Our roving team of reviewers has had a banner year at the theatre in 2024. Whether in a black box or an packed auditorium, catching touring smash hits or intimate showcases of new and emerging talent, Oxford's reputation as a centre for great drama was on full display. Our culture team have put their heads together to bring you their theatrical highlights of 2024; we can’t wait to see what the new year will put in the limelight!
Come from Away - The New Theatre - April
Sophia: ‘Issue’ musicals run the risk of feeling flippant or emotionally discordant, and an ‘uplifting Canadian 9/11 story’ seems ill-judged at first glance. But not so fast. Come From Away covers the five deeply uncertain days following the attacks through the eyes of the locals of Gander, a small town in Newfoundland, and the travellers who land there after thirty-eight planes are diverted to the island, nearly doubling Gander’s population overnight. Covering a wide range of perspectives with sensitivity and intensity, the musical never condescends to its viewers or demands sentimentality. I’ve never felt prouder to be Canadian - the narrative captures the absolute best of our culture’s emphasis on community and wry, grounded warmth.
Overall, the story quietly and pacily (the show has no intermission, and still seems to breeze by) demonstrates how disparate people can come together in desperate times to provide each other with strength. Oh, and the songs are phenomenal. You’ll laugh, cry and sing along.
Jesus Christ Superstar - The New Theatre - May
Niamh: Mad though I was about having to compliment anything Andrew Lloyd Webber has ever done, sometimes you get a show that truly understands its assignment, and Jesus Christ Superstar was that show. You can’t half-commit to a rock opera about the last days of Christ, and this production leant heavily into the high melodrama and showbiz satire of its premise: Pharisees gyrating in leather harnesses; Herod drowning in gold lamé; Shem Omari James’ Judas holding up hands drenched in silver blood; Ian Mcintosh’s Jesus whipped with glitter. Led by jaw-dropping performances from its leading duo, especially going into the second act, it’s a testament to the twin glamour and horror of public worship.
Fanny - The Watermill Theatre - May
Russ: The Watermill Theatre has been on something of a roll over these last few years, and 2024 was no exception, with the theatre even named joint theatre of the year at this year’s Stage Awards.
I managed two productions at the Watermill this year; a terrific return for their ensemble in the form of a thoroughly enjoyable take on Much Ado About Nothing, and Fanny. Fanny was a fascinating production, a rollicking comedy wrapped around a figure from history that has been underserved. The sister of composer Felix Mendelssohn, it has since been proven that large amounts of his work was composed by Fanny. The play envisions a story of Fanny travelling across Europe in the pursuit of acclaim. It was a brilliant comedy, led by Mischief Comedy’s Charlie Russell. But what made it most impressive was as a celebration of music and the people, both known and unknown, behind this; the production ended each night with the Irish tradition of the Noble Call, where a female musician would come on stage and share a piece of music or poetry.
I can’t wait to see where the Watermill Theatre goes in 2025 and I’m almost certain they’ll have more than a few great evenings of theatre for lucky audiences.
QueerFest - Burton Taylor Studio and Pegasus Theatre - June
Sophia: The first annual Queerfest burst onstage this June, with four days of new queer writing and performance. Co-created by Oxford Playhouse Resident Producer Leah O’Grady and Resident Director Lauren Carter as a way to champion LGBTQ+ voices in Oxford, the theatre festival featured a wide range of genres, from the perverse noir of I, Victor (a sapphic spin on Frankenstein) to the playful courtroom drama of The Invert, which illuminated the obscenity trail of lesbian author Radclyffe Hall with an interactive element, to the gripping realism of Out of Bounds, which looked at the class and cultural differences pulling two lovers in separate directions in the nineties and early millennium. There was also a Scratch Night of works in progress, and a free theatre workshop facilitated by Artistic Director and CEO of Oxford Playhouse, Mike Tweddle, and more. It was thrilling to watch such a range of queer stories come to life, and made a powerful case for the festival’s necessity, and hopefully, its return in 2025.
