Aliya Al-Hassan is UK Managing Editor of BroadwayWorld. A London-based theatre critic and journalist, she has a life-long passion for the arts, with a focus on theatre. She is always keen to promote new work and smaller venues. Follow her on Twitter @aliyajaderosa
It will come as no surprise to those who are familiar with the output of Richmond’s Orange Tree Theatre that Bernard Shaw is the first pick for what the theatre is calling their Recovery Season.
Mr Wickham is best known as the villain of Jane Austen’s iconic novel Pride and Prejudice; a dastardly rake who seduced Elizabeth’s impetuous younger sister Lydia and threatened to bring the whole family into disrepute.
Following on from the Orange Tree’s successful debut into the world of theatrical streaming with Inside, comes Outside: a premiere of three plays from new and established artists.
As it is now a year since theatres went dark, it seems appropriate for one of the country’s most eminent theatre companies to now produce one of the most innovative and inventive productions seen since the pandemic began.
Thoughtful, poignant and insightful, Ryan Calais Cameron’s play, Typical, debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to the Soho Theatre in 2019.
There is a particular snobbery surrounding musical theatre: critics say that in a moment of high drama, crisis or emotion, the most unrealistic thing to do would be to break into song.
Rehearsed via Zoom and recorded remotely, Shaun McKenna’s new adaptation of JM Barrie’s ephemeral story Peter Pan: The Audio Adventure shows that something truly wonderful can come out of lockdown.
Christmas is often about tradition and Jack Thorne’s beautiful version of A Christmas Carol at London’s Old Vic has quickly established itself as a must-see theatrical tradition after only a few years.
For those lucky enough to be living under restrictions where you can still visit your local cinema, you can still catch one of the most festive theatrical events of the season; the Bolshoi Ballet’s The Nutcracker, which is screening in selected cinemas on December 20.
As theatre companies across the world struggle to survive this uniquely-challenging year, opera-ballet company Constella recognised both the isolation in care homes and artists’ own struggles to survive.
In the next episode of the podcast series What I Love, acclaimed director Ian Rickson meets international theatre producer Sonia Friedman, who chooses a favourite song, film and piece of writing to highlight what we are all in danger of losing.