I’ve never had the chance to do this, but this was my first fully fledged theatre reviewer year, and I have to document some of the sheer brilliance that I saw on stage: the shows that made me gasp, yelp and howl with laughter. For me, the theatre is a space to be taken to another world, created by those on (and off) the stage. I had the chance to visit NYC for the first time, and I was amazed by the talent on stage; so much so, I;ll be returning back in 2024! The creatives in these shows  below, I should add, have accumulated a real sense of being taken on a visual experience that I’ll never forget: the haunting notes, the costumes that dazzled, and the loveable character who stuck with me long after the curtain dropped.

In no particular order, I give to you Hamza Jahanzeb’s top 5 shows of 2023:

1. Next to Normal, Donmar Warehouse

REVIEW: Next to Normal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📍Donmar Warehouse

2. The Witches, National Theatre

REVIEW: The Witches ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📍Olivier Theatre, National Theatre

3. Purlie Victorious, Music Box Theatre

REVIEW: Purlie Victorious ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️⭐️ 📍Music Box Theatre

4. Oliver! Leeds Playhouse

REVIEW: Oliver! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📍Quarry Theatre, Leeds Playhouse

5. Blue Mist, Royal Court theatre

REVIEW: Blue Mist ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📍Royal Court Theatre (Jerwood Theatre Upstairs)

All the best for those of you who are going to see shows in 2024; long may they bring us the escapism we crave, and create memorable pieces that can allow us to set no limits on what is achievable. I will always champion the schemes for those from under represented groups to visit, and experience the theatre.

Thank you for reading, and I very much wish to see more of you – and your creations – on and off the stage.

H

xo

Richard Willis, lead producer of ALI, the new musical celebrating the life and legacy of the heavyweight boxing champion and humanitarian Muhammad Ali, is proud to announce the addition of Grammy AwardÒ-winner Q-Tip as Music Producer and Co-Lyricist to the creative team of the musical. Also joining Teddy Abrams in the music department of ALI are Grammy AwardÒ-winning saxophonist and vocalist Casey Benjamin as Asqsociate Music Producer, and Sean Mayes (MJ, Hadestown) as Music Supervisor.  ALI will be presented in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, in Fall 2024.

Q-Tip said “Muhammad Ali has been an inspiration for me my entire life. I look forward to working with Teddy, Clint, Casey, Sean, and the entire creative team in telling the great man’s story in this form.

Clint Dyer, ALI director and book writer, added “I am thrilled to be working with Q-Tip, who is one of my music heroes and the perfect person to join us in telling Muhammed Ali’s story, as well as the uber talented Casey and Sean. Q-Tip is most definitely one of Hip-Hop’s biggest artists and a great collaborator/producer. Co-writing the lyrics for ALI with him will be an honour.”

Teddy Abrams, ALI composer, said “We are incredibly fortunate to have Q-Tip, Casey, and Sean join the music team. They are all world-class talents with tremendous musical vision and knowledge; they are already bringing exceptional energy and inspiration to the musical!”

Richard Willis said “We are beyond delighted and grateful to have the living legend, Q-Tip, join this extraordinary creative team on ALI. Q-Tip’s artistry, knowledge and experience is unmatched. If that wasn’t enough, to also have the incredible Casey Benjamin and brilliant Sean Mayes joining the team makes this all feel a bit surreal yet fitting for The Greatest.”

About Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is one of the most influential athletes and humanitarians of the 20th century and has created some of the most legendary moments in sports and civil rights history. More than 50 years after he emerged as a Gold Medalist in Boxing at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Ali’s legacy extends beyond the ring, and he continues to be widely recognized as one of the most celebrated and beloved icons of all time.

His incomparable work ethic, signature boxing techniques, and fearlessness towards standing up for his beliefs, all contribute to the legend that is Muhammad Ali. Among his countless awards and accolades, he was named Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Century,” GQ’s “Athlete of the Century,” a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Amnesty International Lifetime Achievement Award. Muhammad Ali’s legacy is celebrated across cultures and continues to inspire today’s most influential athletes, artists, musicians, and humanitarians around the world.

