Great Performances of 2025
... in not-so-great shows!
Sometimes, a show disappoints or doesn’t quite grab you the way you’d hoped despite an excellent single or ensemble performance. There are countless shows I saw last year, some that I liked, some that I admired and some that I didn’t care all that much for, that were elevated by superb acting, even if the writing, direction, set design or tone of the piece weren’t quite up to snuff.
In this list, I want to highlight some of the performances that I loved in shows that I didn’t. The shows in this list aren’t necessarily “bad” - far from it, many of them were pretty damn good - but they didn’t quite make it into my favourites of the year. As such, people like Cate Blanchett and Jason Watkins in The Seagull, Ruth Wilson and David Threlfall in A Moon for the Misbegotten, Nicola Walker in The Unbelievers and, well, everyone in All My Sons don’t make the cut, because those shows and performances have had enough praised heaped on them (not least by me) already!
Here then, in no particular order, are just some performances that I think still deserve plaudits, even if the shows themselves didn’t quite wow me enough to break into my favourites.
David Shields as Jacob Dunne in Punch (Young Vic; Apollo Theatre)
Like so much of his work, James Graham’s tale of violence and redemption was kinetic, didactic and much too erratic for all of the emotional beats to land. Shields’ performance, however, was remarkable. He was a bundle of rage and regret, and he brought a startling authenticity and empathy to a character it was difficult for most of us to find any common ground with.
Dorothea Myer-Bennett and Gabriel Howell as Shoshana and Trevor in What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (Marylebone Theatre)
Some of the performances and the dialogue in this provocative and timely exploration of Jewish identities were, shall we say, inconsistent. Nonetheless, Myer-Bennett and Howell were excellent, elevating the play and offering a way in for an audience that was sometimes held at a distance by the material. Also, Howell spent most of the runtime strutting around in a tight vest, just in case you’re into that kind of thing 😇
Hiran Abeysekera as Hamlet in Hamlet (Lyttelton Theatre at the National)
Robert Hastie’s take on Shakespeare’s great tragedy had a radical streak to it that was commendable and, though it couldn’t quite sustain itself for the full runtime, it was an enjoyable and surprisingly funny adaptation of the material. Its great strength was Hiran Abeysekera’s magnificent turn as the titular tragic hero, which was at once hilarious and devastating. I’ve not seen someone approach the character quite like him before, and I look forward to what role he takes on next.
Alan Cox as Anthony Crosland in The Gang of Three (King’s Head Theatre)
As someone with a keen interest in the politics and history of the Labour Party in the 70s and 80s, Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky’s tale of the fractious friendship between Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins and Anthony Crosland pressed all of my nerdy, wonky buttons. It was a real sleeper hit and one that felt a little out of place at the King’s Head; not only was it well written and observed, it also was also expertly performed, with Alan Cox a real standout as the divided and ultimately doomed Anthony Crosland.
Simon Lipkin as Fagin in Oliver! (Gielgud Theatre)
With the best will in the world, and despite the fact it boasts some absolute bangers, Oliver! features far too many children faffing around for me to care for it all that much. That said, Simon Lipkin’s Fagin was exquisite, and he breathed fresh energy into a character that, in the wrong hands, has a tendency to present as caricaturish, bordering on outright offensive.
Juliet Stevenson and Artie Wilkinson-Hunt as Ruth and young Thomas in The Land of the Living (Dorfman Theatre at the National)
We return to the National with some absolutely earth-shattering news: Juliet Stevenson is very good!
Okay, so obviously it is redundant to heap further praise on one of contemporary British theatre’s greatest actors but she was, once again, magnificent in The Land of the Living, a knotty play about a woman trying to reunite children abducted by the Nazis with their parents. Brilliant too was Artie Wilkinson-Hunt, who played one of the young children at the performance I saw and who was more than able to hold his own against and alongside a consummate master of her craft like Stevenson.
Kyle Soller, Oliver Johnstone and Stuart Thompson as Jack, Marlow and Edmund Roman in Romans: A Novel (Almeida)
Romans: A Novel was one of the most ambitious plays of the past twelve months and though it often felt like it was running away from writer Alice Birch, the performances of the three leads were exemplary. As the action seemed to shatter the very notions of time and place, all three of them maintained an iron grip on their characters’ respective flaws and ambitions so that even when the drama became increasingly unwieldy, it always felt rooted in the tangible and the real.
Jo Foster as Andy in Four Play (King’s Head Theatre)
Now this is much more what you expect from the King’s Head. A play about the travails of a quartet of queers whose relationships are in various stages of openness, this hit all of the usual, predictable beats. Jo Foster’s tender and thoughtful performance as Andy imbued the show with real pathos, however, and they made infinitely more interesting a scenario that we have seen unfold in queer theatre time and time again.
Brendan Gleeson in The Weir (Harold Pinter Theatre)
Gleeson was predictably superb in Conor McPherson’s production of his own 1997 play about a small group of people in an old Irish pub sharing stories of inexplicable supernatural experiences in their lives. In a solid production of a solid play, Gleeson was a real highlight, bringing to it his usual mix of rugged charm and dour, earthy cynicism.
Clare Perkins and Sharon Small as Vida and Agave in Bacchae (Olivier Theatre at the National)
And finally, one last trip to the National for Bacchae, a show that I thought was quite unfairly maligned. There was a lot to enjoy and admire about it, not least Clare Perkins as the rabble-rousing leader of the titular followers of Dionysus and Sharon Small having the time of her life Agave, the deranged and frenzied mother of Pentheus. For all of the production’s flaws - and I acknowledge that there were numerous - Perkins and Small were electrifying.
So, what were your favourite performances of the past year? Are there any you’re especially looking forward to in 2026? Let me know in the comments.