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See - Sada Elbalad
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Salma Abu Deif and Ahmed Dawood Reteam for "Azma" Film Adaptation
Yara Sameh Salma Abu Deif has joined Ahmed Dawood in 'Azma,' a film based on iconic author Mohamed Sadek's 2020 novel, which has been a bestseller for years. Rising actress Jessica Hossam Eldin is also set to star in the pic. The adaptation marks the third collaboration between Abu Deif and Dawood after the 2020 TV series 'Zienhom' and the 2022 high-end Arabic remake of 'Suits'. It is scripted by Sadek, who will make his feature directorial debut with the upcoming project, and is set to be produced by Hany Osama's The Producers. Abu Deif will be seen next in the long-awaited sequel to ' Hepta: The Last Lecture '. The pic also stars Mohamed Mamdouh, Menna Shalaby, Karim Fahmy, Asmaa Galal, Karim Kassem, Mayan El Sayed, Hassan Malek, and Gihan El Shamashergy. Prominent director Hady El Bagory and screenwriter Mohamed Sadek reunited for a sequel. The script is penned from a story by Sadek, who co-wrote the pic alongside Mohamed Galal. Abu Deif made her last onscreen appearance in the 2024 film " Leeh Teasheha Lewahdak ", starring Khaled El Sawy and Sherif Mounir. The official logline for the film reads: "A doctor seeks to stand by his friend who is suffering from cancer, and the duo goes through many difficult situations and experiences." Born on February 2, 1993, Abu Deif began her acting career at age 20 as an editorial model whilst attaining a bachelor's degree in Mass Communication at Misr International University. She also studied at Stella Adler acting studio in New York for the summer Conservatory. In 2017, Abu Deif made her first television appearance as an actress in two of the biggest TV Ramadan series, "Halawet EL Donia" and "Lah Totfea EL Shams". Shortly after, Abu Deif made her first film appearance in the critically acclaimed Egyptian film 'Sheikh Jackson' that has taken part in numerous International Film Festivals around the world, garnering international attention for the impressive, yet controversial nature of the film. In 2024, Abu Deif landed her first lead role in the TV series "Aala Nesbet Moshahda" (Highest Viewership). read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies
Metro
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
My son didn't respond to texts - I knew something terrible had happened
The sun was out and the hedgerows were full of primroses as I drove to see my son, Felix, at university in March 2017. I was excited at the thought of seeing him. His teenage years had been fairly difficult: he'd developed epilepsy at the age of 13, which was never that well controlled and it knocked his confidence. But he seemed to be blossoming at university. He'd got involved in drama and I was travelling to Leicester from our home in Devon to watch him in the musical, The Producers. We'd arranged to meet outside the theatre but when I arrived at the appointed time, Felix wasn't there. I called him but there was no reply. I waited for half an hour then went off to try and find him. In the theatre, I found the director, Izzy, who told me Felix hadn't turned up for rehearsals for the last couple of days, and they'd also been trying to track him down but didn't know where he lived. He hadn't responded to calls or texts. Deep in my being, I felt a terrifying sense of dread. We phoned Felix's hall of residence who said they would go and check his room and call back. Time passed; there was no phone call. Increasingly worried, with that visceral fear not going away, I drove there myself. The traffic was terrible. I finally arrived and the first thing I saw was an ambulance outside Felix's room, along with a group of paramedics and security personnel. I knew, I just knew, that something terrible had happened. From this point on, my memory is not clear but I remember rushing over to Felix's building, demanding to know what was going on. No one would let me in, and eventually another paramedic emerged from the building and told me, 'I'm so sorry. He's passed over'. It is virtually impossible to convey the trauma of that moment, learning that Felix had died. It was like an earthquake, an incomprehensible shock, a ghastly drama that was so utterly surreal and yet was totally real – a hellish reality. In that moment my life changed forever and I have spent the subsequent days, weeks and years trying to deal with this terrible, incalculable loss. Felix's death was put down to SUDEP: Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. I