Twelfth Night - The Oxford Castle and Prison - July
Sophia: Great Shakespeare productions are ten-a-penny in an Oxford summertime, which means it takes something truly special to stand out. Wild Goose Theatre brought just that with their steampunk spin on Twelfth Night. But the fantastically slick costuming was far from the main pleasure of the show - that would be the pitch-perfect cast, whose chemistry made the many gags of the piece side-splittingly funny. From Billy Morton’s pitch-perfect Malvilio, to the gleefully impish quartet of Toby Belch (Richard Readshaw), Andrew Aguecheek (Jordan Bische), Jester Feste (Rosa Collins), and Gentlewoman Maria (Fleur Yerbury-Hodgson), the side characters antics stole the evening. But there was also great delight in watching Hafeja Khanahm, Gretal Kahn and Cyd Cowley give their all to Viola, Olivia and Orsino’s tortured love triangle. Ultimately, this warmhearted and irresistibly charming take made for one of the best nights of my summer.
Heathers - The Oxford Playhouse - October
Niamh: Heathers was undoubtedly the most fun I had in a theatre this year. You’d think a movie about two misanthropic teens staging a string of high-school suicides would be tough to translate into musical theatre, but the stage show ups the saturation and showtunes without compromising on the original’s grimdark sense of humour. In fact, it does a great job of using the showiness of the medium to expose the self-interest and performativity running rampant in Westerberg High, to hilarious results - we were cracking up at the perfectly on-the-nose gospel rendition of ‘I Love My Dead Gay Son’. Touching on sensitive subjects like self harm, eating disorders and family abuse, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart, but if your humour leans more to the dark side, Heathers is the perfect combo of glittery and gruesome.
Gormenghast - The Old Fire Station - October
Niamh: This was a lovely little sleeper hit for the Oxford Theatre Guild, an intimate chamber of Gothic intrigue set in the Old Fire Station’s black box theatre. Jordan Bisché managed to pack the expansive lore of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy into a small but perfectly-formed two hours, which is no mean feat. Having the chance to get really up close and personal with the dubious denizens of Castle Groan helped each character feel richly realised, from power-hungry kitchen lad Steerpike (Mark Fiddaman) to power-allergic heir apparent Titus Groan (Oscar Luckett). Relying only on scaffolding, candles and the cast’s physicality, this was an ambitious and beautifully executed testament to doing more with less.
The Brief Life and Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria - The North Wall - November
Niamh: The Brief Life and Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria feels like a show that will only become more relevant with time. Recounting King Boris’ role in rescuing 50,000 Jewish Bulgarians from occupying Nazi rule, at first the show feels like a more wry, adult take on Horrible Histories, peppered with live musical skits, sight gags and meta-jokes. But as the real enormity of the threat is made clear, so many aspects of this production felt more chillingly relevant; the banal ways fascism can settle itself in your neighbourhood, the lies we tell ourselves to keep our own security at the expense of our neighbours, and the devastating human cost. Scored by beautifully orchestrated renditions of Bulgarian and Jewish folk songs, Boris may be our lead, but he is not a lone hero - indeed, Brief Life’s greatest strength is in showing how the actions of ordinary people can be the greatest catalysts for change.
War Horse - The New Theatre - December
Sophia: When a critically acclaimed show is revived not too long after it disappeared, it always raises the question: is this necessary? War Horse, the National Theatre’s most successful production, the answer is a resounding yes. The jaw-dropping craft that goes into the horse puppets - both in terms of design and movement - deserves to wow audiences in perpetuity, in my opinion. The story is honest, well researched and unflinching in its portrayal of the war, but it also transcends a simple historical recap. It is a tender, soaring epic about coming of age, surviving trauma and the unique bond between people and their pets. Profound and immersive, it’s the kind of theatrical experience that leaves you feeling exhilarated and subtly altered when the lights come up. Catch it while it’s still in town.
Sleeping Beauty - The Oxford Playhouse - December
Russ: Having seen three of the festive productions on in Oxford (as well as War Horse when it was last at the New Theatre) I can safely say that it feels like theatre is back. Each of the shows I’ve seen have been wittily staged and perfect for this time of year, a testament to the breadth of talent in Oxford theatres. But the one that stood out for its invention, in how it uses theatrical conventions, presents its narrative and stages itself, is this year’s Oxford Playhouse panto. The perfect blend of 80s nostalgia and poppy modernity, the craft both on and off stage here is spellbinding. Glorious sets, wonderful costumes and fabulous turns all bend for a cracking two hours of theatre. It’s a panto so you mostly know what to expect, but Sleeping Beauty is packed with surprises and is a true seasonal treat.