Honourable mentions, theatre: All of It, Patriots, Dear England, Dr Semmelweis, Cabaret, The Effect, Blue Mist, American Ulster, One Night Long Ago

Honourable mentions, other: Derren Brown, Phantom Peak

Middle of the road: Medea, Women Beware The Devil, Peaky Blinders: The Rise, The Motive and the Cue, Penn & Teller, Untitled Wayne McGregor, Return of Benjamin Lay, The Pillowman, A Mirror, Cirque du Soleil: O, King Lear, The House of Bernarda Alba

Dishonourable mentions: Traces of the Wind, The Grim, Untitled Fuck Miss Saigon Play, Rumble in the Jungle Rematch, The Dante Project