Retrograde. Stanley Townsend, Ivanno Jeremiah & Oliver Johnstone. Photo: Marc Brenner.

Ryan Calais Cameron's play Retrograde is set in 1950s Hollywood when a twenty-something struggling actor, Sidney Poitier (Ivanno Jeremiah), is on the verge of signing a deal with a film studio.

Peppy young writer Bobby (Oliver Johnstone) is on his last chance and has a great part for Sidney, one that is different from the usual, stereotypical roles set aside for black actors.

Lawyer and fixer Mr Parks (Stanley Townsend) has the contract that could launch both of them but before Sidney signs it, there are terms attached.

Retrograde might be set 70-odd years ago but there is a lot that resonates today, particularly with what is going on over the pond.

Back then, alongside racial segregation, it was a time of fear, when those who didn't believe and endorse the 'right' things weren't only ostracised, but their careers were crushed by blacklisting, and they could potentially end up in jail.

McCarthyism made it the Wild West of chosen morals, and personal beliefs could not be separated from the ability to do certain jobs.

Taking the right stance for people and businesses was everything–or suffer the consequences. Sound familiar?

Video transcript: Hayley Atwell and Tom Hiddleston are having so much fun in this production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

This is a playful, cheeky, party-themed production of Shakespeare's play.

And it's vibrant, it's acid pink in both its tone and its design.

There is this brilliant chemistry between the two leads. I loved all of their sparring and interaction, and they both get to shake their booties quite a bit.

There's a lot of dance, there's a lot of singing. It just bursts off the stage.

I managed to pack in more than 70 theatre visits this year and saw some cracking plays. And some that didn't quite ignite.

My favourite plays of 2024

(In no particular order - links through to written or video reviews):

Oedipus, Wyndhams Theatre (booking until 2 Jan 2025)

Laughing Boy, Jermyn Street Theatre

Shifters, Duke of Yorks Theatre

When It Happens to You, Park Theatre

Little Foxes, Young Vic (booking until 8 Feb 2025)

Alma Mater, Almeida Theatre

Cyrano, Park Theatre (booking until 11 Jan 2025)

For Black Boys... Garrick Theatre

Wormholes, Omnibus Theatre

Waiting For Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket

The Long Run, New Diorama

The Importance of Being Earnest, National Theatre (booking until 25 Jan, 2025)

Least favourite plays of 2024:

Machinal, Old Vic Theatre - I'm a feminist, but...I found the central female character extremely irritating. Sorry, I know a lot of people really liked this play. It's the second production I've seen, and I had a similar response the first time, so nothing to do with the Old Vic.

'This is dreadful,' the old man sat next to me said rudely during Oedipus at the Wyndhams Theatre.

I vigorously ignored him. It wasn't dreadful, far from it. In fact, I was gripped by Robert Icke’s production, which stars Mark Strong as the eponymous character and Lesley Manville as his wife, Jocasta.

Writer/director Robert Icke has a knack for turning grand, classic stories into family-focused dramas, placing them in a contemporary setting with modern references that make them all the more familiar. And there is power in that.

Oedipus is a politician rather than a king, and the story is set on polling day, on what is expected to be his landslide victory.

We first see video footage of him talking to supporters and making two promises if elected: He will reveal his birth certificate to silence debate about his background, and he will also investigate the death of his wife's first husband, Laias.

His brother-in-law Creon (Michael Gould) isn't happy that he has gone off script during the televised address, and if you know the source material, you'll understand that both of those promises are threads that do not need to be pulled.

The stage is dressed as Oedipus' campaign office, complete with a digital clock counting down to when the polls close and the final exit poll is revealed. The clock is also a subliminal countdown to revelations that even the uninitiated will have an inkling are coming.

Waiting For Godot is a play I love; I studied it for A-level, so I'd buy tickets regardless of the casting, but the combo of Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati was definitely an added draw.

It is a play that tends to attract starry casts - I've seen productions with Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Hugo Weaving - I suppose it helps sell tickets for a surrealist play that isn't going to be for everyone.

