2014 In Review: Natalie O'Donoghue's Best And Worst Of Theatre!

2014 might be my busiest year of theatre yet and while the majority has been excellent, there were inevitably some performances that let the side down!

Best:

One of the most exciting things that happened in Scottish theatre this year for me was that Wicked came to both Glasgow King's theatre and the Edinburgh Playhouse. Some touring productions lose a bit of the sparkle compared to the West End runs but thankfully that was not the case here. Emily Tierney might just be my favourite Galinda to date and both Nikki Davis-Jones and Ashleigh Gray have been outstanding Elphabas.

I recently went to see Memphis shortly after it opened in the West End and was absolutely blown away. The show truly deserves the rave reviews it has been getting and I'm looking forward to heading back to see it again sometime in 2015!

The Edinburgh Fringe festival is an undoubtedly huge part of my theatre year and can be counted on for both some of the best and worst performances I'll see. My hands-down favourite this year was Divallusion, the cabaret act brought to us by Christina Bianco and Velma Celli. With so many shows to see and such a busy schedule, it is a huge testiment to how much I loved the show as I returned to see it a second time! As for more serious pieces, I was completely overwhelmed by The Trial Of Jane Fonda, Private Peaceful, Normal/Madness and Mental.

Worst:

I confess that I went into the musical Shang-a-lang at the Stirling Albert Halls out of morbid curiosity after the poor reviews. I felt they had to be a bit uncalled for. Unfortunately not. Offensive in every way imaginable.

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