The 100 best cultural events of 2021 – The Telegraph

What began as a difficult year for the arts – with theatres, cinemas, and concert-halls all closed due to Covid restrictions – nevertheless brought plenty to enjoy, from nail-biting TV dramas and the return of summer festivals to a magnificent Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Ballet.

The Telegraph’s critics  – as well as writing specialist guides to the best and worst of 2021’s films, pop, comedy, art and more – have each put forward their own ranked list of suggestions for the best things they’ve seen and heard this year. Compiled by the Telegraph Culture team from those suggestions, here is our definitive ranking of this year’s artistic highlights. 

What would you put at number one? Let us know in the comments section below.

100. Comedy: Live @ Midnight

One minute after Covid restrictions were lifted in May, London’s Bill Murray comedy pub staged the first proper stand-up gig of the year – and what a relief it was to be back.

99. Film: The Mitchells vs the Machines

Animation soared in 2021, and Sony Pictures Animation out-dazzled even Disney and Pixar with this uproarious, visually staggering techno-caper in which a dysfunctional family become Earth’s last hope against a robot revolt. Read the full review.

98. Theatre: Anna X

The Crown’s Emma Corrin dazzled as high-society fraudster Anna Delvey, making  her West End stage debut in Joseph Charlton’s on the money play about modern identity at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Read the full review.

97. Classical: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

The new Chief Conductor of the RLPO Domingo Hindoyan proved his mettle by leading the best performance of Stravinsky’s Octet I’ve ever heard, plus the world premiere of Dani Howard’s terrific new Trombone Concerto, which later went on to win a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. 

96. Art: Life Between Islands

Featuring 46 artists across four generations, many of them brilliant, Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson’s serious and challenging survey of Caribbean-British art from the Fifties to today proved to be timely, important and, crucially, level-headed. Read the full review.

95. Sound of Metal

Riz Ahmed stunned in this deeply moving and insightful drama about a rock drummer suffering from hearing loss, which brilliantly utilised silence and sound to immerse the audience in its protagonist’s quietening world. Read the full review.

94. Pop: Billie Eilish: Happier than Ever

The teenage superstar’s sad, delicate, defiant second album saw her tackle abuses of power in relationships, her lyrics pungent, her vocals layered in shimmering harmonies. Read the full review.

93. Podcasts: Welcome to Your Fantasy

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Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/100-best-cultural-events-2021/