Waiting For Godot is essentially a play in which nothing happens. Twice. But it's also a play in which everything happens and that's one of the reasons I like it.

Estragon/Gogo (Lucian Msamati) and Vladimir/Didi (Ben Whishaw) are waiting for someone called Godot. Who Godot is and why they are waiting for him is open for interpretation, which is another reason I love the play. 

"Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful!" says Gogo at one point. But that isn't strictly true, Pozzo (Jonathan Slinger) and his servant Lucky (Tom Edden) come along. Twice.

What passes during the encounter is, again, open for interpretation.

It might not seem like it on paper, but Waiting For Godot is a funny play, and this is a funny production. It is not rolling around in the aisles funny, but it draws out the amusing absurdity and its inherent truth. It's irony and silliness.

There are bubbles of laughter, particularly during the second half when Didi and Gogo's routine becomes familiar.

The play's subtle layers require a lot of the actors to deliver, and Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati didn't disappoint.

Heather Agyepong (Des) Tosin Cole (Dre) in Shifters, Duke of York's Theatre. Photo: Marc Brenner

Shifters is the latest play to transfer from London's fertile fringe theatre scene into the West End. I didn't manage to see it when it premiered at the Bush Theatre, so I was grateful for the second chance to catch it at the Duke of York's Theatre.

To describe Shifters as a love story is to oversimplify its premise.

It is a story about the complex love and relationship between Des (Heather Agyepong) and Dre (Tosin Cole). They meet while sixth formers and subsequently disappear and reappear in each other's lives as they pursue their chosen careers, run from the past and cling to it.

The play starts with the grown-up Dre at his grandmother's funeral. He was close to his grandmother, and Des has unexpectedly flown in for the occasion, albeit arriving very late due to travel delays.

Their awkward, casual greeting becomes a trope that is revisited as the narrative flits back and forth, filling in the gaps in their relationship over the intervening years. Lighting changes help to denote different time points, as the two pop up in each others lives and reconnect.

They replay and avoid past events with equal measure.

Shifters' writer, Benedict Lombe, is skilled with naturalistic dialogue. Her words are brought bursting off the page in crackles and ripples by Heather Agyepong and Tosin Cole.

Benedict Lombe peppers the sparky conversation with poetic monologues, delivered to the audience, that add layers of insight into what each is thinking and feeling.

Julius D'Silva, Archie Backhouse, Forbes Masson, Alan Cox, Daniel Boyd and David Yelland in Farm Hall, Theatre Royal Haymarket - Photo: Alex Brenner

Last year saw two plays in London based on the real story of a group of Germany's top scientists who were rounded up at the end of the Second World War and held at a farm outside Cambridge.

One was Operation Epsilon at Southwark Playhouse Elephant and the other was Farm Hall at Jermyn Street Theatre which has now transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Think of Farm Hall as sort of like a Big Brother house for physicists who had been trying to develop an atomic bomb. They can wander around the house, but the British and Americans are listening, having bugged the farm to discover how close the Germans got in their work.

While Operation Epsilon included all 10 scientists, Farm Hall focuses on six and is better for it as you get to know them a little more.

The scientists are bored, making their own entertainment with the books and games that are available.

They bicker and argue with a few witty lines about the English thrown in for good measure. They speculate about their fate and fantasise about their future and where they'd like to settle.

Not all get along; there is snobbery about the types of work they were doing and arguments about the Nazis and individual relationships with the party.

It is amusing and interesting but a little plodding. However, at the end of the first half, they are told about the Hiroshima bomb, and things change.

One of the scientists, Otto Hahn (Forbes Masson), had given the Germans a head start when he discovered nuclear fission. The consequences of that discovery haunt him.

The play becomes a debate about the morality of their work, its real-world impact, and how it makes them feel.

For some, old rivalries and competitiveness bubble to the surface, while for others, reconciling what they could have done—the 'what ifs'—is more difficult.

At one point, they discuss where Germany would have targeted had it succeeded in developing the atomic bomb first.

