Aliya Al-Hassan - Page 14

One of my biggest bugbears in theatre is a production that remains on stage well past its welcome. Overlong and flabby shows do neither the audience nor the show itself any favours. It is therefore a huge endorsement for me to state that a production of nearly three and a half hours really is worth every second of your time.

Tony award-nominee J. Smith-Cameron stars as Juno Boyle opposite Mark Rylance as ‘Captain’ Jack Boyle in a highly anticipated new production of Juno and the Paycock, Seán O’Casey's timeless masterpiece, directed by Tony and Olivier award-winner Matthew Warchus. So what did the critics think? Read the reviews.

A cost of living crisis, people being fit to work but choosing not to, poverty, nationalism and women's control of their own bodies. Seán O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock may have first been performed at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924, but a century later, his tragicomedy resonates more strongly than ever.

Experimental drama at its best. See what happens with no rehearsal, no director, a different actor each night and a script waiting in a sealed envelope on the stage. What did the critics think?

In a slightly disappointing end to the festival, short pieces and long pauses failed to live up to much of the wonder of the previous eight weeks.

From the writers of SIX, comes a brand-new British musical where the lonely little lives of two BFFs are transformed into an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza about dates, mates, and celebrating love in all its forms.

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss' new show Why Am I So Single? is billed as 'A big fancy musical'. Bright, bold and funny, it is unashamedly focused on the Gen-Z experience, but gets lost with indulgent in-jokes, repetition and an over-long running time.

The climax to the Proms' Choral Day could only be George Frideric Handel's majestic Messiah. This 1789 arrangement by Mozart was performed by The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, joined by an incredible six (yes six) choirs, conducted by an ebullient John Butt.

There is a sharply observed and darkly comedic play inside this production, but it is stymied by overlong, melodramatic monologues and meandering subjects.

It's a significant cultural moment for the State Ballet of Georgia, who come to London for the first time in their 175 year history to perform the iconic Swan Lake.

If anyone were to worry about the future of classical music, Prom 46 would surely reassure them that we are in good hands. Students from the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir, Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra came together for an incredibly powerful and accomplished programme.

Written by Benedict Lombe and directed by Lynette Linton, Shifters has now opened at thr Duke of York's Theatre after playing at the Bush Theatre earlier this year.

An eloquent and very funny depiction of two young black British people, navigating their way through a waxing and waning relationship. It is a bittersweet, intelligent and exciting piece of theatre.

Even if this summer has been a bit of a washout, there's much sunshine to be had at Open Bar Theatre's touring production of Much Ado About Nothing.

Two giants of the jazz world and one composer who has had vast influence on modern music made up a mixed, but interesting, evening at the BBC Prom 35 in the ever-majestic Royal Albert Hall.

Jordan Fein's new production of Fiddler on the Roof is now open at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London have rightly earned a reputation for holding audiences rapt with their vivid realisations of music. Last night, you could have heard a pin drop in the majestic Royal Albert Hall, as they returned to The Proms for a victorious fourth consecutive appearance, celebrating American classics.

Auntie had no need to be worried. For Smith's only UK appearance of 2024, they were joined the BBC Concert Orchestra and the LJ Singers for an excellent (and very professional) evening, celebrating Smith as a singer, rather than a controversialist.

Carrie Cracknell (Julie, The Deep Blue Sea) directs Frank Galati’s award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath, now open at the National Theatre.

The world of professional swimming has been dogged by stories of doping and Hnath's play seeks to explore the ethical aspects of this issue and how far someone will go to be a winner. So far, so intriguing, but Red Speedo feels unfinished and Hnath fails to either dig deep enough or offer any interesting commentary about these themes.