Follow Muhammad Ali on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X.

www.TheAliMusical.com

‘How can I change forever?
If I stay on the fence…’

The Barbican Centre really are scheduling some brilliant works as of late: from Anything Goes, to My Neighbour Totoro, there’s something for everyone. And with the arrival of Tony & Pulitzer Prize-winning A Strange Loop we’re not short of a spectacular night out. This really is the show that arrives to our capital with a much-needed post-pandemic BOING! that reverberates around the Barbican estate in heaps of energy, sparkles and escapism.

A Strange Loop follows the tale of Usher, a young, gay, Black writer who absolutely loathes his day job as an usher at a Broadway Musical (Lion King), so therefore writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who’s writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer…a strange loop.

The repeated ‘Usher, usher…‘ from the first of many catch songs is an insight into the mind of someone who’s being pulled in such directions, that it often feels so overwhelming a times. There’s a restlessness that is propagates from within the actors’ soul. The story unfolds as we get to learn about Usher’s obsession with basic white girl music (a wry nod to Taylor Swift’s Reputation album cover art where sheet music tends to sit). I was cackling to how Taylor epitomises the basic inner white girl for Usher and how they (as a character) lean into that.

‘How many minutes ’til the end of intermission?’

What I enjoyed about this piece was the staging, given the simplicity of Arnulfo Maldonado’s set. There are the six doorways, in which the Thoughts all appear, and disappear. They work into the narrative in such a seamless way, I was really impressed by the differences in each one performance-wise. At one moment, the entire stage turns into a rainbow and that was so refreshing to see in the Barbican centre of all places; the fact that this is a loud, queer unashamedly Black-focused musical brought me such a joy to have it hosted in our capital.

All in all, if you like stories of overcoming hardship – whilst also being challenged by what you see & hear on stage – then this is for you. I feel like the truth is in the pudding for Michael R. Jackson’s near-two decade project. It knows exactly what it is, and we are taken on a journey and root for Usher form the start: I feel like it’s a queer Christmas with interludes of some of the horrendous realities of being a marginalised group within another minority group.

Sat 17 Jun—Sat 9 Sep 2023,Barbican Theatre

Running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes (no interval)

Age guidance: This show is not suitable for under 16s (Contains explicit language, references to racism, sexual assault, homophobia and scenes of an adult nature).

🖇️: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2023/event/a-strange-loop

An investigation into the nature of investigation, with the unsolved murder of a pop icon at its centre…

It’s the 1970s and Fereydoun Farrokhzad’s star is blazing bright – he’s a sex symbol and chart-topping pop singer – imagine an Iranian Tom Jones. A decade on and he’s living in political exile in Germany, though still performing to sold-out audiences in Europe. 

On 7 August 1992, he’s found brutally murdered. The neighbours said his dogs had been barking for two nights. 

Following a successful (and I should add, a 5* reviewed piece) run, the Javaad Alipoor company comes to Battersea Arts Centre following a brief stint at Manchester’s HOME with Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World. The production is a gripping and captivating work about the murder of Fereydoun Farrokhzad against the backdrop of how digital communications serves a place in our society. Sort of a rinsing of Wikipedia, if you will.

I’m not a stranger to Javaad’s work, having seen The Believers Are But Brothers when I dwelled in W12 (the Bush Theatre yet again coming out trumps with putting on some brilliant works by underrepresented creatives), and the piece stayed with me for a while. The same can be said for the third in this instalment – I happened to miss Rich Kids – but firstly, the homework was definitely done by Javaad Alipoor. The way he crafts a vivid storyline, one that no Brit (unless you’re Iranian) will have a connection to, inspires us to challenge the opposite to what we know; that we’re euro-centric and Global North-majority living folk and that’s really shone a light on, with rightful probing. I felt unnerved, but constantly reminded of the ways we absorb information via online resources. As with The Believers, Javaad uses audience interaction effectlvely and in a seamless manner. Sometimes these can across as naff, but the preparation and pose with which the piece interweaves the fourth walll and involved the audience is a really commendable point of reference. It lifted the piece to it being one where the point driven home is cemented with ease.

