Critics' Choice: Louise Penn's 2024 Highlights

As we head towards 2025, it is clear that theatre is still making an uneasy transition through the crises in the sector, but this year has proved there is still an audience for a wide variety of shows.

I tried to ensure I saw productions in both the West End and in smaller venues this year, and I started with the promise of a bold new musical from the creators of SIX, as I attended the launch of Why Am I So Single?

Perhaps this metaphysical, Gen Z, piece set the tone for one strand of shows in 2024. Mean Girls, Cruel Intentions, and more aimed for the younger crowd. The recent success of Heathers suggests that the appetite for shows appealing to this demographic is not slowing down just yet.

I saw four musicals for BWW this year, all with a slightly different focus. The Big Life, at Stratford East, triumphantly returned in a show teaming Shakespeare with ska and the Windrush generation. Lively, vibrant, yet containing a strong message about the plight of migrants, this show could not be any more relevant in 2024.

In a year where Stephen Schwartz's name was on everyone's lips in anticipation of the Wicked film, it was good to become reacquainted with one of his earlier works, Pippin, in its 50th anniversary concert version, semi-staged at Drury Lane. 

A Song of Songs, at Park Theatre, gave a Middle Eastern beat and feel to the Biblical Song of Solomon, adding a traditional love story to its core of fantasy and eroticism. A highly physical piece, this musical by Ofra Daniel captured the soul.

And at the Menier, we were in for a treat as the revue Jerry's Girls celebrated the work of Jerry Herman, anticipating the vibrant revival of Hello, Dolly! over at the London Palladium. In the expert hands of a trio of performers, we enjoyed songs from across Herman's career.

A sextet of plays big and small captured my interest. The titans that are Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller both had work returning to the West End stage with Long Day's Journey Into Night and A View From The Bridge. Both were worthy revivals, with Dominic West particularly impressive as the tragic figure of Eddie Carbone, author of his own misfortune, in the latter.

Miller reappeared as himself in the provocative and problematic Here in America, which explored the McCarthy hearings in 1950s Hollywood and his friendship with film director Elia Kazan. This was staged at Richmond's powerhouse the Orange Tree, an intimate space that allows small-scale work to flourish.  

At the Park Theatre, we were offered a heartwarming and original take by Virginia Gay on Cyrano, offering a sentimental route into the tragic drama. In the studio, Hide and Seek was sharply contemporary, filled with a sense of tension as two classmates find an uneasy friendship below ground.

The Kiln Theatre offered an absolute gem with Peanut Butter and Blueberries, an original, touching and vibrant glimpse into the 'meet cute' of two British Muslims.

I was keen to see several dance and movement shows. At Sadler's Wells, The Picnic was a curious hour of metaphors on birth and companionship, while the children's classic The Velventeen Rabbit was a charming mix of movement, puppets, and nostalgia.

Forced Entertainment celebrated their anniversary with Signal to Noise, a characteristically bizarre piece of verbatim and crazy theatre, while Birmingham Royal Ballet brought their firm favourite La fille mai gardée back to London and London City Ballet returned after a long hiatus with their Resurgence programme.

At the Barbican, Perfect Show for Rachel gave an insight into the creative process of Rachel, a learning disabled director, and the power to make a unique show that changes every night.

I remain enthused and excited about theatre in all its forms.

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