Aliya Al-Hassan - Page 14

And so to the final new production of English National Opera’s season; Mary, Queen of Scots, directed by Stewart Laing and conducted by Joana Carneiro. Scottish composer Thea Musgrave’s opera was last heard in London at Sadler’s Wells back in 1980, after premiering in Edinburgh in 1977, with Musgrave herself conducting.

Unicorn is Mike Bartlett's explicit, funny and provocative new play, directed by James Macdonald, starring Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan and Erin Doherty. What did the critics think?

You would think that Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan had had enough of acting roles surrounding marital discord. In Abi Morgan's hugely popular TV series The Split, the pair have been up and down on the rollercoaster of marriage for years. Now reunited on stage, alongside Erin Doherty, for Mike Bartlett's provocative new play, Unicorn, this is a stellar cast, with an excellent writer. So why does it feel rather hollow?

After debuting at Liverpool's Royal Court and successful London and West End transfers, James Graham's adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s iconic television series is now on a national tour. And what a good thing, as this is urgent and thoughtful theatre that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.

In 1942 Moscow a top-secret meeting occured between Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin as the Nazis rampaged through Europe and into the Soviet Union. This world premiere of Howard Brenton’s play imagines the attempts at diplomacy, political clashes and eye-watering amounts of drinking that may have occured as the two men thrashed out a deal to try to save the world.

The five-star sold out production of The Years has transferred to the West End for 12 weeks only. Based on Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux’s fearless masterpiece, five actors create an unapologetic portrait of a woman shaped by her rapidly-changing world.

How would life have turned out if you had stayed with your first love? Where would you be if you had gone against social convention? Eugene O'Brien's deftly crafted play, HEAVEN, asks us these questions and many more in this captivating and bittersweet two-hander.

Starring Brie Larson, Daniel Fish directs the first major revival in over a decade of Sophokles’ electrifying and timeless play, Elektra, with a translation by poet Anne Carson, at the Duke Of York’s Theatre.

Joe Hill-Gibbins’s new production of The Marriage of Figaro for English National Opera opened back in March 2020 for a single performance before Covid struck. Thankfully, nearly five years on it has been given a second life at the London Coliseum and it is a riotous delight from start to finish.

Ella Hickson’s epic and revelatory version of Sophocles’ transcendent tragedy, Oedipus, co-directed by Hofesh Shechter and Matthew Warchus has now opened at The Old Vic.

During these dark and cold nights, something magical is happening on stage at the Lyric Hammersmith. Play On! was originally created by director Sheldon Epps and writer Cheryl L. West back in 1997, transferring from San Diego to Broadway. Talawa theatre company have stripped the show back and have created a truly joyful production to delight the most curmudgeonly of audiences.

Director James Dacre presents these two short dramas by Terence Rattigan under the banner title Summer 1954, the date when the action is set. An unusual pairing of these unshowy productions convey the intellectually astute and emotionally searing spirit of Rattigan’s writing.

BroadwayWorld spoke to Janet Moran, who plays Mairead, about bringing Eugene O’Brien's play to London for the first time and what the show means to her.

Roy Williams’ tight adaptation of Sam Selvon’s 1956 rather meandering novel The Lonely Londoners continues that education. It was a hit when it played at the diminutive Jermyn Street theatre last year. Ebenezer Bamboye’s adaptation now comes to the Kiln Theatre, transporting you to a Bayswater bedsit in the 1950s where four West Indian men are trying to make their way in a city that seems to despise them.

Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Lionel Bart’s iconic musical, OLIVER!, which he has fully reconceived with director and choreographer Matthew Bourne, has now opened at the Gielgud Theatre.

After blowing audiences away in Chichester, Matthew Bourne’s addictive version of Lionel Bart’s beloved OLIVER! lands in the West End in truly glorious form.

When the music of Céline Dion makes sweet Canadian love with the eleven-time Oscar®-winning film Titanic, you get Titaníque, New York’s most award-winning splash hit that turns one of the greatest love stories of all time into a hysterical musical fantasia.

What started as one-night showing in Los Angeles, after docking on Broadway, in Canada and Australia, Titaníque has now sailed into London. Based on the idea that global pop icon Céline Dion was actually the hero of the 1997 James Cameron film, Titanic, the absurdity of this dazzlingly camp and frankly ridiculous show only grows from there.

A comedian, a musician, a nature-lover, a philosopher. Bill Bailey has now surely also cemented his status as national treasure. His latest show, Thoughtifier, is about his intriguing thought processes, channelled through music. So nothing new there then. However, Bailey ensures that a show that runs over two hours never flags, maintaining characteristic charm and curiosity throughout.

The Jamie Lloyd Company presents The Tempest,  the first production in a season of Shakespeare in London’s iconic Theatre Royal Drury Lane.