2019

Texts

  1. New World Fairy Tales – Cassandra Parkin ★★★★ (January)
  2. How I Lose You – Kate McNaughton ★★★ (January)
  3. Tangleweed and Brine – Dierdre Sullivan ★★★★ (January)
  4. Meet Me at the Museum – Anne Youngson ★★★★ (January)
  5. In Our Mad and Furious City – Guy Gunaratne ★★★½ (January)
  6. The Tall Man – Phoebe Locke ★★★ (January)
  7. New Boy – Tracy Chevalier ★★★½ (January)
  8. The Cost of Living – Deborah Levy ★★★ (January)
  9. The Blue Salt Road – Joanne M. Harris ★★★ (January)
  10. The Binding – Bridget Collins ★★★ (February)
  11. Lullaby – Leïla Slimani ★★★½ (February)
  12. Little – Edward Carey ★★★★ (February)
  13. The Familiars – Stacey Halls ★★★ (February)
  14. Hag-Seed – Margaret Atwood ★★★½ (March)
  15. Mr Salary – Sally Rooney ★★★ (March)
  16. I Am, I Am, I Am – Maggie O’Farrell ★★★★ (March)
  17. The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas ★★★★ (March)
  18. Lanny – Max Porter ★★★★ (March)
  19. Mothering Sunday – Graham Swift ★★★ (March)
  20. Home, I’m Darling – Laura Wade (April)
  21. Nine Night – Natasha Gordon (April)
  22. From A Low and Quiet Sea – Donal Ryan ★★★ (April)
  23. Birdcage Walk – Helen Dunmore ★★★½ (April)
  24. Girl, Balancing – Helen Dunmore (‘Taken in Shadows’) ★★★½ (April)
  25. The Way Past Winter – Kiran Millwood Hargrave ★★★ (April)
  26. Queenie – Candice Carty-Williams ★★★ (April)
  27. You Think It, I’ll Say It – Curtis Sittenfeld ★★★ (April)
  28. Jane Eyre – Devised after Charlotte Brontë (May)
  29. The Water Cure – Sophie Mackintosh ★★★½ (May)
  30. Normal People – Sally Rooney ★★★★ (May)
  31. Once Upon a River – Diane Setterfield ★★★½ (May)
  32. The Muse – Jessie Burton ★★★ (May)
  33. dressed. – Devised by ThisEgg (May)
  34. Sea Prayer – Khaled Hosseini ★★★ (May)
  35. Margaret the First – Danielle Dutton ★★★ (May)
  36. The Girls – Emma Cline ★★★ (May)
  37. Follies – National Theatre (May)
  38. The Doll Factory – Elizabeth Macneal ★★★ (June)
  39. Moder Dy – Roseanne Watt ★★★★ (June)
  40. The Night Bookmobile – Audrey Niffenegger ★★★ (June)
  41. Fred and Edie – Jill Dawson ★★★ (June)
  42. Frankissstein – Jeanette Winterson ★★★½ (June)
  43. The Lost Words – Robert MacFarlane & Jackie Morris ★★★★ (June)
  44. Bridge of Clay – Markus Zusak ★★★½ (July)
  45. Ghost Wall – Sarah Moss ★★★ (July)
  46. I Will Not Be Erased – gal-dem (July)
  47. The Girl Aquarium – Jen Campbell ★★★ (July)
  48. Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo ★★★★ (July)
  49. Everything You Ever Wanted – Luiza Sauma ★★★ (August)
  50. Crudo – Olivia Laing ★★ (August)
