For Black Boys is the best new show

Looking back at this year’s reviews roundups, I see two of the best reviewed shows this year were returns: People Places And Things with Denise Gough and The Lehman Trilogy. They scored a critics’ average rating of 4.6★ as did the best new play of the year For Black Boys. The other big winners were The Open Air Theatre’s Fiddler on The Roof (4.5★), Imelda Staunton in Hello Dolly (4.4★), Til The Stars Come Down (4.4★), and The Cabinet Minister (4.4★).
This year’s turkeys were The Duchess (2.6★) with Jodie Whitaker, Barcelona (2.6★) with Lily Collins, and The Tempest (2.7★) with Sigourney Weaver, the latter being rated Worst Value of the year thanks to the eye-watering prices. The lowest average critics’ rating this year went to Shrek The Musical (1.8★) followed by Eddie Izzard’s Hamlet (2.0★).

The Observer’s Susannah Clapp is my Critic of the Year for combining insight, intelligence and wit. Add to which, she is the queen of the putdown. This is what she said about Barcelona: ‘the range of feeling remains small: from giggle to whimper’, and here’s her description of Sigourney Weaver: ‘not only unsure of her lines but apparently uncertain of what a line is’.

Happy 2025!