Franco Milazzo

And so yet another Fascinating Aïda tour comes to a close. Having already dipped into their latest extended jaunt around the UK a couple of times already, one thing has become abundantly clear: the second best thing about going to see this celebrated cabaret outfit has been experiencing the reactions of those around the room. Whether it’s a furiously fast number about dogging, a song about plastic surgery sung through barely-open lips or a gentle refrain about encouraging your aging mother to take a one-way trip to Switzerland, the responses are as enjoyable as anything coming off the stage.

When I first saw The Nutcracker, I was convinced one of these things must be true: either someone had spiked my drink, the cast were all on drugs or we were all in some kind of baffling nightmare. No other explanation seemed plausible to my young mind.

Writing stage reviews is an adventure I have yet to tire of. This year, I sat in the dark and scribbled hieroglyphics into my notebook in a dark room as I watched opera, cabaret, dance, circus, comedy, clowns, musicals, concert films, buckets of immersive shows (theatre, dining, even panto) and even some theatre.

In 2024, the immersive genre in London and beyond grew and grew and grew, with the independent sector overshadowing the biggest names.

There’s something about the London Community Gospel Choir that will get any place - even one as large and grand as the Royal Albert Hall - up on their feet, dancing, clapping and singing along as if their entire Christmas was rolled into this one night.

Somewhere in that creative space between cinema and live drama, Please Right Back looks at family, fantasy and the place fiction plays in difficult times.

With enough vim and vigour to light up the nearby town hall, Revel Puck Circus brings The Ruckus back to their hometown of Walthamstow as part of their Winter Festival.

If you’re feeling more 'Bah humbug!' than 'Jingle bells!' this season, a visit to the Royal Albert Hall during its annual Christmas concert series might be just the thing to spark some holiday cheer.

If there was an award for the most art forms smooshed into one show, COLAB’s Dead Hard could be a winner. This blend of panto, comedy, immersive and drag is a satisfying mess that somehow (just) works.

In Séayoncé’s latest adventure, Dan Wye’s drag ghost whisperer joins forces with her ex-lover Satan to put on an anti-Christmas TV show. Well, that’s the plan at least: before long, she discovers that she has been duped by another former amour Santa to deliver the “real” message of the season.

Even 30 years after he created it, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake is still his defining production. Just why hasn’t he yet surpassed this masterpiece?

In a season where theatres are filled with the usual hoary horde - here a Christmas Carol, there a Nutcracker or Messiah - the Royal Opera House deserves praise and maybe even a standing ovation for bringing back its Yuletide hit from 2022. Ben Duke’s Ruination (a co-production between the Royal Ballet and his Lost Dog company) is perfect for this time of year, being a work about reflecting on the recent past and built around the notions of love, family and children. Then again, those expecting something cheery may also want to consider that the source material is Euripides’s Medea, a Greek tragedy that makes Titus Andronicus look like an episode of Bluey.

With an abundance of witty filth (and filthy wit), A Very Naughty Christmas is an adults-only musical burlesque which has come straight up from down under.

Alice In Wonderland? More like Alice Goes Underground as Poltergeist Productions’ take on the Lewis Carroll classic sees our heroine trapped on a tube.

Stepping out from behind the ones and twos, Lemon Jelly DJ and club promoter Fred Deakin takes us on an odyssey through his own life and times. Club Life was one of Edinburgh Fringe’s word of mouth hits last year, an immersive theatre piece that takes his career as a starting point and allows the audience the chance to jump on the dance floor.

Finding the funny in one of Europe’s most violent episodes of political tumult, YESYESNONO’s The Glorious French Revolution (or: why sometimes it takes a guillotine to get anything done) is a riotous romp.

Whether on the news or on Netflix, dystopia seems the theme of the year. With a disturbing score from Max Richter, Wayne McGregor’s enthralling and infuriating interpretation of Margaret Atwood’s Maddaddam trilogy is a panoramic work that peers into a future which is all too plausible and none too palatable.

Returning to the West End La Clique is back with a new cast. After two decades of presenting some of the finest vaudeville talent around, is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning for this cabaret institution?

Smashing together tap dance and film noir, Romain Rachline Borgeaud’s Stories is wrapped around an immersive form of storytelling. Is the world ready for tap noir?

With cabaret, sometimes it isn't about the singer, or the song, but the singer singing the song while bouncing a drumstick off a trio of skulls. Perfectly timed for Halloween, Monica Salvi’s Spirits In My Closet is a witch’s brew containing personal stories and the supernatural musings interspersed with songs written by Tori Amos, Randy Newman and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.