Aliya Al-Hassan - Page 88

It is Ida's 86th birthday, but it's a milestone she would rather have not reached. Her family wants to gather and celebrate, but she would rather be removed from her small world of pain and confusion. She sits in the midst of the manufactured joviality of family members who feel both guilt of their own past absences and annoyance at the need to be at her party at all.

In essence, there is not much to Conor McPherson's intimate play; four men drink in a remote Irish pub, entertain a female newcomer with ghost stories and then leave. However, The Weir is a taut and unexpectedly gripping insight into rural communities, isolation, loss and loneliness.

Strangers On A Train was a highly successful, taut thriller written by Patricia Highsmith in 1950. Master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock adapted it into a highly charged and provocative film noir soon afterwards. It is a shame, therefore, that Anthony Banks' new production lacks any similar tension or intrigue.

Originally intended as a stinging satire on Victorian politics and the House of Lords in particular, Gilbert and Sullivan's supremely silly comic opera Iolanthe is in fine form as it returns to the Coliseum. The story is of the eponymous fairy Iolanthe, banished from fairyland as she married a mortal. Her son Strephon wants to marry Phyllis, but all the members of the House of Peers wants to marry Phyllis as well. When Phyllis suspects Strephon of being unfaithful, she sets off a huge confrontation between the fairies and the peers.

Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic thriller has had such an impact on the public psyche that a reference to 'Jekyll and Hyde' is universally known as referring to a person with a dual personality. An adaptation at Kingston's Rose Theatre attempts to convey the dark horror of the story where upright Dr Jekyll's secret experiments split his personality in two and reveal the murderous Mr Hyde. Unfortunately, the shocking impact of the story is lost in this overly long and un-engaging adaptation.

For many people, their first introduction to The Jungle Book is the Disney film of the same name. This new adaptation from Olivier award winner Jessica Swale deserves the effort of disassociation, as it rewards in numerous ways. Swale has adapted Rudyard Kipling's beloved story of the boy Mowgli being raised by wolves in the jungle into a modern, relevant and hugely entertaining show.

Sex, equality, morality and fidelity are all issues currently in the forefront of many people's minds. As part of a year-long celebration of Oscar Wilde, Dominic Droomgoole's Classic Spring theatre company now turn to Lady Windermere's Fan after A Woman Of No Importance. It is something of a relief to see a play that respects the serious themes of power and society's views of the morality of men and women, but yet remains gloriously funny and light hearted.

Swan Lake was Tchaikovsky's first ballet, but it is arguably his best known and well loved. The bewitching and ultimately tragic story follows Prince Siegfried as meets the beautiful but cursed Odette, condemned by the evil Von Rothbart to be a swan except for a few fleeting hours a day. Only a vow of true love and fidelity will break the spell. The prince pledges his love to Odette, but later is tempted by Odile, the beautiful daughter of Von Rothbart. With the vow of fidelity broken, Siegfried rushes to find Odette dying. In despair he kills himself and the spirit of Odette is freed, so they can be united in death.

Greeted by rapturous reviews in 2016, Peter Shaffer's acclaimed production of Amadeus makes a triumphant return to the National Theatre this week. The enthralling story of a fictional confessional from an Italian musician called Antonio Salieri, as he recalls his obsessional jealousy and subsequent efforts to destroy Amadeus Mozart told through extended flashbacks, has been a success since its debut in 1979. Under Michael Longhurst's careful direction, this version is an extraordinary piece of theatre.

There's no doubt it feels quite strange to be seeing a ballet set at Christmas time in the middle of January. It's a similar feeling to passing a house with a tree still up in the living room window and tutting quietly. The Moscow City Ballet show no sign of festive fatigue as they bring their version of The Nutcracker to Richmond Theatre this week, as part of a nationwide tour. Despite misgivings about the time of year, the timeless tale of Clara and her Christmas eve adventures with her beloved Nutcracker is usually a delight, for no other reason than the wonderful music.

The boys are back. Based on an imaginary night at the Sands Hotel, the three musical legends of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. come together to perform a show featuring banter, witty repartee and fantastic songs. Devised and directed by Mitch Sebastian, the well-known show The Rat Pack-Live From Las Vegas now returns to the Theatre Royal Haymarket, where it ran back in 2003.

It would be disingenuous to call Cirque Du Soleil simply a circus. The Canadian performance group are world famous and synonymous with incredible feats of physical strength and endurance. Since 2005, over two million people have witnessed these displays at the Royal Albert Hall and now the company returns to London for the UK premiere of their show OVO.

What would you do if someone or something was watching you? Adapted from the H.G. Well's short story, The Crystal Egg Live tells the story of Charley Wace, taken in by his eccentric Uncle Cave after his father disappears. When his father's body is discovered, Charley inherits the only item found with the body-a crystal egg. Uncle Cave owns a curiosity shop in London's Seven Dials and intends to sell the egg to improve life for his family, but sinister events connected to the egg threaten to plunge the whole world into great danger.

This Christmas there seem to be more productions of Dickens' festive tale than ever. This is the fourth revival of Antic Disposition's musical production of A Christmas Carol. Its return to the spectacular setting of the impressive Middle Temple Hall, with its breathtaking hammer-beam roof, could not be more celebratory or Dickensian. Dickens himself studied there and walking to the hall through the cobbled streets lit by gaslight is a distinctly atmospheric experience.

With the success of last year's fantastical take on The Wind in the Willows, Kingston's Rose Theatre looks to another classic this year with Alice in Winterland, a new take on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass.

To be frank, Christmas has not begun until you have seen Christopher Biggins sashaying across a stage to the Strictly Come Dancing theme tune in a fuschia pink fringed dress with giant red foam cherries for breasts.

The beautiful story of Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker doll is as much a part of Christmas as carols and novelty jumpers. The pair discover a magical world where they battle with the Mouse King and take an enchanted hot air balloon rides over a snow-covered London to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy; it is enough to make the hardest of hearts feel a little softer.

Of all of Bernard Shaw's wonderful plays, it seems a brave and slightly odd choice for the Orange Tree theatre to choose to revive Misalliance. When the play premiered in 1910, it was hated by critics and audiences alike for its verbose text and uneven plot. It has rarely been seen performed since and unfortunately this production shows that it is easy to see why.

There are many reasons why Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been adapted endlessly. A cautionary tale of debt, ghosts, meanness of spirit and salvation set in a snowy Victorian Christmas is irresistible to directors and theatregoers alike. This year the Old Vic has taken up the baton with Matthew Warchus' traditional and utterly charming take on the festive classic.

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 brand new production to the stage of the London Coliseum. Following Two Boys in 2011, Marnie is the young composer Nico Muhly's second world premiere for ENO.