Aliya Al-Hassan - Page 87

As the first play to be funded by Bitcoin, the origins of Alex Oates' play Silk Road are as intriguing as the contents. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, Silk Road was the (now defunct) eBay of the dark web, where you could order any narcotic and have it delivered directly to your own door by an unsuspecting postman. Following an appeal on the forums of the real Silk Road for contributions towards the original production, an anonymous donor donated two Bitcoin that Oates reinvested to bring this captivating play to the Edinburgh Fringe and the Vault Festival in 2014. Now playing at the Trafalgar Studios, the play is as intense and absorbing as ever.

What would you do to achieve your dream of becoming an actor? How long would you wait for the call that will change everything? What would you suffer to be able to watch and wait for the dream to begin? Sacrificeis a new play, written by Co-Director of Ardent Theatre, Andrew Muir, to explore these ideas and challenges that young actors might come across as they try and make their breakthrough into the industry.

There are live performers who bring a charisma and immediate sense of warmth and charm to the stage, along with an astounding talent. Joe Stilgoe is one such performer; sliding onto the tiny stage of Ronnie Scott's, he looked like he had lived most of his life holding court in front of an audience.

Based on the hugely popular Dreamworks animation, Madagascar The Musical brings the much-loved film to life in an energetic whirl of funky dance routines and quirky characters. After becoming disillusioned with his life in a Manhattan zoo, Marty the zebra escapes to see the outside world. Fearful for his safety, his friends Alex the lion, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo follow him, but are captured and sent to a Kenyan nature reserve. After the boat they are travelling on capsizes, they become stranded on strange and madcap island of Madagascar where they meet King Julien XIII and his tribe of lemurs.

Fringe festivals can be places where performances are to be endured, rather than enjoyed. Fortunately, they can also showcase absorbing and innovative work. As part of Playmill, the King's Head Theatre's exciting season of brand new work, two new productions demonstrate both great potential and thoughtful insight.

To present the world premiere of a re-discovered play written by Great War veteran and poet Robert Graves in the centenary year of the First World War is something of a coup for the tiny Finborough Theatre. But It Still Goes On is an exploration of familial and romantic  relationships played out in a society still reeling from the effects of the war. It features lust, infidelity, repressed homosexuality and mental illness.

BWW Reviewers Reflect On Why We Return To Long-running Shows

In this time of endless Brexit questions, the NHS in crisis and the world generally seeming to be going to hell in a handcart, a lighthearted and exuberant show like Legally Blonde is sometimes the perfect antidote. Based on the 2001 film, the award-winning show follows the cutesy and seemingly vacuous American sorority girl Elle as she finds her way into Harvard Law School in pursuit of her ex-boyfriend who claimed she wasn't 'serious' enough. Glittery, camp and very pink, the production follows Elle as she makes a surprising success of her quest through abounding positivity and stellar levels of self-belief.

In an age of Instant Messenger, Snapchat and Twitter, many of us may have never experienced the quiet thrill of receiving a handwritten, personal letter. 84 Charing Cross Road is James Roose-Evans' adaptation of Helene Hanff's charming and very personal book of letters. It goes back to a time when people not only hand wrote correspondence, but had to buy their books from a physical bookshop, rather than clicking to purchase them online. The story is an account of the New York playwright's own twenty-year relationship with the manager of Marks & Co. bookshop, conducted entirely through letters.

In many ways, the timing of the European premiere of American playwright Emily Schwend's award-winning play Utility could not be more prescient. The portrayal of a quotidian Texan family trying to live an ordinary life and having to battle to stay afloat in challenging economic circumstances is an all-too familiar story in today's financial climate.

For those not around in 1971, it's easy to be ignorant of the huge impact that Carole King's seminal album, Tapestry, had at the time. Beautiful The Carole King Musical opens with King's concert at Carnegie Hall to celebrate the amazing success of that album. It then quickly flashes back to a 16 year old Carole about to sell her first song. What follows is the incredible story of her marriage, motherhood and stellar song writing partnership with her husband Gerry Goffin.

Iolanthe is arguably one of Gilbert and Sullivan's finest works. This frivolous and frothy opera was successfully revived by the ENO earlier this year, but now returns as something a little different. After surprising audiences with an original run at the Union Theatre and then a successful transfer to Wilton's Music Hall in 2011, Sasha Regan returns to her most critically acclaimed production; an all-male Iolanthe.

On the face of it, a play based upon a 13-year-old boy being expelled from his naval college for allegedly stealing a five-shilling postal order does not sound like the stuff of captivating drama. However, in the masterly hands of Terence Rattigan, this story does indeed enthral and quietly impress.

Director Lucy Bailey has solid form with adaptations of Agatha Christie stories; her Olivier-award nominated version of Witness For The Prosecution is currently a hit at County Hall. She has also directed Dial M For Murder and Gaslight, so it is not entirely surprising that this touring version of Love From a Stranger is a taut and compelling thriller.

At a time when anti-Semitism appears dangerously current and desperate refugees flee their homelands, a revival of Diane Samuels' engrossing play Kindertransport could not be more timely. Anne Simon directs the remarkable true story of a series of rescue efforts that brought thousands of refugee Jewish children to Great Britain from Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1940.

Historically, Richmond's Orange Tree Theatre was a well-known champion of new talent. However, until now, Artistic Director Paul Miller and Executive Director Sarah Nicholson were yet to stage a debut play. Joe White is an alumnus of the Orange Tree Writers Collective, and his first play has clearly impressed them. Mayfly is based on the heartbreakingly short life cycle of a mayfly; a lifetime can happen in just one day. It is a grandiose idea and one that White makes a courageous and often very successful attempt to explore.

To kick off its 10th anniversary season, the Rose Theatre turns to Shakespeare to give it a needed boost. This new production of Much Ado About Nothing is not quite a hit, but still an entertaining if slightly manic evening.

In our new series, BroadwayWorld UK writers nominate the shows they'd love to see revived!

Following a chance encounter with an escaped convict, orphan Pip is given an unexpected opportunity to visit the reclusive Miss Havisham. In the decay and faded grandeur of her house, Pip falls in love with her adopted daughter Estella and helped by an anonymous benefactor, he moves to London to attempt to become a gentleman and win the hard heart of Estella.

The first major revival of Charlotte Jones' play Humble Boy is another interesting choice by the Orange Tree's Artistic Director Paul Miller. It is surely a challenge to pull off a play that combines astrophysics, bee-keeping and Shakespearean family angst, but Miller achieves this in a neat and clever way, whilst maintaining tenderness and gentle comedy.