2022 Year in Review: Cindy Marcolina's Best of 2022

After two years of absolute doom and uncertainty, 2022 began with a sprinkle of glimmer on the horizon. Masked-up and cautious, we came back to theatres properly.

Admittedly and unfortunately, I found the return underwhelming and gave very few glowing 5-star reviews. I still loved a good number of productions, but it's a far cry from struggling to whittle it down to a Top 10. Nonetheless, it was an exciting year.

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Hamlet at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is definitely in my top three, with George Fouracres plucking his character straight from my brain in a refreshing and positively millennial slant on Shakespeare's moody prince.

Next up in my favourites of 2022, The Band's Visit at the Donmar. A gorgeous little show about the power of music and the importance of empathy and kindness. It will be difficult to forget Bet Hatikvah.

I'm ending this year strongly believing that in-yer-face theatre might be what eventually saves the industry from itself. After a few hyper-successful runs and a tour, Trainspotting: Live arrived at Riverside Studios and solidified this theory of mine. It was jolting, triggering, and utterly sublime in its execution. We need more shows that breach the distance - metaphorical and physical - between creators and public.

It's not a secret that I've been quite disappointed with The National Theatre lately, but The Crucible was a highlight for me. While not perfect, Lyndsey Turner's revival proves that the story remains frighteningly relevant. Es Devlin's stage design was probably my favourite of the year with its curtains of water. Annabelle Comyn's Girl on an Altar featured another brilliant set lit by Amy Mae. Designer Tom Piper sat Agamemnon and Clytemnestra's marital bed on a volcanic beach or the charred debris of a lost land.

Fringe theatre struggled the most to make a significant comeback, but there have been commendable pieces. I'm still thinking of the political strength of 9 Circles. Bill Cain's intense denunciation of the American military system saw a tour-de-force of a performance by Joshua Collins directed by Guy Masterson. As I said in my review, it was "impossible to be an intellectually passive audience".

Finally, I have to include Lazarus Theare's take on Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Director Ricky Dukes played an esoteric game in it, balancing Jamie O'Neill's ambition between faith and blasphemy. It was a big year for immersive theatre, with grandiose productions popping up left and right, but I was most impressed by one that reframed the Second World War. Party Geek's Hidden Figures: WW2 explored the contributions of queer men, disabled spies, and forgotten women. What a way to learn about history!

All in all, it's been an alright year. I have a feeling 2023 will cement this post-pandemic rebirth and we'll finally be able to say that theatre is back for good.

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