166 stories by "Aliya Al-Hassan"
After a season that saw some triumphant returns of classic operas, such as the magnificent revival Jonathan Miller's The Barber of Seville, the ENO has taken another gamble on bringing a bra…
The British appetite for thrillers is seemingly unquenchable. Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap has now been running for 65 years in London and detective and murder mystery stories are standar…
Daphne du Maurier is the master of Cornish gothic storytelling and ghostly intrigue. Jamaica Inn is her 1936 novel a haunting tale set in Cornwall in the 1800s. Following the death of her mo…
With the release of the Christmas advert from Marks And Spencer, we can all rest assured that the festive season is drawing ever near. Sam Holcroft's well received play, Rules For Living, ge…
A bereaved couple meet after a long separation. Stilted pleasantries give way to raw accusations and brutal truths. It would be very easy for Poison to be a melodramatic hour and twenty minu…
There is always a risk in seemingly simple dramatic two-handers. Where there are no visual tricks, no impressive set changes or sparkling costumes, the whole play relies on the chemistry and…
Immersive theatre is a popular and fashionable way of presenting work where the audience are not passive observers, but are involved and become part of the production. After last year's insp…
After receiving rave reviews during its run at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, new musical Everyone's Talking About Jamie is making the final preparations for its transfer to the Apollo Theatr…
Adam Spreadbury-Maher has a long history with the King's Head Theatre. As its Artistic Director and co-founder of OperaUpClose, he has overseen many successful opera productions, including T…
It is said that Rossini wrote his most famous opera, The Barber of Seville, in three weeks, but few opere buffe remain as fresh and funny as this one. The well known plot of cunning barber F…
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 fath…
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 soldi…
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 an…
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 als…
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 s…
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 Dodge…
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 a…
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 …
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…
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…
Since it's 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…
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.…
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…
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…
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 Te…