  51. Dolores – Lauren Aimee Curtis ★★★ (August)
  52. The Confessions of Frannie Langton – Sara Collins ★★★½ (August)
  53. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong ★★★ (August)
  54. Witch – Rebecca Tamás ★★★ (August)
  55. The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night – Jen Campbell ★★★★ (August)
  56. The Vegetarian – Han Kang ★★★ (August)
  57. Vixen – Rosie Garland ★★★½ (September)
  58. My Name is Monster – Katie Hale ★★★ (September)
  59. Women and Power – Mary Beard ★★★ (September)
  60. The Testaments – Margaret Atwood ★★★½ (September)
  61. A Wild Child’s Guide to Endangered Animals – Millie Marotta (September)
  62. My Sister, the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite ★★★½ (September)
  63. Educated – Tara Westover ★★★½ (September)
  64. Running Upon the Wires – Kate Tempest ★★★½ (September)
  65. Life of the Party – Olivia Gatwood ★★★ (September)
  66. Night Sky with Exit Wounds – Ocean Vuong ★★★ (October)
  67. A History of Britain in 21 Women – Jenni Murray ★★★ (October)
  68. The Ballet Lover’s Companion – Zoë Anderson ★★★ (October)
  69. Adèle – Leïla Slimani ★★★ (October)
  70. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge ★★★½ (October)
  71. Bone China – Laura Purcell ★★★½ (October)
  72. Conversations with Friends – Sally Rooney ★★★½ (October)
  73. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic – Alison Bechdel ★★★½ (October)
  74. Expectation – Anna Hope ★★★½ (November)
  75. The Deathless Girls – Kiran Millwood Hargrave ★★½ (November)
  76. Northern Lights – Philip Pullman ★★★½ (November)
  77. Becoming Dinah – Kit de Waal ★★★ (November)
  78. The Warlow Experiment – Alix Nathan ★★★½ (November)
  79. Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata ★★★ (November)
  80. Ness – Robert Macfarlane & Stanley Donwood ★★★½ (November)
  81. Grimm Tales for Young and Old – Philip Pullman ★★★ (November)
  82. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy ★★★★ (November)
  83. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper – Hallie Rubenhold ★★★★ (November)
  84. The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern ★★★ (December)
  85. John – Annie Baker (December)
  86. A Single Thread – Tracy Chevalier ★★★½ (December)
  87. Mrs Gaskell and Me – Nell Stevens ★★★½ (December)
  88. The Fate of Fausto – Oliver Jeffers (December)
  89. Thornhill – Pam Smy ★★★ (December)
  90. Fleabag: The Special Edition – Phoebe Waller-Bridge (December)
  91. The Subtle Knife – Philip Pullman
  • War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

