Top five plays of the year

The cast of Cabaret. Photo / Supplied.

1. Cabaret, October 29-December 18, recreated the Kit Kat Klub at the Spiegeltent, Viaduct. Bedazzling, political and provocative.

2. Biography of My Skin, Miranda Harcourt and her husband, Stuart McKenzie, played themselves in Biography of My Skin at the Town Hall Concert Chamber, September 21-25. Technically and conceptually clever and amusing.

3. When the Rain Stops Falling, Stephen Lovatt's tour de force performance in Australian playwright Andrew Bovell's unrelenting When the Rain Stops Falling flooded the audience with horrified adrenalin in the Herald Theatre, June 5-July 3.

4. August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, Maidment Theatre, September 2-25. Under Colin McColl's guidance, it featured innovative direction, superb ensemble and a brilliant performance by Jennifer Ludlam.

5. Fitz Bunny: Lust for Glory, ATC Young & Hungry Festival, The Basement, July 9-24. Utterly original, totally bizarre Kiwi theatre.