Henry Naylor Presents the London Premiere of ANGELS at Arcola Theatre

Following a total sell-out run at Edinburgh Fringe 2016, two-time Fringe First Award Winner, Henry Naylor is delighted to present the London premiere of his Multi-Award-winning global hit play, Angel, at London's Arcola Theatre for a month-long season this autumn.

Angel is inspired by the story of a modern legend; a female sniper - the Angel of Kobani - who held ISIS in check for over a year in war torn Syria. A young female law student, she joined the resistance when the town of Kobani was besieged - and quickly discovered that she had a talent for killing. In the midst of the fiercest fighting since Stalingrad, it is alleged that she shot and killed 100 extremists - making her particularly feared by ISIS, as they believe that if they are killed by a woman they cannot enter Paradise...

When it premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 the play won two of the most prestigious prizes - the Fringe First Award and the Holden Street Theatres Edinburgh Award - and it was selected by The Times as one of the UK's Ten Best Plays of 2016 (the only Fringe show to receive this honour). At the world's second-largest Fringe, Adelaide, Angel was no less successful - winning the Overall Critics Circle Award - which meant that the reviewers chose it as their favorite show - out of 1,347. A month-long run off-Broadway at the 59E59 Theaters followed in April, where the show received enormous critical acclaim. It achieved a Show-Score of 86-87%, which consistently placed it as one of the top three critically-received plays in all of New York (on- and off-Broadway) for the duration of its run.

In Angel, Henry resumes his collaboration with director Michael Cabot, the artistic director of London Classic Theatre. They worked together on Henry's The Collector and Borders, and have been developing a minimalist style - aiming to strip theatre back to the essentials of script, performance and direction. Rising star Avital Lvova's bravura portrayal of Rehana earned a nomination for the Outstanding Performance Award in Prague, and wowed The New York Critics.

Henry Naylor's Arabian Nightmares trilogy - Echoes, Angel and The Collector - were published by Nick Hern Books in January 2017.