had heard of SUDEP but it never occurred to me that it could take Felix's life. I never thought he would die from his epilepsy. I have since learned that Felix was actually in one of the most vulnerable groups: he had seizures while asleep, his epilepsy was not well controlled and he was young and male. Many of those who die of SUDEP are, like Felix, found dead in their rooms at university. In the weeks after Felix died, I found myself writing letters to him. I kept a large red notebook by my bed and found comfort in telling him how much I missed him, and what was happening in our beautiful part of Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor. It was springtime, and the flowers were emerging in the lanes: celandines, violets and bluebells. Up on the moor the larks were singing. It was very strange, but even in the depths of trauma I remember being able to marvel at nature's beauty. Felix was buried in a natural burial ground, a meadow overlooking the River Dart. I started to realise what a vital role the natural world was playing in my grieving. My son had been returned to the earth, and, somehow, this was how I was going to connect with him going forward: walking in the countryside and on the coast and moors, sensing him in these wild places. Last year, on March 10, we lost our beloved colleague Sarah Whiteley. Sarah was a fantastic journalist; she was Metro's parenting columnist and a valued member of our first-person and opinion desk. Sarah died aged 39 from SUDEP - sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. It is thought that every year around 1,000 people die from causes related to epilepsy. With support from Sarah's family, Metro is fundraising for two very important charities: SUDEP Action and Epilepsy Action. Sarah was so incredible at helping other people share their experiences; she was a born storyteller and we hope to do her proud with this series, while raising money in her memory. After a couple of years, I was still writing letters to Felix, and I felt I had something to say about grief – it is a huge part of life that most of us never talk about. I ended up turning the letters into a book, The Green Hill: Letters to a Son , in which I explored the power of nature in helping me to deal with his death. Although there is, of course, a lot of pain in the book, there is also much joy: in the strange world of bereavement, life carries on, and includes the good as well as the bad. More Trending I will never be 'over' Felix's death. I don't want 'closure'. I want continuing connection, and for me, this lies in my relationship with nature. My latest book, written with Felix's father Alex Murdin, is about Dartmoor, where we live. We explore our relationship with this most wonderful of wild landscapes, which we feel, in many ways, has saved us. View More » It has become a sacred place where we remember Felix and somehow find him again in the ancient granite tors which date back 300 million years, into deep time. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: We ran an ultramarathon together – but within months my friend was dead MORE: Doctors ignored my symptoms – but took my boyfriend seriously when he intervened MORE: My date with a famous rapper ended with his startling dinosaur confession
The Age
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
A stirring Les Miserables serves up a late surprise
The story of redemption and revolution, based on Victor Hugo's epic novel, centres on former convict Jean Valjean and the prison guard Javert who's out to get him. Intertwined is a love story between Cosette, the orphan Valjean has raised, and a young insurgent, Marius. This is a sung-through musical with music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Alfie Boe was magnificent as the lead Valjean, singing with great depth and range to his rich, operatic voice. His solo Bring Him Home was a showstopper. Michael Ball was a combative Javert, although felt less menacing than the character's vengeful nature suggests. Les Mis is a dark melodramatic tale of injustice, poverty and brutality in which some light relief is much needed. It comes in the form of Matt Lucas, best known for Little Britain, as villainous lowlife Thenardier. Lucas' vaudevillian Master of the House was a masterclass in comic precision. He was aided by a splendidly brassy Helen Walsh as Madame Thenardier, who stood in for an indisposed Marina Prior. Although women's roles feel slight in the piece – veering towards saintly martyrs - Rachelle Ann Go combined tenderness and strength in the