2025 Chatterbox Theatre Awards

 Apparently I saw 42 theatre productions in 2025, although I feel like I still missed loads.  Anyway, this is my pick of the year - totally subjective and I am making the rules to suit me.  I have written about each one of these earlier in the year so have given the links to those  reviews too.

Best New Play

Clarkston:  Considering I know very little about the opening up of the American West, this wasn't really a must see, and I initially booked because Heartstopper's Joe Locke was starring, and I was curious to see him on stage.  But actually, despite the unpromising subject matter, I found the play really interesting, with themes around small towns and lives vs big ideas, economic, historical and cultural forces, and this takes a look at where meaning does and should sit, with dextrous writing which wraps the ideas together so that each line has more than one meaning.

InterAlia:  I loved Prima Facie and this play, by the same writer Suzie Miller, has similar themes, but this time looking at it from the point of view of a mother, also a successful judge, whose son is accused of rape. Rosamund Pike puts on a virtuoso performance in this, bringing out the different personas that any woman will be aware of, and leaping between them with skill.  

The Unbelievers: Another play with a strong female lead, this time in the form of Nicola Walter.  I loved the staging, and all of the performances were spot on.  Covering themes of grief and love, and exploring the different ways that those can be expressed, this was a top notch family drama.

Porn Play:  I was a bit nervous to see this given the amount of content warnings, but it was not as graphic as I had feared, although on one or two occasions it was really difficult to watch.  I found myself wincing and forcing myself to keep watching rather than turning away.  But, behind the sensationalism was a thoughtful use of Milton's Pilgrims Progress to explore misogyny and addiction from a different angle.  At the centre of this was Ambika Mod, who plays the role of Ani, an academic and violent porn addict - she doesn't play this as someone broken, but with intensity and confidence that means that we really have to engage with the discussion.  Sometimes a bit talky and obvious, but the play really did hit the spot.

Kyoto: A retelling of the events of the Kyoto Climate Conference which finally started to get agreement on measures to tackle the climate crisis, despite the best efforts of the fossil fuel industry and no end of competing vested interests.  This could have been really dull, but it was absolutely gripping, even when discussing where a comma should go - an excellent demonstration of what good writing and a thoughtful staging can achieve.  

And the winner is: Kyoto

Best Revival of a Play

Richard II:  With Jonathan Bailey in the titular role, this was a modern dress performance, giving us lots of opportunity to consider what can and should happen when someone tries to take too much power to themselves.  Performances were all outstanding, and although my seat meant I didn't always have the best view, it was a great demonstration of how to make a historic play relevant for current times

The Maids:  One of the great examples of how to integrate screens and modern technology into an old play, this reworking uses mobile phones and social media to overlay additional meaning but also continue to explore the original themes.  It was played at a fast pace, and without an interval, meaning that the audience scarcely had a moment to breathe, as the Maids spiralled through to the messy end. 

All My Sons:  The starry casting could have been the most important thing about this revival of Miller's play about fathers and sons, and American capitalism.  And it is true that without the ensemble performances on the stage, but particularly Bryan Cranston and Pappa Essiedu, this wouldn't have landed nearly as well.  However, the main thing I took from this was that, whilst keeping it in its postwar setting, it still managed to land as a play with a lot to say about today.  The set was simple but effective, in a weird way reminding me of Waiting for Godot, mixed with a Greek tragedy as the family all wait for the return of the son who will never return.  

The winner is: The Maids 

Best duo performances in a play

I thought it was notable how many plays this year were largely, if not completely, performed by just two actors. 

Born with Teeth:  Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel as Christophe Marlowe and William Shakespeare brought this stage alive as Liz Duffy Adams picks up and runs with the idea that they collaborated on at least one play together.   It was a lot of fun, as well as squeezing in a lot of speculation about the sort of relationship the two men may have had, as competitors, collaborators, and two great stars of their age.  This needed chemistry and they had so much of it that it spilled out all over the auditorium.

Clarkston:  This officially has a third performer, Chris's addict mum played by Sophie Melville, but the bulk of the play centres around two young men who meet whilst working at Costco.  We watch their relationship develop as they learn about each other and the economic and cultural forces that sit under that particular place and time.   The emotional weight of the play, as well as the illustration of the themes depends on a a believable relationship that grows between Chris (Ruaridh Mollica) and Jake (Joe Locke), and the writing sets it up well, delivered beautifully by the two actors.

