![]() ![]() This coming of age drama, inspired by a graphic novel, employed bright and bold video projections to link itself back to its roots. The Diary of a Teenage Girl at Southwark Playhouse Telling the story of three teenagers turning fourteen in very different ways, the three characters never speak to each other directly as they tell their own stories, but the weaving of the tales was masterful. Glenn Waldron’s Natives opened at Southwark Playhouse in March and immediately garnered rave reviews. Full of high energy musical numbers, as well as touching moments combined with fantastic choreography this was a truly glorious love story. Audiences who had already seen it clambered to see the unusual love story all over again, and the pairing of Andy Coxon and Scott Hunter in the lead roles helped make Yank an instant success. Opening at the Hope Mill Theatre, meant Yank had already gained critical acclaim before it opened in London. Yank a WWII Musical at Charing Cross Theatre Incredibly clever writing and beautifully performed by a talented group of actor musicians. One Last Thing (For Now) at The Old Red Lionīased on the concept of letters sent during wartime, One Last Thing For Now, very cleverly structured itself in vignettes, so that as an audience member you were literally ‘waiting’ for the next letter to arrive to find out what happened in the story. A soaring tale of love and loss told with fantastic physical movements. This is the only solo performance to make it on to the list this year, and as well as a beautiful and heart-breaking story, it was the performance of Tom Ross-Williams as Yonni that made Run worth seeing. The staging was truly spectacular and I’m not sure it could have been as staged as effectively anywhere else, the cast were superb and the whole thing just felt so special, evidence, if you didn’t know it already, that there is fantastic theatre happening all over the country. Parade makes it on to our list in the position of Honourable Mention, because it was so ‘off’ West End it was outside of London all together, with an old paper mill in Hertfordshire playing host to this immersive take on the Jason Robert Brown favourite. Honourable Mention – Parade at Frogmore Mill ![]() Here are our Top Ten Off-West End Productions that opened in 2017. The King’s Head Theatre was home to two of the top three productions on this list, it’s future, and move to a new purpose-built home will be one of the most exciting things to happen for fringe theatre lovers in a long time. Theatres, like The Bunker, actively encourage audiences to hang around after the performance, and pub theatres make it easier for audiences to enjoy a social experience. The quality and production values of some of these off-west end productions could easily rival their West End counterparts, but are often so much more affordable and accessible for theatre-goers. Looking back through hundreds of reviews from 2017 reminded me what a fantastic year it was for fringe theatre. ![]()
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