1. Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Bridewell Theatre

This story of friendship and hope took two drag queens and a trans woman from Sydney to Alice Springs, in a big pink bus. Along the way, the met new friends and face rampant homophobia. SEDOS brought every element of the show together beautifully, and to a standard that you would expect to see in the West End. Sold out virtually as soon as it was announced, this was the ‘must see production of the year.

2. La Cage aux Folles, New Wimbledon Theatre

This is was a touring production of a show that demonstrates the importance of family and how much a parent will sacrifice to help their offspring. John Partridge put on the stiletto heels and sequined gowns as Albert/Zaza and delivered a tour de force performance. With wonderful sets, costumes and songs like the iconic “I Am What I Am” this production hit all the right notes.

3. Richard III, Cockpit

The amazing Kim Hardy led the cast in the title role of this first rate production of Shakespeare's play in fine style. With some extremely realistic battle scenes, the entire production brought the story to life in a really fantastic way. Richard is a role that Kim was born to play and has set the standard for anyone that wants to take on the king in the future

4. Henry V, Southwark Cathedral

Another touring production as Antic Disposition visited various cathedrals around the UK this year with their version of this classic Shakespeare play. I caught the production at Southwark Cathedral where, under the watchful eye of the Bard himself. Aside from the highly impressive location, the production itself - set in a World War I field hospital - adds a wonderful poignancy to the show. Rhy Bevan was excellent in the role of Henry and led a superb cast who between them made this a very memorable show.

5. Loot, Park Theatre

Back to the swinging sixties with this production of Joe Orton’s farce set around the funeral of an elderly woman. Whilst most assuredly of its time in some of its attitudes, Loot still works very well at holding various parts of society up to a critical light. The cast, set and costumes all worked perfectly to bring the sixties back to North London and overall this was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long while

6. The Clockwork Orange, Park Theatre

Another trip back to the sixties with this all male production of Anthony Burgess horrific story of a dystopian future that, at times, has too many links to the present to make comfortable viewing. Stripped back in colour and set, the sho is headed up by Jono Davies absolutely smashing the lead role of Alex. An intense production that is not easy to watch but is totally engaging.

7. Lord Dismiss Us, Above the Stag Theatre

Glen Chandler’s play is partially based on genuine experiences at a public school in the sixties and as such is a very well observed study of the English upper classes at a time when the world was about to change. However , instead of focussing on the outside, the play brings us into the school where a violently homophobic new headmaster decides there will be none of that business going on in his school. One of the great elements of the play is that one of the more negative characters from the start of the play turns out ot be the hero of the story. A lovely bit of writing, excellent translated to the stage.

8. Posh, Pleasance Theatre

Probably one of the real surprises of the theatrical year for me. Posh was the story of an elite male dining club from one of our red brick universities on a night out. A fairly normal tory you might think, but in this production, all of the roles were played by women. Retaining their femininity, the actors really brought out the roles well to the point that their gender was totally unimportant. A brave staging choice that worked extremely well.

9, Boys in the Buff - The Musical, Stockwell Playhouse and Boys in the Buff - The Concert, King’s Head

Tackling the subject of body image and how we view ourselves and each other is not an easy thing to do but in these productions - the full one and the cut down version - it is done in a wonderful way. Humour, songs, dance and great writing combined to make the Boys in the Buff shows something well worth seeing. A fine cast, willing to give their all for the show, really entertain and inform and leave everyone feeling just that bit better about themselves.

10. Out There on fried Meat Ridge, White Bear Theatre