Gary Naylor - Page 16

Gary Naylor finds some magnificent productions in a difficult year for theatre

Even those as lucky as regular reviewers do not take theatres' unique pleasures for granted - here are a few of our favourite things

A collage of scenes set largely in Latin America examine when, or if, individuals can find a place in fracturing communities.

It's good to hear collective laughter again in a theatre, but the dated characters grate rather than charm, and fewer jokes land in 2020s than in the 1970s.

Though flawed by too much dialogue, West Side Story will thrill young and old with its set pieces and soaring score

James Graham's new play bristles with wit, recreating Gore Vidal and William F Buckley's TV debates of 1968 - and a whole lot more

Fine theatrical effects, but thus adaptation of Lyra Belacqua's first year of life never escapes the confines imposed by the origin story genre's structure

A lesson not just in history, but in theatre, from an ensemble and creative team in complete command of complex, riveting material

A madcap, spoofing comedy briiming with energy and chest hair

A new play with music tells the story of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two cross-dressing pirates, through song and rhyme

Ferocious and funny, Ireland's play has lost none of its power, and gained even more relevance, ten years on from its Omagh debut

A beautiful production that does not intend to break new ground - and is all the better for it.

Some curious directorial choices fail to blunt the force of Wagner's musical donner und blitzen as the gods bicker and bully and the mortals bleed

Shakespeare in Italy's debut production clarifies and amplifies the wonderful, if problematic, play

Lin-Manuel Miranda brings Jonathan Larson (winningly played by Andrew Garfield) to the screen as he tries to get his first musical produced against the backdrop of New York's AIDS pandemic

Gentle rom-com that breaks no new ground but is easy on the eye and ear and has its fair share of laughs and 'ahhsss'.

The classic play has all the set-pieces and much imitated dialogue in a revival that also underlines the persistence of the anxieties and neuroses it exposes.

Super songs from Jack Terroni rescue a play with music in which dramatic potential takes a back seat to didactic proselytising

Sydney seen through the eyes of a fracturing family over 40 years introduces many of the issues faced by post-industrial cities, but this play doesn't really explore them in any depth.

The Northern Comedy Theatre's madcap mash-up hits more than it misses with laughs broad and subtle.