prostitute Fantine's I Dreamed a Dream. Shan Ako as Eponine made On My Own the night's saddest song. Beatrice Penny-Toure's Cosette was a gentle counterpoint to fiery lover Marius (a passionate Jac Yarrow). Sebastian Sero won hearts as savvy urchin Gavroche. The ensemble's choral work was exhilarating, especially in the rallying cry, Do You Hear the People Sing? As the night concluded – or we thought it had – producer Cameron Mackintosh took to the stage with an ace up his sleeve. Members of previous Australian Les Mis productions – including Normie Rowe, Philip Quast, William Zappa, Nikki Webster, David Campbell and Simon Burke – joined the current cast for the grandest of finales to a show that still has a vital musical pulse. Who'd have thought laughing at Nazis would suddenly become so pertinent again? Mel Brooks' original film was made in 1967, when you could have fought in World War II, and still be in your 40s. Fifty-eight years later, the same blister still needs pricking, and The Producers still does it best, whether the original movie, the resultant musical, the film of the musical, or ongoing revivals like this dazzling production directed by Julia Robertson. Who'd have thought a huge centrepiece like Springtime for Hitler could be performed by a cast of just 14? Or that this cast of 14 could execute such scintillating choreography on the Hayes Theatre's baby stage (already housing an eight-piece band), without either bumping each other or spilling over into neighbouring countries? This is among the most polished pieces of musical theatre I've seen. The level of detail in each line, voice, gesture, costume, dance move, orchestration and design element is exhilarating. You could simply sit there and admire it all in terms of aesthetics and craft – except you're laughing too hard. 'The urge to merge can rob us of our senses,' sings Leo Bloom, and in humour terms, it's the show that keeps on giving, however often you see it. Brooks wasn't just a funny guy, he wrote roles for actors to relish, and Robertson has cast this so well you'd think she had a limitless budget and millions queuing to audition. Anton Berezin has played in a swag of musicals, all prepping him for being given Max Bialystock, the Broadway producer who, having left his moral compass in a cab, resorts to fleecing little old ladies who are short of sex and long on lolly. Berezin plays Max as though all the world's chutzpah has been confiscated and he alone has the key to where it's stored. For Bialystock's foil, Brooks gleefully borrowed the protagonist's name from James Joyce's Ulysses (plus sly references to that work) to create his male ingenue, Leo Bloom. Des Flanagan plays Bloom with more innocence than a two-year-old pretending he hasn't just wet his pants – until it dawns on him that the delicious Ulla is offering more than a life-long innuendo, and Alexandra Cashmere is a fabulous Ulla. Jordan Shea is consistently hilarious as Franz, the Hitler-loving writer and pigeon-fancier, and Blake Erickson arrives in a blaze of gowned glory as Roger de Bris, the director who's supposed to be so bad that Max's show is guaranteed to fail. Each ensemble member fashions every role into a fully fledged character and they perform Shannon Burns' choreography as if their mothers were being held hostage. Osibi Akerejola has the band similarly honed, and Nick Fry's set, Ryan McDonald's lighting and especially Benedict Janeczko-Taylor's costumes ice a cake so near-perfectly baked that even the neo-Nazis might swallow it. With the Hayes season sold out, they'll need to invade Riverside Theatres, May 15 to May18. THEATRE THE LOTTO LINE Flow Studios 88, April 2 Until April 12 Reviewed by KATE PRENDERGAST ★★★ ½ You find Flow Studios through a narrow slot in a broad high brick wall in Camperdown. Inside is the simulacrum of a creative student rec room: a cosy jumble of lumpy sofas, pillaged books and odd furniture. It feels like you've walked into your undergrad arts uni days, hurtled back into that unhinged familiar. The Lotto Line, an absurdist and surreal fable by John Tsakiris, also emerges from that rare and precious penumbra of young creatives touched in their genius heads. Its theatre space is a repurposed warehouse out back, the audience cackling out of sync on tiered seats. In front of a large roller door on a concrete expanse is the square of a strange town, where The Lotto Master commands with diabolical governance. After collecting their tickets, a gaggle of misfits trap themselves in time by cheating the wait for the next day's draw. They had tried to make