"The King And I" / Best Theatre of 2019

January is generally a barren desert when it comes to theatre-going, so it was good to get an opportunity to see the touring version of the recent Broadway revival of “The King And I” at the Wales Millennium Centre – my first ever live experience of a Rodgers and Hammerstein. Very impressive and pointed, and a reminder of the power of the American musical of the classic era.

The King And I (pic: Johan Persson)

Meanwhile, I contributed the customary Bests of 2019 piece to the British Theatre Guide; delighted to name National Theatre Wales’ “On Bear Ridge” as my production of the year.

Over Christmas, I had my regular appointment to catch up on “Star Wars”, and found “The Rise Of Skywalker” to be surprisingly coherent and dramatically satisfying – but then, I’m not immersed or particularly invested in the culture.