The Maids:  Whilst the technology and staging of this play makes it highly original, it still depends on the relationship between the two sisters Claire and Solange, and it is just the two of them who make up the bulk of the time on stage.  The sisters are mercurial and competitive, and drive the themes and emotional weight of the play, and although the technical side may have outshone them a bit, the performances of the two actors Lydia Wilson and Phia Saban really ensured that we stayed engaged through the fast moving plot.

Tambo and Bones:  Another proper two hander, this has a brutal look at racism, this play has two friends who rely on each other as they try to make their way through a discriminatory world, which sometimes means that they need to compete too.   This play depends on us being sympathetic to their plight whilst understanding that we have caused it, so that by the end we can feel both betrayed and empathetic when we find the tables have been turned. 

Fifth Step: Just two performers, Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden in this play about addicts navigating the 12 steps to sobriety.  This can turn in an instant from being laugh out loud funny to being suddenly dead serious, or vice versa, and I would say that is down to both the excellent writing and the performances in equal measure.  Prowling around each other, then kicking back, this felt real.  This has been on at cinemas lately and is well worth a watch.

End:  A play that depends on the relationship between the two characters, and so it was essential that Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves could create a sense that this couple had been together for decades.  The jokes and silences were both well written and delivered, and I thought they were very believable, through the banter, long silences and the even the sex scene which still managed to say so much as they dealt with what was undoubtedly going to be the end of the partnership.   

The winner is Born with Teeth

Best Drama

Deaf Republic - A drama about what happens when dictatorship and war arrives in your town, but also about living in a world that doesn't let you properly participate, and what you can do to stand against repression,  I really enjoyed this.  Based around a poem written by a Ukranian poet, giving the progression of the war against the town an extra edge.  Violent, but thoughtful, it brought the issue of inclusion and discrimination directly into the theatre, alongside the war and politics 

Juniper Blood - A drama considering what is the right response to the climate crisis, should we be radical or pragmatic, and what will any approach mean for the future of our families and children?   Using a Chekovian set up, this was a family drama that led us all to think about the politics we want and need. 

Kyoto - Using a detailed look at a historical event to bring the issues of today to life, this whole production was carefully put together to ensure that we all felt part of the proceedings, from the delegate badges that we were given at arrival, to the way that some of the audience members were seated at the table as the conference proceeded, this one sat with me for a long while, thinking about the ambition and opportunities lost

Rhinoceros - A fun but thought provoking play which, whilst it was written in the Cold War, still works well today, considering the way that the town gradually becomes overtaken, and any individuals eventually find themselves brought into the fold.  It is also one of those plays which examines how theatre works, particularly in the use of stage direction and audience participation and I always enjoy looking at the cogs and levers whilst appreciating the end result too, which also hit all the right points for the political themes too

Jobsworth - A one woman play which takes a critical look at the gig economy and the parlous state of the young working nation and how they are exploited by almost everyone they come into contact with.  It's funny as things gradually unravel for Bea, trying to keep herself and her family in the black, but it also has some hard messages, although no answers.  

The winner is: Deaf Republic

Best Actor

Pappa Essidu (All My Sons)

Bryan Cranston (All My Sons)

Jonathan Bailey (Richard II)

Jack Lowden (Fifth Step) 

The winner is: Jack Lowden

Best Actress

Ambika Mod (Porn Play)

Nicola Walker (The Unbelievers)

Rosamund Pike (Inter Alia) 

Minnie Driver (Every Brilliant Thing) 

Libby Rodcliffe (Jobsworth) 

The winner is a tie: Ambika Mod and Nicola Walker

The Chatterbox Special Prize

This year I have chosen to give this special call out to an actor in their first professional stage production.  This actor unexpectedly blew me away when I saw him in the production of Clarkston, so much that he was one of the reasons I went back to see it again.  He has a stillness that draws the eye, but is also able to subtly demonstrate emotions in an economical but highly effective way.   After seeing him the first time I immediately went home to see what other performances I could find, and there is only one film already out there (Sebastian, which was nominated for a Scottish Bafta), but he has already been snapped up by Marvel, so I imagine we won't be seeing him on stage again very soon but I hope and believe he has an interesting career ahead of him.  

The special prize for best newcomer in a play goes to: Ruaridh Mollica