Aliya Al-Hassan - Page 86

Playwright Gore Vidal was well placed to have in depth knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes in US politics. After all, his mother was the daughter of a Democratic senator and his father worked for Franklin Roosevelt. His interest and involvement in politics led to The Best Man, which made its Broadway debut in 1960 and received six Tony Award nominations. Set in a Philadelphia hotel during the 1960 presidential nominating convention, there is no doubt that the workings of American politics have changed somewhat since that time. To appreciate the jeopardy and drama within the play, it is worth understanding that back then, there were often many more deadlocks and last minute dramas to these conventions than now, when the presidential nominees are chosen much earlier.

Amid the horrors of the First World War, The Wipers Times is the unlikely, but true, story of when two officers found a printing press in the bombed out remains of Ypres (Wipers was the soldier's nickname for the town) and decided to produce a satirical paper to lift the spirits of the men. The paper could not print any details of the war due to censorship and so it concentrated on the absurd side of life in the trenches by lampooning the government, generals and mocking all the conditions of war.

Wait Until Dark first opened on Broadway in 1966, but many know it from the 1967 Hollywood film, where the lead role of Susy went to Audrey Hepburn, who was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for the role.

The Railway Children holds a special place in Britain's heart; E Nesbit's well-loved tale was first published in 1905, but most of us know it from Lionel Jeffries' iconic 1970 film, which also made a star of the teenage Jenny Agutter. This new production, faithfully adapted by Dave Simpson, has given a wider national audience the chance to see this classic tale brought to the stage.

There is a profound darkness to Abigail Hood's new play, Dangling, both in look and in content. A bleak depiction of sexual abuse, mental illness and disturbing family secrets, it looks at stories of two girls who go missing, their circumstances and what happens to those left behind.

There is much about Charles Dickens' Classic tale Oliver Twist to recommend it to children; the comic pomposity of Mr Bumble, the sinister actions of Fagin, the cheekiness of the Artful Dodger and, of course, the adventures and eventual salvation of poor orphan Oliver.

How far would you go to have a baby? What and who would you overlook to make it happen? Vivienne Franzmann has never shied away from controversial subjects in her plays. The 2012, critically acclaimed play The Witness explored the exploitative nature of photojournalism and Pests was based on heroin addiction. In Bodies she turns her attention to the morality surrounding overseas surrogacy.

Before the world had an understanding of the word feminism, Charlotte Bronte was delivering a masterpiece tutorial in female independence and emancipation. Jane Eyre demonstrates that being plain and poor is no barrier to a desire for knowledge and the quest for love and liberation. The story is of an unloved orphan girl, sent to boarding school by her callous aunt. Despite a cold and harsh life, Jane eventually becomes a teacher at the school and then moves to become a governess, working for the darkly brooding Mr Rochester. The couple fall in love, but must try to overcome sinister secrets and internal battles about ethics, morality and justice.

Northern Ballet has a reputation for pioneering contemporary, narrative ballet, but this may be its most challenging subject to date. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas has been a book and later a film, both of which have seen their fair share of controversy. In a tale praised and criticised in equal measure, nine year old Bruno, son of a Nazi commander, befriends Shmuel, a Jewish boy, through the fence of an extermination camp who wears what looks like pyjamas. When Shmuel's father goes missing inside the camp Bruno slips into the camp to help find him, with inevitably tragic results.

An Octoroon is a person who has one-eighth black heritage. In 1850s Louisiana, that meant they are automatically unclean and, ultimately, a slave. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins radically reimagines Dion Boucicault's 1859 play based upon a tragic and rather melodramatic love story between white plantation owner George and his uncle's illegitimate daughter Zoe. Entwined in this is the apparent financial ruin of the plantation, which leads to a series of racially motivated violent events.

Since its first publication as a comic strip in 1938, The Addams Family has seen many incarnations, but did not become a musical until it launched on Broadway in 2010. Now the quirky comedy based on Jersey Boys writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice's book, combined with Tony Award nominated Andrew Lippa's brilliantly crafted music and lyrics, sees its UK premiere.

There seem to be something consistently appealing about the music of the 1980s; acts such as Rick Astley and Bananarama seem to attract more concert-goers today than they did in their heyday. It makes sense, therefore, for a revival of a musical featuring such classic hits as 'Holding Out For A Hero' and 'Let's Hear It For The Boy' would appeal to the current zeitgeist.

Alistair Beaton has solid form as a political satirist as writer on Spitting Image and author of The Trial of Tony Blair. In Fracked! he turns his hand to the political hot potato of drilling for shale gas in the sedate countryside village of Fenstock. It is a story pitting the malign forces of corporate company Deerland Energy against the virtues of the reasonable and just campaign against them, spearheading by protesting pensioner Elizabeth Blackwood.

In a captivating UK premiere, Sandra is preparing to take her seat on the first day of the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission for Northern Ireland at Stormont, when her estranged sister Teeni bursts in on a wave of racist and expletive-ridden anger. Everything Between Us is David Ireland's award-winning play, which follows the sisters for the next 70 minutes, as they wrestle with their own relationship, a brutal history of political violence and the seeming impossibility of resolution.

Billed as a new musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll's beloved books, Wonderland sees Alice as a deflated and disappointed 40 year old, living in a grimy tower block with her teenage daughter Ellie. Upon the unexplained appearance of a white rabbit, they descend, via the tower block lift, into Wonderland with their neighbour Jack

If City of Glass was a modern art installation, it would undoubtably be worth five stars. It is one of the most visually impressive productions I have ever seen on a London stage.

After You is the first musical to be performed at The Crazy Coqs venue, deep under Piccadilly Circus at Brasserie Zedel in London's West End. Childhood friends and musical collaborators Katie Lam and Alex Parker were commissioned to create a musical specifically for the venue and the result is a time-honoured story of strangers meeting and an irresistible connection being sparked.

Following the sell-out run in 2015 at The Vaults deep under Waterloo Station, Les Enfants Terribles' and ebp bring their Olivier award nominated Alice's Adventures Underground back to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's beloved book. Less like a gentle retelling of the story and more like experiencing falling down the rabbit hole yourself, Alice's Adventures Underground is a more grown up way to immerse yourself in this fantastic story.

Mike Leigh wrote his most famous play, Abigail's Party, 40 years ago, as a reaction to the boom in consumerism after the war and as a general commentary at the absurdism of class aspiration. Set in a suburban 70s house, Beverly and her staid estate agent husband Laurence are hosting that most potentially awkward of scenarios; a drinks party with the neighbours. Nurse Angela and brooding Tony join socially self conscious Sue, whose daughter Abigail is having her own party down the road.

Arthur Miller's The Crucible was written in response to the McCarthy-era in America, as an allegory for the witch hunts against supposed communists. The presidential order resulted in an obsession with exposing the 'red under the bed', destroying friendships and disrupting communities with fear and suspicion. Today, it appears more timely than ever, as we again find ourselves living in an era of heightened fear and anxiety. The play resonates as current warning against hysteria, the threat of religious fundamentalism and even the potential danger of fake news.