Box Office Top 10 (or 11)

My favourite theatre 2015.

In 2015 I made 39 trips to the theatre and saw 37 plays, and it seems that this year there were a lot more that I either didn’t enjoy or felt pretty flat about.  

Unlike most reviewers I think that the Cumberbatch Hamlet and the Branagh A Winter’s Tale were two of the biggest disappointments – although to be fair the big named starts (Dame Judi Dench and Benedict Cumberbatch) were both excellent in their roles, shame about the rest of the productions!

• Assassins – I’ve never been so freaked out (in a good way) by a production before!

• Edward Scissorhands (ballet) – this was pure frothy fun and a treat from start to finish.

• Farinelli and the King – Mark Rylance (and the Sam Wanamaker Theatre) made this slight play punch well above its station for me.

• Romeo and Juliet (ballet) – I studied and wrote about this ballet and the chance to see it at the Royal Opera House was the icing on the cake.

• Measure for Measure – a real problem play on reading and studying but this clever production at the Globe ironed them out for me and I really enjoyed this.

• Merchant of Venice – a hard play to pull off in a post-Shoah world but I think this production managed it wonderfully, the ending especially was very moving.

• The Bakkhai - I love Greek drama (2016 sees the return of the Cambridge Greek plays and seeing them in the original language!) and I thought this was a clever way to keep very true to the original while updating slightly.  I didn't have the problem with the Chorus that many did.

• Shakespeare in Love – I wasn’t sure, but Shakespearean adaptations formed a large part of my spring studies and as I prefer theatre to film I treated myself and don’t regret a penny!

• Book of Mormon – I knew nothing about this going in except that it was hugely hyped and quite hard to get seats. It might be short but it is very funny – if you can get over the blasphemy, rude language and scatological humour, which I can!

• Richard II – sneaking in at number 10 is my 3^rd Globe production (4^th if you count Farinelli). It wouldn’t have made it from the viewing early in the run, but it changed so much during the run that it was a different beast by the last night and a play I can’t wait to own on DVD.

An honourable mention has to also go to the Simon and Garfunkel Story which wasn't a play, a concert or a musical in the traditional sense but was a brilliant evening and also introduced me to new songs by the duo - something I was surprised by as I've been a fan for over 30 years.

Here's hoping that 2016 is a good theatrical year, I've already got 13 plays booked for the first 3 months of the year and this is before a lot of the Shakespeare productions get announced. 2016 will be big for the Bard as it marks 400 years since his death, and should also be big for me as I will finish my MA (and have more time for the theatre...!)

Top books 2015

Better late than never but I am always wary of posting this too early and then reading the best book of the year on 31st December (it has happened!)

2015 has been an odd reading year, my diary lists 194 completed books but this doesn’t take into account the dozens of journal articles and chapters I’ve read from academic books as part of my studies.

The balance between male and female authors remained pretty close to as 84 books were by men and 107 by women. However as I said earlier in the year the sex of the author doesn’t bother me as much as the content of the book!

It has felt like I’ve read far more non-fiction than fiction this year too, but again counting through my records this isn’t quite so with 106 works of fiction, 23 plays and 65 non-fiction books making up the balance.

So after all of this pointless number crunching what do I actually recommend…?

Top 10 Fiction books (in no particular order)

• The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain (translated by Jane Aitken) – second book by the author of The President’s Hat, not quite so good as the first but still wonderful, escapist whimsy.

• The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks – a retelling of the Biblical tale of David and his advisor Natan.

• King of Shadows by Susan Cooper – a time-slip story for children set in 1599 in and around the Globe theatre.

• Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickman – another delightfully whimsical story all about a journey allegedly made by Hickman’s parents as they return an alligator to Florida.

• When Marnie Was There by Joan G Robinson – another children’s time-slip tale, this one set in North Norfolk so felt a really cosy read.

• God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson – I liked this one so much more than Life After Life even though it is very similar, hard to categorise but a really rewarding read.

• George’s Grand Tour by Caroline Vermalle (translated by Anna Aitken) – as this book made me cry in public I’m as surprised as anyone that this has ended up on my top 10! I’m a sucker for road trip story and the two main characters stole my heart totally.

• Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow – archaeology, a Greek Island I’ve visited and a World War Two story made this a hit for me.

• The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim – this one was recommended to me by two friends who were shocked they’d found a book I’d not read and they had.  They were right – I loved it but as a word of caution do read this book and not the ‘updated’ Enchanted August.

• The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock – I reviewed this book back in February and even after 10+ months it remains my book of the year.

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Non Fiction:

• Oregon Train by Rinker Buck – a real life Little House on the Prairie

• On the Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson – Bryson back on top form (if slightly potty mouthed) with his latest trip around the UK.

• Latest Reading by Clive James – James looks back at his reading life, sharing old favourites and new finds with his readers.  A poignant and expensive read as I added lots to my wish-lists!

• Blue Stockings by Jane Robinson – after seeing the play Bluestockings in 2013, and thinking a lot about feminism this year I found this book a fascinating insight into those women who broke the mould and went to uni early on to make it absolutely normal by the time I went.

• Fallen Glory – James Crawford – it is a close run thing as to whether this book or The Last Pilot is my best of the year.  I loved Crawford’s take on telling history through the rise and demise of buildings and have been recommending it to all and sundry since finishing it.

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It has been harder to pick out the best of 2015, I don’t know if I’ve become harder to please or if there was less good stuff out there…however as I have recently finished two excellent non-fiction books that are to be published in the middle of 2016 I think it may be shaping up to be a vintage year!