Aliya Al-Hassan - Page 9

Michael Abbensetts was the first Black writer to have a series commissioned by the BBC: the groundbreaking Empire Road, which had an almost entirely Black cast and crew. The Guyanese writer's work has been largely forgotten, so it seems appropriate that the National Theatre, with its important Black Plays Archive, has chosen to stage his play Alterations, not seen since 1978.

Direct from a sell-out run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Last Laugh is a brand-new laugh-a-minute play which re-imagines the lives of three of Britain's all-time greatest comedy heroes – Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse.

How many ways can you re-tell Jane Austen? Isobel McArthur continues to prove it is more than possible to stage a show bursting with silliness, satire and the sharpest wit without losing the essence of Austen's beloved work.

Tom Hiddleston is Benedick and Hayley Atwell is Beatrice. Two of their generation’s finest actors collaborate with director Jamie Lloyd again in this savagely funny and beautifully tender battle of wits. Much Ado About Nothing is now open at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. What did the critics think?

After a rather muted reception of The Tempest, fans of director Jamie Lloyd’s work can breathe a sigh of relief. It seems that he has discovered both fun and colour in this brilliant and bold version of Much Ado About Nothing starring Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell.

Richard II is played by Jonathan Bailey, whose past work includes Bridgerton, Fellow Travellers, Cassio in Nicholas Hytner’s National Theatre production of Othello and Edgar to Ian McKellen’s King Lear. He has also won an Olivier Award for his role of Jamie in Company and is Fiyero in the Wicked movie. What did the critics think of the show?

The premise of The Shark is Broken is deceptively simple; three men in a boat, waiting and talking. We meet the cast of a new film in 1974 when Bruce the mechanical shark, necessary for the whole shoot, is indeed broken. Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss would go on to star in the iconic 1975 film Jaws which sparked a lifelong fear of the ocean for many.

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.