Best theatre of 2013
Guardian critics and writers pick their favourites from an action-packed year on stage
The best theatre of 2013: how our writers voted
Best theatre of 2013, No 1: The Events
Best theatre of 2013, No 2: Chimerica
Michael Billington: Lucy Kirkwood's thrillingly ambitious play tackled global politics, multinational corporations and was bursting with big ideas
Best theatre of 2013, No 3: Life and Times
Maddy Costa: Nature Theater of Oklahoma's audacious staging of one woman's life story not only detonated theatrical form – it got to the heart of what is to be alive
Best theatre of 2013, No 4: Othello
Andrew Dickson: Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear fought for their lives in a gripping contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare's play
Best theatre of 2013, No 5: Grounded
Lyn Gardner: George Brant's searing monologue about an ace US pilot now flying drones, was a gripping analysis of 21st-century warfare
Best theatre of 2013, No 6: Scenes from a Marriage
Ivo van Hove and Toneelgroep Amsterdam's epic reinterpretation of Ingmar Bergman wasn't just gripping drama – it was a reminder of what theatre can look like
Best theatre of 2013, No 7: Ghosts
Mark Lawson: Richard Eyre's production modernised the pacing of Ibsen and in the process made it yet more pertinent to our times
Best theatre of 2013, No 8: The Scottsboro Boys
Michael Billington: Susan Stroman's production, with its ironic minstrel-show format, skilfully suggested that the US's outlook on racial injustice had moved on since the 1930s – but not far enough
Best theatre of 2013, No 9: The Seagull
Matt Trueman: In John Donnelly's brilliant new version for Headlong, Chekhov's play became entirely – almost eerily – contemporary
Best theatre of 2013, No 10 (joint): Wet House
Best theatre of 2013, No 10 (joint): Paul Bright's Confessions of a Justified Sinner
