Rob Warren looks back at his 2025 reviewing for ET
Next up in our 2025 round up comes the ET boss himself, Rob Warren. When he isn’t frantically trying to keep up with running ET, as well as hold down a second job (the second one that actually pays!), he somehow finds time to get out and review as well. And as he is about to explain, this year did seem to very much belong to the women.
Another year comes to an end, and whilst I am always much more interested in looking forward at what is to come, there’s no harm in taking a moment to look back at what 2025 delivered. As I consider the 52 reviews I’ve written this year, the one thing that leaps out at me is how female dominated much of my favourite theatre has been.
It all started from the very first review. Having taken until October in 2024 to give out a single 5 star, my very first review of 2025 saw me give the first of four for the year; Tarantula at Arcola Theatre. For many people, Philip Ridley’s work has a magnetic draw, and here Georgie Henley’s solo performance of it proved unforgettable. My reception of her work was probably helped because Georgie had been a wonderful guest on our podcast – although the cheerful soul I spent an hour chatting to during recording was in stark contrast to the tortured young female she became in the play.
Elsewhere, my one sole foray into musical theatre (and one a year is more enough for me thank you very much) was for Mary and the Hyenas. It takes a lot to convince me to see a musical, but here the attraction was Billy NoMates, an artist whose music I’ve greatly enjoyed; enough that I was willing to check out how her work would translate to a musical. Maybe I was biased because of my pre-existing predilection, but the show proved a more than worthwhile trip to Wilton’s Music Hall, and more than enough to satisfy my musical theatre needs for the year!
Camden Fringe as always features large in my reviewing year, and this August proved no exception. Again it seems to be the women who left the biggest impression. Clare Stenning’s unhinged performance in A Brief Play About Rage is one that certainly left an impression: the image of her in a reflective crash helmet is still one of my favourites of the year. Then there were superb ensemble performances in Girl Kisser, which is getting a much deserved fresh run at Lion and Unicorn in 2026, and The Ladies of Juliana at Etcetera Theatre, both sporting an all-female cast and both showing how big casts can add real depth to a show. Fringe theatre budgets often mean we’re lucky to get more than two cast members, so both these shows proved wonderful exceptions. And whilst I didn’t actually review it (running ET has some perks, such as the occasional freebie), Georgia Polly Taylor’s Hot Mess also proved to be something of an unforgettable show, and one that we will almost certainly be hearing more of in the year ahead.
Finella Waddilove did her bit to keep my reviews female dominated with Doughnut Drive, a zany and well thought out piece of mayhem at Drayton Arms Theatre. Having seen plenty of Finella’s work over the last 16 months, she has very much become another name etched in my brain to seek out again in 2026.
Topmost, though, of memories for 2025, was the wonderful Eleanor Hill’s Overshare, which was a production that I believe pushed the boundaries of what fringe theatre could, and should, be. Whilst I hope we don’t see too many shows encouraging people to get their phones out, here it worked well as we witnessed Eleanor not just in the flesh, but splashed across the screens around her as she ‘livestreamed’ her mental breakdown through Instagram. This was a show that really felt alive and written for the new generation of theatre audiences we need to encourage through the doors.
When the dust settles on the year, perhaps one of the most gratifying things that I take from 2025 is the small part Everything Theatre has played in so many of these productions, giving our support and, at times, even advice, as we strive to shout loudly about the incredible experiences that are to be found in some of these hidden little corners of London or even further afield. What’s also certain is that this year the shouting was coming very much from the women, who really deserve their hard work to be recognised far and wide.
