Lucy Ribchester

Nederlands Dans Theater and Complicité undertook a monumental task when they joined forces to create a piece that responded meaningfully to the climate crisis. But Figures In Extinction was an incredible achievement, full of majesty, wit and grace. Beautifully performed, endlessly unexpected, it was particularly poignant seeing it in Berlin during the heatwave.

Isy Santini 

Already one of the best musicals of this century, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 upped its game yet again in a new production at the Donmar Warehouse, discarding its Napoleonic aesthetic for an ultra-cool grunge look. With pitch perfect performances across the board and the introduction of ghostly dancers, there’s never been a more unique or creative adaptation of War And Peace.

Claire Sawers

In a year full of terrifying rollbacks on global civil liberties, what a tonic to find this collection of 200-odd photographs from a century of activism. Conceived by Steve McQueen, Resistance is wholly pre-internet, featuring early snaps of Suffragettes in court, mid-century anti-nuclear marchers and 1980s queers in ‘Better Gay Than Grumpy’ t-shirts reminding us of people power and the camera’s ability to continually drive change. 

Paul McLean

After years of grim abandonment, the A-listed Bernat Klein Studio near Selkirk suddenly came up for auction this summer and was saved by a consortium of heritage and design groups. Built in 1972 by architect Peter Womersley for textile guru Klein, this late-modernist masterpiece deserves to become a treasured cultural asset.

Danny Munro

Detailing a tumultuous few years in the life of the versatile Lewisham-born artist, Black British Music is Jim Legxacy’s love letter to the mid-2000s. Nostalgic visuals are spliced together with an amalgamation of styles and sounds, as Legxacy cements his place as king of the British underground scene on his major label debut. Now time for some Scottish dates, Jim… 

Brian Donaldson

A recent Guardian feature gathered up the most stressful episodes in TV history. Oddly, no spot was found for the finale of The Rehearsal’s second season, as Nathan Fielder went to more extreme lengths just to try and prove a point. Thanks to a denouement that is moving, shocking and hilarious, you may never look at co-pilots in the same way ever again.

Afreka Thomson

Charli XCX’s Glastonbury set was gloriously feral and completely absorbing. She walked out alone (no band, no guests) and still commanded total attention, her signature warped pop spilling across fields sticky with lip gloss and triple-melon vapour. Locked in on iPlayer, I could almost taste it from my living room. Euphoric, unserious and unsettlingly vulnerable.

Emma Simmonds

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is a film that manages to be insanely entertaining and just plain insane, while raging at racism and ridiculing evil political schemers. Teyana Taylor sends sparks shooting off the screen, Leonardo DiCaprio is hilarious and Benicio del Toro is the buddy we all need. Great title too.

Zara Janjua

Celebrity Traitors was this year’s cultural juggernaut, pulling 12 million viewers to its finale. We loved the drama, but the real hook is how perfectly it mirrors society: paranoia rising, alliances crumbling and the informed few running circles round the rest. It’s basically Britain in cloaks. And Alan Carr emerged, simultaneously the most hated and loved villain so far. 

Kevin Fullerton

The 80 hours I spent wandering through the dystopian Australian outback of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach has been as awe-inspiring as blockbuster games get. Combining immaculate art design and a flawless score with a story that’s at once ludicrous and a crushing meditation on parental loss, this is Hideo Kojima’s arthouse-addled genius at its creative peak. Long may his unique brand of madness continue.

Rachel Morrell

Taking the horror genre to new territory, Sinners somehow met its sky-high expectations. We followed twin brothers in 1930s Mississippi who discover evil at the door of their juke joint on its opening night. Visually spectacular, with a striking blues soundtrack, director Ryan Coogler filled every scene with symbolism and crafted a cinematic masterpiece.

Jay Richardson

It might seem perverse to suggest that Tim Key, Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, Alan Partridge sidekick and now venturing into US sitcoms with The Paper, has levelled up in his career. But his touching and hilarious performance as eccentric millionaire Charles in the charming Ballad Of Wallis Island, which he co-wrote and starred in with regular collaborator Tom Basden, ought to see Hollywood beating a path to his door to portray lovable oddballs.