time go faster (by counting on their hands), but their plan backfired. Nonsense logic reigns in overwhelming and glittering stupidity, as we tumble through the events including body swaps and rebellion. As the characters fumble towards civil camaraderie and a possible tomorrow, a few messages about hope pop from the chaos like pennies. It's like dorm room Beckett tripping the light bodacious. The five misfits – or 'cuddlesome groundlings', as Tsakiris's exhilarating language offers – are an unforgettable lot. In their physical theatre clowning, their co-ordinated futilities, their clashing costumes and, against the relentless glare of the production's lighting, they appear as a cartoonist's fever dream. Jonathon Nicola is Mr Borvin, who I will ever see frozen as an idiot Icarus. Megan Heferen is Ms Atkins (also co-director, co-producer and co-creator of Studio 5 with Tsakiris), who struggles with leadership. James Thomasson is Mr Horner, a man with a Mormon beard and buccaneer-brimmed stetson, who had to temporarily surrender his words to the Lotto Master. Mr Horner must grunt his lines throughout; Mrs Cotter (Holly Mazzola), a gladsome housewife with a soprano squeak, helps to translate. One must not overlook the Lotto Master (Jess Spies), though her role only bookends the play. From her raised booth, in top hat and plum velvet coat, she is an imposing overseer of an arbitrary game. Perhaps most memorable though is Larissa Turton as Miss Dabbs. A mad woman heaving on a single crutch, two pigtails flying from cut holes in a flat cap, she doesn't so much speak as allow a string of low grunts to fall from wet lips. Cheeks bobbling with a palsy of unknown emotions, Turton shows her acting chops when the 'body swap' occurs. The lighting is a white blare and hanging lightbulb; the sound is just a few well-timed slaps of slapstick. But The Lotto Line is a feast of comic imagination and performance for those with an existential stake in the absurd. The third original production from Studio 5, it is a galvanising rubber-gun shot against the staid and self-serious, both in theatre and in life. THEATRE THE PLAYER KINGS Seymour Centre, March 29 Until April 5 Reviewed by JOHN SHAND ★★★★ The great wonder of history is that we continue to be surprised by it unfolding in our own lifetimes, as if it were something that only happened in the past. The corollary is that all that happened in the past is our tutor if we'll listen – hence part of the longevity of Shakespeare's eight history plays, despite only a couple of them being among his greatest works. Linking the eight – Richard II, the two parts of Henry IV, Henry V, the three parts of Henry VI and Richard III – into a chronological cycle is a fond project of 'bardologists', this being Sydney's third this century. Immediately setting The Player Kings apart from The War of the Roses (2009) and Rose Riot (2018) is its sheer scale. Including the intervals, this was 12 hours long: a monumental demand upon audiences, actors and technicians. Within that frame, the director and adaptor, Sport for Jove's Damien Ryan (who also did Rose Riot), has succeeded in emphasising narrative through-lines, intergenerational parallels, clarity of language and the plays' contrasting worlds. The show is presented in six chapters of towards 90 minutes each, knitted by such devices as having Falstaff, beloved joint protagonist of Henry IV, cheekily appear before the preceding Richard II is done. Ryan cunningly fiddles with the order of events and placement of speeches, without doing any particular disservice to Shakespeare. Yet, despite the care with which the plays have been edited and the general excellence of the performance, it's simply too long, and the problem, as ever, is Henry VI. The young Shakespeare contributed to these three plays rather being their primary creator (who probably was Christopher Marlowe), and consequently much of the verse is inferior, the characterisations are thin and the storylines mere bloody melodramas. Henry VI essentially consumed two Player Kings chapters: a massive edit of three full-length plays, but still a drag upon the whole because it's too burdened with the tiresome bickering of the ruling class – or what we now call politics. We tumble into the concluding Richard III, therefore, with some relief, and it's fully worth the wait because Liam Gamble is as good a Richard as I've seen. Having cerebral palsy, and therefore not fully able-bodied himself, Gamble evades the cartoonish Richards that have predominated. Any good performance of Richard charms us, as he smirkingly