Glastonbury, Doctor Who and the rise of Chappell Roan: These are the best cultural moments of 2024

In a year of outstanding entertainment on screen, stage and airways, these were some of the standout cultural highlights of 2024 – as chosen by the stars who defined the year.

Sophie Turner

I love Chappell Roan and her ode to drag queens. Her whole aesthetic is very like Cyndi Lauper’s. And she takes loads of inspiration from drag queens, she’s got lipstick on her teeth when she sings. I don’t know, there’s something about her that I find incredibly interesting and a real ode to the 80s. Maybe that’s why I like it! But she’s fascinating. She’s my cultural highlight of 2024.  

Mike Leigh

I’m not sure it’s a cultural highlight, but I did go and see the last performance at Stratford East of Abigail’s Party. I don’t usually go and see it when people do it normally, but I did, and it was very, very good. I hope it will transfer into the West End – although I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the amount of money people have to pay to see things in the West End.  

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Richard Curtis

For me, the cultural highlight of every year is any new book by Elizabeth Strout. And she’s got a new book out at the moment called Tell Me Everything. And it brings together Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton – so it’s almost like the Avengers Assemble.  

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

I saw The Effect in New York. It was the original cast from The National Theatre and that was pretty great.  

Henry Moodie

The rise of Chappell Roan. I love her authenticity and queer representation; her performances are so energetic and theatrical, and her pop melodies are very hooky! 

Jodie Whittaker

I was at Glastonbury. Is that culture? And I queued for seven hours and was in the front row for Michael Kiwanuka, Little Simz then Coldplay. With no food, no wee, nothing. Just to be on the front row and see those three artists. Obviously I’m a massive Coldplay fan, but seeing Little Simz and Michael Kiwanuka live on the Pyramid Stage from so close was amazing. Then, obviously, Coldplay came on and I cried for two hours. So being at Glastonbury, 2024, was an absolute life box ticked. 

Holliday Grainger

The Other Place at the National Theatre was brilliant in every way. An absolute treat.  

Eddie Marsan

My cultural highlight of the year was A Tupperware of Ashes by Tanika Gupta at the NT, starring Meera Syal, Marc Elliot, Raj Bajaj, Natalie Dew, Stephen Fewell, Shobna Gulati and Avita Jay. The writing and the acting was phenomenal. The pace of the play, the depiction of the onset of dementia, was beautifully done.  

Tia Kofi

Ncuti Gatwa joining Doctor Who. Let’s take a moment to celebrate an incredible actor bringing a very different energy to an iconic role. 

Harlan Coben

I’m from New Jersey, and I grew up on Bruce Springsteen. And this year, I got to see him play at the beach in Asbury Park for the first time since we were both pretty young. Then, at an event for Michael J Fox’s foundation – he’s one of my dearest friends – Stevie Nicks performed. Those were my male and female solo favourites growing up. I never expected that I’d still be seeing Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Nicks playing well into their 70s and loving every moment of it. It’s one of life’s blessings. 

Danny Dyer

I can say Rivals because I’m not the lead in it. So, although I’ve got a very good part in it, I can step back and say it. Everyone was on their A-game – as a piece of television, there was nothing better this year. And I think it’s going to shake the television industry up – which it fucking needs at the moment. 

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