Chatterbox - still talking nonsense

 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, ...

A younger than average audience was a good start for this new production by Nicholas Hytner and presumably that has something to do with Jonathan Bailey in the titular role bringing in the fans from his recent screen successes (Wicked, Bridgerton, Fellow Travelers).  By the cheers at the end I think everyone enjoyed it a lot.  We had a cheap seat in the front row, sort of behind this production which is (almost) in the round.  Apart from a few occasions when we were peering around chairs or between legs, the view was great though, and on many occasions I would argue better than some of the pricier seats. I’ve seen quite a few productions of this over the years, some funny, some heavy with the drama and politics.  This version strikes an effective middle ground, and is great at pulling clarity from the complicated politics going on throughout this play.  A spare set, modern dress and Succession-esque music set the scene here as a play about both power and fa...