confides in us his wicked plans, but Gamble makes our emotional response to Richard more complex; draws us towards him in a way that changes the dynamics of the play. We aren't just charmed by his Richard in a sly, winking sense; we're charmed to the point of being won – until, of course, his outrageous bloodlust snaps our new-found tolerance. Steve Rodgers presents a memorably likable rogue of a Falstaff. The prodigious Sir John has been portrayed as more intelligent or sadder, but seldom as more fun, amid which Rodgers still mines the deep truths of his speech about the speciousness of honour. He later returns as the rabid Jack Cade in Henry VI, and all 17 performers take many roles, other than composer Jack Mitsch primarily realising his own score on drums, guitar or keyboard; a score that makes the most dramatic episodes thunder, delicately shades others, and never tramples on the language. Inevitably, with people playing multiple roles, there's some unevenness, although veterans Peter Carroll and John Gaden are uniformly good, including when playing Silence and Shallow to Rodgers' Falstaff. Gaden is a noble John of Gaunt in Richard II, and Carroll clowns his way through the put-upon waiter Francis in a lively Henry IV scene. A hallmark of Ryan's directing is the never-laboured, yeast-like visual humour he adds to his brew, whether as the merest grace notes or as fizzing embellishments from his arsenal of surprises. His son, Max Ryan, excels as a swaggering, live-wire Harry Hotspur in Henry IV, while Max's brother Oliver plays Harry's counterpoint, Prince Hal, and their fraternal swordfight sees sparks flying from their blades. Ryan's direction crafts countless moments of magic, such as Hal looking in a mirror where the reflection is enacted by Andrew Cutcliffe, who then becomes Hal as he's crowned Henry V, encapsulating the change in personality. Cutcliffe's Henry is defined by a lighter, more intimate and slightly comedic St Crispin's Day speech. Another piece of magic comes when Ryan has a troop of English soldiers undergoing a medical examination become the members of the French court in a sauna via a sudden flourish of towels. That said, there are also moments when the French characters seem inclined to the Monty Python school of accents. A hallmark of Damien Ryan's directing is the never-laboured, yeast-like visual humour he adds to his brew. Katrina Retallick shines as a wildly loyal and impassioned Isabel, wife to Richard II, played by Sean O'Shea, who leads us on that character's agonising journey from royal petulance to confronting his mortality and what would be his ordinariness, were he not a poet whose exquisite lyricism intensifies as his power drains away. Gareth Davies, Emma Palmer (a hilarious Doll Tearsheet), the stentorian-voiced Christopher Stollery, Marty Alix, Lulu Howes, Leilani Loau and Ruby Henaway all have their moments in the sun, with the latter playing Joan of Arc, the most intriguing creation in Henry VI. The crackles of the flames when she burns are created by the actors clapping out of synch. Immeasurably aided by Kate Beere's set (with 20th-century costumes) and Matt Cox's lighting, much of the production is so enthralling that at one point in I was momentarily stunned to see other audience members in the light. We all stood and cheered at the end, knowing the actors, guided by Ryan's vision, had just pulled off a triumph of endurance as well as of their art, and we, the audience had been just been part of a tiny slice of history. Nonetheless, see it over two days rather than one. During his extraordinarily busy life as Cantor in Leipzig, Bach still found time to be Director of the Collegium Musicum in that city, which held weekly concerts in the Café Zimmermann. The concerts took place outside in the summer and inside in the winter and were free except for the price of a cup of coffee and Bach scholar Christoph Wolf suggests this as a likely context for performances of Bach's Orchestral Suites. In playing all four of Bach's Orchestral Suites on a modern concert platform and in a single sitting, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra shone light on this group of instrumental works, and also on the very different challenges of instrumental balance the works pose. At one end of the spectrum are the Suites Nos 3 (which was played first) and 4 (which concluded the concert), both in D. In these works, probably written for outdoor performance, trumpets, oboes, bassoons and timpani join the string ensemble. Under the theatrical gestures of leader Paul Dyer, who encouraged