IT’S that time of year when I hand out the Billies: my own, highly subjective answer to Hollywood’s Oscars. There will be no glittering ceremony, no golden envelopes, no toe-curling acceptance speeches. This is simply a recognition of the highs—and some of the lows—of another frantically busy year in the theatre.

Highlight of the Year

Ian Rickson’s production of Ibsen’s at the Duke of York’s. We are used to seeing Ibsen reimagined, rehashed and rewritten. This was simply one of Ibsen’s lesser-known plays beautifully restaged: a study of two people driven to their death, like a realistic Tristan and Isolde, in their search for high