Films

  1. The Favourite ★★★★½ (January)
  2. Mary Queen of Scots ★★★ (January)
  3. Benjamin ★★★★ (March)
  4. Us ★★★½ (March)
  5. Eighth Grade ★★★★ (May)
  6. Booksmart ★★★★★ (June)
  7. Yesterday ★★★ (July)
  8. Midsommar ★★½ (July)
  9. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ★★★½ (August)
  10. The King ★★½ (November)
  11. Last Christmas (November)

Theatre

  1. English National Ballet’s Manon – London Coliseum ★★★★ (January)
  2. Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Sadler’s Wells ★★★★½ (January)
  3. Gagglebabble’s Jessie’s Tattoo Club – Bristol Old Vic Ferment ★★★½ (January)
  4. FullRogue’s Wild Swimming – Bristol Old Vic Ferment ★★★★ (January)
  5. Wardrobe Ensemble’s The Pelican Daughters – Bristol Old Vic Ferment ★★★½ (January)
  6. Aspects of Love – Southwark Playhouse ★★★½ (February)
  7. Come From Away – Phoenix Theatre ★★★★★ (February)
  8. Wise Children’s Wise Children – Bristol Old Vic ★★★½ (February)
  9. Insane Root’s Concert in the Caves – Redcliffe Caves (February)
  10. Blue Door – Ustinov Studio Theatre Royal Bath ★★★½ (February)
  11. Princess and the Hustler – Weston Studio Bristol Old Vic ★★★½ (February)
  12. Ian McKellen on Stage – Bristol Old Vic ★★★★ (February)
  13. A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Tobacco Factory Theatre ★★★½ (February)
  14. Kinky Boots UK Tour – Bristol Hippodrome ★★★½ (February)
  15. Richard III – Bristol Old Vic ★★★ (March)
  16. Noughts and Crosses – Bristol Old Vic ★★★ (March)
  17. Emilia – Vaudeville Theatre ★★★★ (March)
  18. Waitress – Adelphi Theatre ★★★½ (March)
  19. Gecko’s Institute – Bristol Old Vic ★★★½ (March)
  20. Show of Strength’s Blood and Butchery in Bedminster (April)
  21. Les Misérables – Queen’s Theatre ★★★★½ (April)
  22. RoughHouse Theatre’s The Long Walk Back – Wardrobe Theatre ★★★ (April)
  23. English Touring Theatre’s Equus – Bristol Old Vic ★★★★ (April)
  24. Home, I’m Darling UK Tour – Theatre Royal Bath ★★★★ (April)
  25. Ballet Black’s Triple Bill – Bristol Old Vic ★★★½ (April)
  26. All About Eve – NTLive from Noël Coward Theatre ★★★ (April)
  27. Wardrobe Ensemble’s 1972: The Future of Sex – Weston Studio Bristol Old Vic ★★★★ (April)
  28. Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Beauty and the Beast –  Bristol Hippodrome ★★★★ (May)
  29. Barber Shop Chronicles UK Tour – Bristol Old Vic ★★★★ (May)
  30. Our Country’s Good – Tobacco Factory Theatre ★★★ (May)
  31. Matilda the Musical UK Tour – Bristol Hippodrome ★★★★ (May)
  32. ThisEgg’s dressed. – Tobacco Factory Theatre ★★★★ (May)
  33. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★½ (May)
  34. Sweet Charity – Donmar Warehouse ★★★½ (May)
  35. Milky Peaks – Tobacco Factory Theatre (May)
  36. Opera Up Close’s La Bohème – Bristol Old Vic ★★★ (June)
  37. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Apollo Theatre ★★★½ (June)
  38. Northern Ballet’s Victoria – CinemaLive Screening ★★★½ (June)
  39. Kopfkino Theatre’s The Grand Scheme of Things – Incoming Festival at TFT (June)
  40. Nine Foot Nine – Incoming Festival at TFT (June)
  41. Sounds Like Chaos’s Wow! Everything Is Amazing – Incoming Festival at TFT (June)
  42. Burnt Lemon Theatre’s The Half Moon Shania – Incoming Festival at TFT (June)
  43. Kneehigh’s Dead Dog in a Suitcase – Bristol Old Vic ★★★★ (July)
  44. Kid Carpet’s Icarus D’Icarus – Bristol Old Vic Ferment (July)
  45. Small Island – NTLive from National Theatre ★★★★ (July)
  46. Diverse City’s Midlife – Bristol Old Vic Ferment (July)
  47. Amélie the Musical UK Tour – Bristol Old Vic ★★★★ (July)
  48. Fleabag – NTLive from Wyndham’s Theatre ★★★★ (September)
  49. Opera Project’s The Barber of Seville – Tobacco Factory Theatre ★★★½ (September)
  50. FullRogue’s Wild Swimming – Weston Studio Bristol Old Vic ★★★★ (September)
  51. Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) – Bristol Old Vic ★★★★ (September)
  52. Preludes – Southwark Playhouse ★★★½ (October)
  53. Islander: A New Musical – Southwark Playhouse ★★★½ (October)
  54. Insane Roots Rumplestiltskin – The New Room ★★★★ (October)
  55. Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet – Live from Sadler’s Wells ★★★½ (October)
  56. Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory’s Much Ado About Nothing – TFT ★★★½ (November)
  57. The Lion King UK Tour – Bristol Hippodrome ★★★★½ (November)
  58. 42nd Street – Cinema Screening from Theatre Royal Drury Lane ★★★½ (November)
  59. Present Laughter – NTLive from the Old Vic ★★★★ (December)
  60. Scottish Ballet’s The Snow Queen – Live from Edinburgh Festival Theatre (December)

Visits

  1. London – Coliseum & Sadler’s Wells (January 2019)
  2. London – Southwark Playhouse & Phoenix Theatre (February 2019)
  3. Prague (March 2019)
  4. London – Vaudeville Theatre & Adelphi Theatre (March 2019)
  5. London – Queen’s Theatre (April 2019)
  6. London – Southwark Playhouse & Donmar Warehouse (May 2019)
  7. London – Apollo Theatre (June 2019)
  8. London – Southwark Playhouse (October 2019)
  9. London (November 2019)

Following year