These discussions display a mix of cold science and feelings (or lack thereof in some instances).

Farm Hall has good all-round performances and is well-directed by Stephen Unwin, who manages to bring enough activity to what could otherwise be a very static play.

But it is slow to get started and does not really hit its stride until the second half. I'm giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a half stars.

Farm Hall, Theatre Royal Haymarket

Written by Katherine Moar

Directed by Stephen Unwin

Cast: Daniel Boyd, David Yelland, Alan Cox, Julius D'Silva, Archie Backhouse and Forbes Masson

Running time: 1 hour and 45 minutes, including an interval

Booking until 31 August; visit the official website for more details and to buy tickets.

Recently reviewed

When It Happens To You, Park Theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ booking until 31 August

Wormholes, Omnibus Theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ booking until 10 August

The Constituent, Old Vic Theatre ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ booking until 10 August.

There's been a lot of buzz on social media about The Constituent at the Old Vic, and on paper, it holds a lot of promise. But did it live up to expectations?

Anna Maxwell Martin plays Monica, a back-bench opposition MP who is having new security cameras and a panic button fitted at her constituency office. The person doing the work, Alec (James Corden), happens to be a constituent and has gone to the same school.

Monica is a politician with a lot of empathy. Ex-army Alec's marriage has ended, and he is fighting to see his kids. He thinks laws need to change, and Monica can help with that.

The play starts with an almost jovial comic tone, with funny quips and ripples of laughter. But the story starts to take a darker turn.

Monica receives rape and death threats, and her office is smashed up. The name Alec means 'defender of men', which is the position Alec, the character, takes when it comes to father's rights.

Is this a comedy or a dark drama? It is difficult to discern. The comedy is too cheery in tone to make it a black comedy, and given the subject matter, it gets harder and harder to laugh. 

Director Jamie Lloyd is behind this new production of Romeo & Juliet with Spider-Man Tom Holland as the star name. He's a director whose work I love, particularly for the way he takes familiar plays and makes you see them differently.

Could he work his magic on this Shakespeare classic and make me like a play I've started to avoid?

I've seen a good handful of productions of Romeo & Juliet, and my main problem has been believability. There has rarely been sufficient chemistry between the star-crossed lovers to make their teenage 3-day meet-fall-in-love-marry-die story feel genuine.

It doesn't help that the 3-day tragi-romance begins with Romeo moping because he's so in love with another girl. (Fickle youth.)

But watching Jamie Lloyd's production, it's like he's asked a mate to hold his pint while he throws an emotional punch.

The staging is stripped back and still. There are a couple of mic stands and a step-down near the front of the stage where the actors sometimes sit.

Jamie Lloyd has embellished this sparse, prop-free backdrop by mixing in live video. A camera projects particular scenes on a huge screen above their heads, creating a cinema-screen-sized close-up.

The handheld camera also allows the actors to roam and break away from the traditional performance space. (At one point, Tom Holland's Romeo goes up onto the roof for a quiet cig.)

Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theatre is Henry IV parts 1 & 2 squished together to create just under four hours of Shakespeare with one interval.

Ian McKellen is the big star name, playing Falstaff with Richard Coyle as Henry IV and Toheeb Jimoh as Hal.

Prince Hal's behaviour is presented as influenced by his spending so much time hanging out in taverns and with thieves, and I really liked that.

It is particularly notable in the way he fights. There is one moment when his actions towards Hotspur, whom his father admires, are certainly dirty and dishonourable. It puts both characters in a different light.

Richard Coyle, as Henry IV, has such a commanding stage presence that you could hear a pin drop every time he appeared. He presents a formidable and slightly scary King.

Robert Icke, who has adapted and directed the play, leaves little room for guilt about the means by which Henry came by the crown.

Although the fact that Henry was able to leap out of bed and wrestle with his son when he was supposedly dying did feel a little comical.

Ian McKellen is going to be my favourite Falstaff. This production felt like it was a vehicle for him to do a series of comic turns.