them leaping to his feet with outstretched arms, the trumpets dominated while playing, sometimes thrillingly and sometimes at the expense of the details of the violin line. The first section of the Overture has elaborate arabesques of notes that lead into the next downbeat like courtly hand gestures preceding a bow. In the Suite No. 3, the slow tempo prevented these from falling with complete naturalness, but in the Suite No. 4 at the close, the ABO achieved a stately and majestic effect. Dyer took the well-known second movement, Air, of Suite No. 3 at a restrained pace, although the tradition of playing this work at a slow tempo arises from a nineteenth century transcription to be played entirely on the G string of the violin (hence its nickname) rather than any indication by Bach. At the other end of the balance spectrum is the Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor for strings and flauto traverso, played by Melissa Farrow. This was likely a work for indoor performance and Farrow's delicate tone blended discreetly in the Overture. The passage work flowed mellifluously, and cutting the strings back to single instruments during solos allowed the flute to be heard. Farrow flitted lightly in the virtuosic final movement, Badinerie. The happiest medium, in terms of balance came in the Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C blending strings with oboes and bassoon, especially in moments like the Gavotte, where Dyer quietened the sound on return for contrast. MUSIC Daniil Trifonov performs Rachmaninov Sydney Symphony Orchestra, March 28 Reviewed by PETER MCCALLUM ★★★★★ Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 4 has never enjoyed among audiences the celebrity of his second and third concertos but has found champions among some notable pianists. Daniil Trifonov inhabited the piece with demonic brilliance, exploring its emotional range with Dostoyevskian darkness and tempestuous intensity.' After the exultant opening theme, Trifonov created a texture of wiry expressiveness in the quieter second theme, while elsewhere energising the finger work as though brewing a spell. After starting the slow movement with insouciant disregard, he sat motionless while the main theme shaped itself with ominous simplicity under his fingers. In the last movement, his playing flashed fiercely against the orchestra like lightning cracks, in a virtuosic display of tensile strength. Trifonov's last appearance in Sydney in 2017 (playing, among other things, Rachmaninov's equally neglected First Piano Concerto) showed him as a pianist of precocious technical mastery. He returns as an artist of distinctive stature, fiery depth and complexity. The other welcome returning guest was Asher Fisch, who conducted a beautifully hushed reading of Liadov's short gem The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62 to start, and whose astute leadership drew out the Sydney Symphony at its very best – and that is very good indeed – in Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14. The latter is a work of huge imagination, orchestral refinement and innovative structural organisation. Yet it can become sprawling, Romantically overblown and inchoate without careful guidance. The first movement, Daydreams – Passions was discreetly balanced, with each floating idea given space and light around it to flow freely with the strange logic of a vivid dream. For the second movement, A Ball, the whirring energy of the strings, with trumpet moved to a position just behind them in front of the horns, created the sense that all this glitter was happening elsewhere while the protagonist's obsession, represented in the recurring idea or idée fixe that nags in each movement, forced its way to the forefront of consciousness. In the fields, with haunting cor anglais from Alexandre Oguey and a welcome guest return of oboist Diana Doherty in response, was a succession of delicately shaded colours right up to the ominous timpani chords like distant thunder at the close. Both the fourth and fifth movement were notable for tightly disciplined energy and rhythmic incisiveness. Olli Leppäniemi's clarinet playing introduced a tone of parody and the use of ophicleides (Nick Byrne and Bradley Lucas) as Berlioz specified (rather than modern tubas) gave the dies irae theme in the finale an aptly morose, sardonic bitterness. The concert was also a warm and heartfelt tribute by the orchestra to longtime SSO concertmaster Donald Hazelwood who led the orchestra with distinction from 1965 to 1998 and who sadly died earlier this month, aged 95.
