Greetings again, gentle reader, to the glamorous showbiz highlight of the year, the announcement of the annual Chrisparkle Awards for 2025. Slightly fewer shows seen this year – 230, twenty-four down on last year’s 254 productions; I hope that’s not a sign that I’m slowing down! Eligibility for the awards means a) they were performed in the UK and b) I have to have seen the shows and reviewed them in the period 5th January 2025 to 4th January 2026. Are you all sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin!
The first award is for Best Dance Production (Contemporary and Classical)
This includes dance seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, which is just as well, as I only saw two dance productions this year, and they are:
In 2nd place, Matthew Bourne’s charming but undemanding The Midnight Bell, at the Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, in July.
In 1st place, Saeed Hani’s challenging and emotional Inlet, performed by Hani Dance at Dance Base, Edinburgh, in August.
Classical Music Concert of the Year.
Again we only saw two classical concerts this year, both by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton. The award for the best goes to their Valentine’s Day Gala in February.
Best Entertainment Show of the Year.
This means anything that doesn’t fall into any other categories – for example pantos, circuses, revues and anything else hard to classify. Here are the top three:
In 3rd place, our local pantomime, The All New Adventures of Peter Pan at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, in December.
In 2nd place, the spectacular extravaganza that is Sleeping Beauty at the London Palladium in December.
In 1st place, the home of great panto, Aladdin at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, in January 2026.
Best Star Standup of the Year.
Only four eligible shows this year, so here are the top three performances by Star Standups in 2025:
In 3rd place, Eshaan Akbar in his I Can’t Get No Satisfakshaan show at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in February.
In 2nd place, Kae Kurd in his What’s O’Kurd show at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in October.
In 1st place, Dara O’Briain in his Re: Creation show at the Corn Exchange, Bedford in April.
Best Comedy Crate/Screaming Blue Murder Standup of the Year
It just so happens that all the top five were from Comedy Crate shows!
In 5th place, Jordan Gray (at the Charles Bradlaugh in February)
In 4th place, Charlie Baker (Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)
In 3rd place, Hal Cruttenden (at the Charles Bradlaugh in January and at the Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)
In 2nd place, Mike Rice (at the Charles Bradlaugh in May)
In 1st place, Thor Stenhaug (Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)
Best Musical
I only saw nine musicals this year, and here’s the top five:
In 5th place, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in May.
In 4th place, The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.
In 3rd place, the post-West End touring production of Dear Evan Hansen at Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, in January.
In 2nd place, a curiosity-driven revisit to see Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.
In 1st place, Evita, at the London Palladium, in July.
Best New Play
Just to clarify, this is my definition of a new play, which is something that’s new to me and to most of its audience – so it might have been around before but on its first UK tour, or a new adaptation of a work originally in another format. We saw seventeen new plays this year, and I awarded five stars to five of them; it therefore follows that they are the top five!
In 5th place, Mischief Theatre’s The Comedy About Spies, at the Noel Coward Theatre, London, in May.
In 4th place, Tom Wells’ adaptation for the RSC of Roald Dahl’s The BFG, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.
In 3rd place, Karim Khan’s inventive and insightful Before the Millennium, at the Old Fire Station, Oxford, in December.
In 2nd place, James Ijames’ delightful reworking of Hamlet, Fat Ham for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in August.
In 1st place, James Graham’s outstanding Punch at the Young Vic, London, in April.
Best Revival of a Play
I saw twenty-four revivals, with six receiving five stars from me; here are the top five:
In 5th place, the RSC’s two-part production of Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga, adapted by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.
In 4th place, the RSC’s brave and thrilling production of Marlowe’s Edward II, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in March.
In 3rd place, Ivo van Hove’s riveting production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, in December.
In 2nd place, the RSC’s superbly imaginative production of Hamlet, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in February.
In 1st place, James Graham’s extraordinary exploration of England – both the team and the country – in Dear England, for the National Theatre at the Olivier Theatre, London, in April.
As always, in the post-Christmas season, it’s time to consider the turkey of the year – and it’s a toss-up between the six productions to whom I only gave two stars; but the one I feel failed to deliver when it had the most potential to succeed was Unicorn at the Garrick Theatre, London, in March.
