My Cultural Year: 2025
- Ellen Cheshire
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
What a year. 2025 leaned hard into the joyful overlap between film, theatre, music and exhibitions – with event cinema sitting neatly in the middle.
Across the year I saw 86 films at the cinema, attended 68 live performances (concerts, theatre, talks), and enjoyed 10 event cinema screenings. Plus according to my letterboxd, I logged 941 films* in 2025 but more to follow on my year in film! *This includes lots of shorts!
Theatre played a particularly strong role, with 14 productions reviewed for The Spy in the Stalls. I also visited 30 museums, galleries, and stately houses overall, including 12 exhibitions across 10 venues thanks to my National Art Pass, alongside plenty of cultural discoveries at home.
What follows are my monthly highlights – the moments that defined my cultural year. Hyperlinks lead to more of my musings on that event.
January
Top Exhibition Grayson Perry: A Temple for Everyone – Charleston, Lewes
Top Live Show Jay Sings Swing: Elvis – Queenie’s Speakeasy, Emsworth (live music)
Top Event Cinema The Tales of Hoffmann, Royal Opera House
At the Movies
New Release: Nosferatu (2024), directed by Robert Eggers
Classic Film: Vertigo (1958), directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: Hundreds of Beavers (2022), directed by Mike Cheslik
Top vintage new-to-me film: Fail Safe (1964), directed by Sidney Lumet
February
Top Exhibition Religion, Rebellion & Reformation – Chichester Cathedral
Top Live Show Tess – Ockham’s Razor (dance)
Top Event Cinema The Importance of Being Earnest, National Theatre Live
At the Movies
New Release: Better Man (2024), directed by Michael Gracey
Classic Film: Carmen Comes Home (1951), directed by Keisuke Kinoshita
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: Anora (2024), directed by Sean Baker
Top vintage new-to-me film: Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea (1977), directed by Jindřich Polák
March
Top Exhibition / Museum Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein – Bath
Top Live Theatre Retrograde, written by Ryan Calais Cameron – Apollo Theatre
At the Movies
New Release: A Samurai in Time (2023), directed by Junichi Yasuda
Classic Film: The Elephant Man (1980), directed by David Lynch
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: She Came to Me (2023), directed by Rebecca Miller
Top vintage new-to-me film: The Basilisks (1963), directed by Lina Wertmüller
April
Top Exhibition / Museum Pattern: Rhythm and Repetition – Pallant House Gallery
Top Live Theatre The Shark Is Broken (2023), written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon – Theatre Royal Brighton (play)
Top Event Cinema Billy Elliot: The Musical Live (2014), directed by Stephen Daldry; filmed by Brett Sullivan
At the Movies
New Release: Oh My Goodness! (2022), directed by Laurent Tirard
Classic Film: Pretty Woman (1990), directed by Garry Marshall
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: You Are Not Me (2023), directed by Moisés Romera and Marisa Crespo
Top vintage new-to-me film: Morgiana (1972), directed by Juraj Herz
May
Top Exhibition I Grew Up 80s – Novium Museum, Chichester
Top Live Theatre The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2025), adapted by Rachel Joyce – Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre (musical)
Top Event Cinema Ballet to Broadway: Wheeldon Works (2025), Royal Ballet
At the Movies
New Release: The Uninvited (2024), directed by Nadia Conners
Classic Film: West Side Story (1961), directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: His Three Daughters (2023), directed by Azazel Jacobs
Top vintage new-to-me film: Three Seats for the 26th (1988), directed by Jacques Demy
June
Top Exhibition / Museum Museum of Brands, London
Top Live Theatre Here We Are (2023), music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim – National Theatre (musical)
Top Event Cinema A Streetcar Named Desire (2025), National Theatre Live
At the Movies
New Release: The Phoenician Scheme (2025), directed by Wes Anderson
Classic Cinema (tie): Clue (1985), directed by Jonathan Lynn and Clueless (1995), directed by Amy Heckerling
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: Robot Dreams (2023), directed by Pablo Berger
Top vintage new-to-me film: A Face in the Crowd (1957), directed by Elia Kazan
July
Top Exhibition / Museum Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists – Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
Top Live Theatre Sense and Sensibility (2025), adapted by The Pantaloons – Chichester Cathedral (play)
At the Movies
New Release: 28 Years Later (2025), directed by Danny Boyle
Classic Film: The Wicker Man (1973), directed by Robin Hardy
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: KPop Demon Hunters (2025), directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhan
Top vintage new-to-me film: High and Low (1963), directed by Akira Kurosawa
August
Top Exhibition / Museum Efteling Museum and Fairy Tale Worlds
Top Live Theatre Dr. Charlatan’s Cabaret Macabre – Efteling (cabaret)
At the Movies
New Release: The Art of Being Happy (2024), directed by Stefan Liberski
Classic Cinema (four-way tie):
Some Like It Hot (1959), directed by Billy Wilder
Battleship Potemkin (1925), directed by Sergei Eisenstein (with Pet Shop Boys score)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), directed by Jim Sharman
Mamma Mia! (2008), directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022), directed by Daniel Goldhaber
Top vintage new-to-me film: The Long Day Closes (1992), directed by Terence Davies
September
Top Permanent Collection / Museum Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, Dungeness
Top Temporary Exhibition Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur– Wallace Collection, London
Top Live Theatre The Curious Case of Benjamin Button– Ambassadors Theatre (musical)
Top Event Cinema Inter Alia (2025), directed by Justin Martin – National Theatre Live
At the Movies
New Release: A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025), directed by Kogonada
Classic Film: Little Shop of Horrors (1986, original ending), directed by Frank Oz
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: The Swallows of Kabul (2019), directed by Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec
Top vintage new-to-me film: A Slave of Love (1976), directed by Nikita Mikhalkov
October
Top Exhibition / Museum 950th Anniversary Light Experience – Chichester Cathedral
Top Live Theatre Gala Concert with Sir John Rutter – Chichester Cathedral
Top Event Cinema La Sonnambula (2025), Metropolitan Opera – staged by Rolando Villazón
At the Movies
New Release: Hedda (2025), directed by Nia DaCosta
Classic Film: Marriage Italian Style (1964), directed by Vittorio De Sica
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: River (2023), directed by Junta Yamaguchi
Top vintage new-to-me film: A Room in Town (1982), directed by Jacques Demy
November
Top Exhibition Hove Museum of Creativity – early Hove filmmakers gallery and Play Back Forward
Top Live Theatre SIX: The Musical (2025), Japanese Cast – special London run (musical)
Top Event Cinema Cinderella (2024), Royal Ballet
At the Movies
New Release: Frankenstein (2025), directed by Guillermo del Toro
Classic Cinema: The Film Factory: Bertie & Laura’s Films (1898–1903), curated programme – Brighton CineCity
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: Chevalier (2022), directed by Stephen Williams
Top vintage new-to-me film: Le Notti Bianche (1957), directed by Luchino Visconti
December
Top Exhibition / Museum
Top Live Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest (2025), directed by Max Webster – Noël Coward Theatre
At the Movies
New Release: It Was Just an Accident (2025), directed by Jafar Panahi
Classic Film: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), directed by Brian Henson
Watched at Home
Top new(ish) new-to-me film: Wake Up Dead Man (2025), directed by Rian Johnson
Top vintage new-to-me film: It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), directed by Roy Del Ruth
Here’s to another year of cultural immersion – where cinema, theatre and exhibitions continue to blur beautifully.
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