Time Out Abu Dhabi
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out Abu Dhabi
Broadway's Beetlejuice The Musical is coming to Abu Dhabi in 2025
He's crass, he's chaotic and he's crawling out of the afterlife straight onto Yas Island. Beetlejuice The Musical – Broadway's wickedly funny and wildly theatrical play – is set to make its Middle East debut at Etihad Arena from November 20 to 30 and it's going to be absolutely hilarious. Following in the Broadway footsteps of The Lion King and Hamilton, Abu Dhabi is firmly planting its flag as the region's hottest stage for global theatre. And now it's summoning Tim Burton's cult classic into the spotlight with a musical that's equal parts absurd, heartwarming and, let's be honest, bonkers. The story if you're not acquainted already? Lydia Deetz is a goth teen with a love for the morbid. When she finds out her new home is haunted by a recently deceased couple and a striped-suit-wearing demon named Beetlejuice, she decides to embrace the chaos. Cue exorcisms, haunted hijinks and a Girl Scout who probably deserves a raise. But behind the haunted house antics and supernatural slapstick, this musical is a love letter to life (and death), complete with show-stopping numbers and belly-laugh punchlines. If you've been longing for something a little less Disney and a little more devious, this will be right up your alley. Directed by Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge!), scored by Eddie Perfect (King Kong) and dripping with Broadway royalty – we're talking David Korins (Hamilton), William Ivey Long (The Producers) and Peter Hylenski (Frozen) – this production is one for the books. Early bird tickets start from Dhs99 and go on pre-sale soon for waitlist members ahead of the public sale on May 8. Whether you're there for the spooky spectacle, the irreverent laughs or just to belt out 'Day-O' with a thousand fellow fans, this is your chance to catch the ghost-with-the-most live on stage. It's showtime, Abu Dhabi. From Dhs99. November 20 to 30. Etihad Arena, Yas Island. More going on in Abu Dhabi UAE residents can now save big time on flights thanks to a new Skyscanner feature No complaints here You can now get a robotaxi from Zayed International Airport Trips to the airport just got an upgrade Abu Dhabi's best restaurants: Everywhere you should eat at least once Your dinner inspo is sorted 20 incredibly fun ways to explore Abu Dhabi after dark The city is at its most fascinating once the sun goes down
Telegraph
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Producers: What you need to know about the side-splitting musical comedy in the West End and how to find tickets
Mel Brooks's legendary musical comedy is back – and it's definitely not pulling its punches. This laugh-a-minute backstage show, set in 1959, follows an odd-couple pair of con artists, failing theatre producer Max Bialystock and timid accountant Leo Bloom, who team up to defraud investors by staging a deliberately terrible Broadway musical. It's totally outrageous showbiz satire, from the duo's chosen play, Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden, created by a deranged ex-Nazi soldier, to the flamboyant director and increasingly madcap rehearsal hijinks. By the time we reach the infamous Springtime for Hitler musical number, audiences are reduced to helpless hysterics. The Producers won a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards for its original Broadway run in 2001, and was also a massive success in the West End in 2004, starring Nathan Lane and Lee Evans. It has since been staged frequently, but this is the first time we've seen it in London since that initial run. Patrick Marber's smash-hit revival at the Menier Chocolate Factory is now transferring to the Garrick Theatre in the West End for a much-anticipated encore, starring Andy Nyman and Marc Antolin. How to buy tickets for The Producers You can find seats for the London production of The Producers on Telegraph Tickets. Check the site for the latest prices. The cast The fabulously outlandish roles in The Producers are a treat for actors. The original 1967 movie version starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, succeeded by Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick for the stage musical version. Subsequent casts have included Roger Bart, Cory English, Reece Shearsmith and Jason Manford. Now Andy Nyman has his turn as the colourful Max Bialystock. Nyman was nominated for an Olivier Award for Fiddler on the Roof, appeared in the Wicked movie, and co-created the play Ghost Stories. The cast also features Marc Antolin (Olivier nominated for Little Shop of Horrors) as Leo, plus Trevor Ashley (Hairspray) and Joanna Woodward (The Time Traveller's Wife). The Producers is directed by Patrick Marber. His writing ranges from TV comedy The Day Today to plays such as Dealer's Choice and Closer. He was Olivier nominated for directing Tom Stoppard's Travesties and won a Tony for directing Stoppard's Leopoldstadt. The details Where is The Producers playing? The Producers runs at the Garrick Theatre on Charing Cross Road, which is close to Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, and other theatres in London's West End. What is the running time of The Producers? The running time of The Producers is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including an interval. How long is The Producers running for? The Producers is booking to July 19, 2025. What is the minimum age for The Producers? The age recommendation for The Producers is 10+. Does The Producers have accessible tickets? Yes, the show has captioned, BSL and audio-described performances scheduled. Find more information on the theatre website. The review