Now we come on to our four categories specifically for the Edinburgh Fringe. The first is:
Best play or musical – Edinburgh
We saw 106 productions of plays and musicals in Edinburgh this year, 18 of them got 5* from me, and here are the top 5:
In 5th place, Louisa Marshall’s savage and innovative exploration of weaponised incompetence, Clean Slate (Summerhall)
In 4th place, Dylan Kaueper and Will Grice’s wickedly inventive examination of childhood friendship, Cody and Beau (The Space on the Mile)
In 3rd place, Tony Norman’s beautiful musical about the Van Gogh brothers, Vagabond Skies (Gilded Balloon at the Museum)
In 2nd place, Priyanka Shetty’s shattering reconstruction of the rise of the Alt Right, #CHARLOTTESVILLE (Pleasance Courtyard)
In 1st place, creating satire where you might think it’s beyond satire, Miss Brexit (Underbelly Bristo Square)
Best Individual Performance in a Play or Musical – Edinburgh
As always, an impossible choice, and it’s as close as close can be. Nevertheless, here are the top five (and yes I am cheating for 5th place):
In 5th place, Dylan Kaueper and Will Grice for Cody and Beau (The Space on the Mile)
In 4th place, Priyanka Shetty for #CHARLOTTESVILLE (Pleasance Courtyard)
In 3rd place, Louisa Marshall for Clean Slate (Summerhall)
In 2nd place, Quaz Degraft for In The Black (The Space at Surgeons’ Hall)
In 1st place, Christoffer Hvidberg Ronje for The Insider (Pleasance Dome)
Best Comedy Performance – Edinburgh
We saw forty-one comedy shows this year, of which eight received 5* from me, and here are my top five:
In 5th place, Matt Forde: Defying Calamity (Pleasance Courtyard)
In 4th place, Sam Lake: You’re Joking, Not Another One! (Monkey Barrel at the Tron)
In 3rd place, Robin Grainger: People Pleaser (The Stand Comedy Club 4)
In 2nd place, Tom Stade: Naughty by Nature (The Stand Comedy Club 1)
In 1st place, Casey Filips as the impossible Tobias Finlay-Fraser in Virtuoso (Assembly George Square)
Best of the rest – Edinburgh
From a shortlist of seven, here are my top five:
In 5th place, mixing a real live date with comedy improvisation, Looking for Laughs (Gilded Balloon Patter House)
In 4th place, the irrepressible Accordion Ryan with his Pop Bangers (Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower)
In 3rd place, Broadway’s Laura Benanti in Nobody Cares (Underbelly Bristo Square)
In 2nd place, Chase Brantley’s truly hilarious Don Toberman: Ping Pong Champ (Pleasance Courtyard)
In 1st place, a star is born: Arthur Hull’s FLOP: The Best Songs from the Worst Musicals Ever Written (Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower)
Three shows received a dreaded One Star review from me: and for me the Edinburgh turkey of the year was The Fiascoholics’ 4’s a Crowd, which contained just too much of everything it didn’t need.
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Musical
Time to get personal. Here’s the top five:
In 5th place, Alice Fearn as Heidi in Dear Evan Hansen at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in January.
In 4th place, Lucie Jones as Fantine in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.
In 3rd place, Sharon Rose as Garage Girl and Kate in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in May.
In 2nd place, Frances Mayli McCann as Daisy in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.
In 1st place, Rachel Zegler as Evita in Evita at the London Palladium in July.
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Musical
Here’s the top five:
In 5th place, Corbin Bleu as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.
In 4th place, Luke Kempner as Thenardier in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.
In 3rd place, Ian McIntosh as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.
In 2nd place, Diego Andres Rodriguez as Che in Evita at the London Palladium, in July.
In 1st place, Jamie Muscato as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Play
Nineteen in the longlist, and ten in the shortlist, and here’s the top five:
In 5th place, Freema Ageyman as Beatrice in the RSC’s Much Ado About Nothing, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in April.
In 4th place, Gina McKee as Annie in The Years, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, in April.
In 3rd place, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Kate in All My Sons, at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, in December.
In 2nd place, Beverley Knight as Rosetta in Marie and Rosetta, at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in July.
In 1st place, Tuppence Middleton as Annie in The Years, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, in April.
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Play
Twenty-three in the longlist and nine in the shortlist, each of whom could easily deserve the award, However, here is the top five:
In 5th place, Daniel Evans as Edward II in the RSC’s Edward II, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in March.
In 4th place, Jonathan Bailey as Richard II in Richard II, at the Bridge Theatre, London, in February.
In 3rd place, Olise Odele as Juicy in the RSC’s Fat Ham, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in August.
In 2nd place, Joseph Millson as Soames in the RSC’s Forsyte Saga, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.
In 1st place, David Shields as Jacob in Punch, at the Young Vic, London, in April.
Congratulations to the winners – special mention this year for James Graham whose Punch and Dear England feature so highly – commiserations to the losers and thanks for your company again throughout the year, gentle reader. Here’s to another year full of artistic excellence!
Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!
