Aliya Al-Hassan - Page 91

The return of Jonathan Miller's brilliant Mafioso take on Verdi's Rigoletto is incredibly welcome after the awkward and confusing version that last appeared at the ENO in 2014. The original production directed by Miller premiered back in 1982, but still feels as sharp and slick as ever.

John Webster is not what you could ever describe as a subtle writer. His bloody themes of lust, revenge and tragedy are overt and unflinching. The White Devil is based on an extraordinary true-life story in the Venetian court, where Duke Bracciano decides to seduce Vittoria with the help of her brother Flamineo, who is motivated by social mobility and power. The fact that both characters are already married seems no barrier. The result is an intoxicating and decadent game of power play and lust that leads to murder, revenge and the destruction of their very existence.

The beautiful story of Nutcracker is as festive as Father Christmas and mince pies. Clara and her Christmas Eve battle with the evil Mouse King to rescue her beloved Nutcracker leads to a magical trip to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. When Tamara Rojo took over as Artistic Director of the English National Ballet, she inherited Wayne Eagling's version of Nutcracker. As she has since more than proved her innovative style, it seems a shame that she has not updated this rather muddled version. Eagling's version keeps Clara as the focus, imagining herself as an adult travelling to the land of snow with her handsome suitor.There is more than a hint of sexual awakening in this version, as well as some confusing narrative. The Mouse King is not actually seen to be defeated and the morphing of Clara into the Sugar Plum Fairy is a little bewildering.

For UK audiences, Dreamgirls will be more familiar from the critically acclaimed 2006 film, but incredibly, the iconic musical started life on Broadway all the way back in 1981. The UK debut of the stage show has been a long time coming, but is resolutely worth the wait.

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is one of the most well-known and best-loved stories of the season. Over the years, a number of radio adaptations of it have been broadcast; always faithful to the story and always professional.

James Seabright must be a very busy man at the moment. With numerous productions currently playing across London, including the excellent Transpotting and F**king Men at The Vaults, he now brings Olivier Award-nominated show Potted Panto to the Garrick Theatre for a suitably festive run.

After the success of last year's A Christmas Carol, Kingston's Rose Theatre have again turned to talented Ciaran McConville for their festive show. 2016 sees a festive adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's much-loved children's tale of love and friendship, The Wind In The Willows.

The famous story of the Prince of Denmark follows Hamlet on his murderous quest to avenge the death of his father. The enduring appeal of Shakespeare's tragedy is the writer's skill in retaining mystery about the eponymous protagonist. He is an enigma and audiences' perceptions of him always vary.

CATS is a strange phenomenon. Despite the fact that there is no real plot, its infectious songs and legendary choreography has meant that it has been playing around the world almost constantly since 1981.

Incredibly, it is over two decades since Irvine Welsh's cult classic, Trainspotting, landed on bookshelves and twenty years since Danny Boyle's film impacted on modern culture in a way rarely seen before.

A revue is a rare theatrical treat these days. In its heyday, the irresistible combination of light comedy, song and dance sketches was incredibly popular. Its golden age lasted from the early 1920s to the late 1950s and for much of that time its greatest practitioner was Noel Coward who wrote and appeared in a succession of revues on both sides of the Atlantic such as London Calling! (1923) and Sigh No More (1945).

Kelly Hunter, a Royal Shakespeare Company actress, began working with autistic children in 2002. Through this work and a desire to bring Shakepeare to children who do not have access to it, she developed the Hunter Heartbeat Method. Through this technique, autistic children are introduced to Shakespeare through the use of games and the rhythm of the iambic pentameter.

It is an unusual way to earn a living; manipulating your genitals on stage for the entertainment of others. But Puppetry of the Penis, or The Ancient Australian Art of Genital Origami, is just that.

Carol Churchill is one of our greatest playwrights; gems such as Top Girls and Far Away have challenged the concepts of theatrical writing in wonderful and exciting ways. Blue Heart at Orange Tree Theatre is a different animal. It is both clever and absurd, and Churchill tests many traditions of theatrical form, yet feels a little empty at its core.

In the theatre it is well known that; no matter what, the show must go on. This sentiment has rarely been portrayed so poignantly as it is in Ronald Harwood's Olivier award-nominated play The Dresser. First performed in 1980, the play returns to the West End in a fabulous revival of the tragic comedy that delves into the psyche of an actor well past his prime.

Somewhere in England is a piece of 1940s war-time nostalgia with a big heart, brought to life in the cosy surroundings of New Wimbledon Studio this week. The show is an escapist and pastoral view of an interesting part of history, when American GIs arrived in England to prepare for the invasion of Normandy. They brought with them nylons, Coca Cola and bags of energy and fun. The appearance of the lively and girl-deprived young soldiers in the quiet village creates ripples with all the residents; some welcome, some less so. The show tells the story as the GIs settle into village life over the course of an eventful year; falling in love, creating a stir and making life-long friendships.

Theresa Ikoko's brilliant debut play, Girls, is a visceral portrayal of life for three young girls, kidnapped and held captive by Islamic extremists somewhere in West Africa. As the danger to their lives becomes more apparent, the dynamic between the trio shifts. The friendship is tested by the circumstances they find themselves in and each must do what they can to survive.

The first thing to say about Good Canary is it is not always an easy play to watch. Zach Helm's expletive-ridden play is a darkly comic portrayal of mental disintegration, drug addiction and literary brilliance that is mesmerising and ultimately exhausting to sit through

Zoe Cooper's new play, Jess and Joe Forever, taps into an experience that so many of us have had; the intensity and importance of a friendship made on a childhood holiday.

Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) is perhaps the most famous 'opera buffa'- an informal style of comic opera developed to appeal to the lower classes in the early 18th Century.