Now, on to the main action with the case of the Iranian “Tom Jones” Fereydoun Farrokhzad. The murder mystery helps the narrative to flow with conviction. Lighting and screen projections facilitate and make the 90-min exploration into the ways we consume media via “search engines” and Wikipedia wormholes. I wish there was a mention to Gayatri Spivak on the section about the Subaltern, but I was really impressed by the thoroughness of this.

Go see this now, and I wish it will get that deserved transfer for this really needs to be seen by a larger audience and the masses.

** Until 26 Nov only ** 🎟️: https://bac.org.uk/whats-on/things-hidden/ (as of 23/11/22 — this is SOLD OUT , call for returns)

Time: 7:30pm

Tickets: Pay What You Can (Recommended Price £16)*

*All orders will be subject to a transaction fee of £1

Running Time: 90 mins

Age Guidance: 14+

This event takes place in person in the BAC’s Council Chamber.

Content

• Mild Graphic Imagery

• Light Swearing

• Flashing Lights

Anish Roy as Mohsen and Varun Raj as Kash in Brown Boys Swim (Written by Karim Khan)
Photo credit: Geraint Lewis

Fantastic storytelling in a heartfelt, vivid, captivating and brutally honest piece centring the Muslim experience in UK

The Soho Theatre once again proves to be the heart of the city’s beating new writers. In this 60 minute piece by Karim Khan (winner of a elusive writing scholarship), Brown Boys Swim is his expression of an excellent gateway to escapism into the lives of two young Muslim men: Mohsen and Kash living in Oxford. Both open the show on an explosive start, with Punjabi Bhangra music filling the space Upstairs at the iconic venue located on Dean Street. There’s talk about Umrah (religious pilgrimage), Wudhu (ablution prior to praying) and much more that make this a strikingly honest portrayal of Muslim life in Britain. The expectations of the two young men, along with their immaturity and sensitivity really shines in the writing.

Where this piece also finds its feet is very much so from the get go, as you enter the space carefully designed by James Button. The music is thumping, which makes you immerse yourself into the space. Roshan Ganga’s sound continues to provide a highlight throughout – from turning on the showers, to the end where we hear Tu Jhoom and the booming voice of Abida Parvenu and Naseebo Lal.

From a set design element, the benches from a swimming pool changing room doubles up as weights, and the clever LED lights flash in colours to represent new locations and make the limited space feel breathtakingly new in every scene. The vignettes of the two mens’ lives as they intertwine – the main reason for them wanting to take up lessons to swim is to attend a classmate’s party. The character study from the writer Karim Khan, couple with the direction by John Hoggarth really do produce an elevated show that sparkles continually. I wanted more when it ended, for the sheer fact I felt befriended by Mohsen and Kash. I saw a lot of myself in Mohsen, and the anguish and reflections of his internal thoughts were so beautiful to see portrayed.

Anish Roy as Mohsen and Varen Raj as Kash in Brown Boys Swim
Photo credit: Geraint Lewis

This is a pretty sold-out show, and without revealing too much: it left me utterly speechless. I was moved, I felt seen, I was in awe of this authentic piece of storytelling on stage. The lighting design worked, as did the set and sound. The team complimented each other – both on stage and off-stage.  Anish Roy and Varun Raj have an extremely bright future, and their conviction in their respective characters and their journeys to an audience like tonight’s will be firmly implanted in my mind for a long time after leaving the theatre.

Listing details:
📍Soho Theatre, London: https://sohotheatre.com/shows/brown-boys-swim/
Mon 26 Sep – Sat 15 Oct 2022 3.00pm, 7.00pm