Theatre Review: A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS - NORTHERN STAGE

A Thousand Splendid Suns Company - Pamela Raith Photography

A Thousand Splendid Suns originally a novel by Khaled Hosseini has been adapted for the stage by Ursula Rani Sarma. Set in Afghanistan before and after The Taliban, it spans the lives of 3 generations, focusing on the treatment of women.

Amina Zia (Mariam)
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Pamela Raith Photography

Laila, Sujaya Dasgupta, is orphaned aged 15 and is taken in by a neighbouring couple Mariam, Amina Zia and Rasheed, Pal Aron. Rasheed decides she should join their family by becoming his wife alongside Mariam. The action moves from seeing Laila growing up, the relationship between the two wives, Mariam’s early years, where she is played by Shala Nyx and finally the new rules which are forced on woman by The Taliban.

This is a play which does have some difficult and horrifying scenes to watch due to the subject matter but the acting is so powerful, I was immediately entranced by the entire production. With subtle lighting from Simon Bond, slick direction from Roxana Silbert and a simple yet effective set by Ana Ines Jabares-Pita, this is one production which must be seen to gain an understanding in the treatment which continues to happen in our ‘civilised world.’ This is one of the most powerful and moving productions I have seen this year.

Runs until Saturday 15th June.

Sujaya Dasgupta (Laila) Amina Zia (Mariam) A Thousand Splendid Suns Pamela Raith Photography

Theatre Preview - A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS - NORTHERN STAGE

A Thousand Splendid Suns company Pamela Raith Photography

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini’s spiritual sequel to The Kite Runner runs at Northern Stage from 30 May – 15 June.

Sujaya Dasgupta (Laila) Amina Zia (Mariam)
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Pamela Raith Photography

Khaled Hosseini’s international best-selling novel is the powerful story of three generations of women discovering strength in unity and finding hope in the unlikeliest of places. Set in 1992 in an Afghanistan ravaged by war, an orphaned Laila is left alone in an increasingly threatening world. Her older neighbour Rasheed is quick to open his home and takes Laila as his second wife.

Rasheed’s first wife Mariam has no choice but to accept her younger, and now pregnant, rival. As the Taliban take over, life for all of them becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, and the two women find themselves unlikely allies. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, love grows and sustains the human spirit even during the hardest of times.

The cast features Waleed Akhtar (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen/ Lasse Hallström; What Shadows / Birmingham Repertory Theatre and The Kite Runner/Nottingham Playhouse & Liverpool Everyman); Pal Aron (Behind the Beautiful Forevers/National Theatre; Stella/ Sky One); Sujaya Dasgupta (Death of a Salesman/Royal & Derngate, Press/BBC); Munir Khairdin (Whitechapel/ITV); Naveed Khan (Tamburlaine and Tartuffe /RSC); Mollie Lambert (The White Devil/Shakespeare’s Globe); Shala Nyx (Miss Prue/Bristol Old Vic; The Shadow Factory/Nuffield Southampton Theatres) and Lisa Zahra (The Kite Runner/Wyndham’s) and Amina Zia (Tartuffe/RSC).

Roxana Silbert directs A Thousand Splendid Suns, her final show as Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre. She said:

Sujaya Dasgupta (Laila) Naveed Khan (Babi)
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Pamela Raith Photography

“In Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns we are given a rare glimpse into 30 years of contemporary Afghan history and thanks to Ursula Rani Sarma’s emotionally stirring adaptation audiences will be able to bear witness to the extraordinary story of two radiant women who struggle to survive the terrifying political situation they find themselves in. I can’t wait to bring this inspiring and enlightening story to the stage.”

Playwright Ursula Rani Sarma said:

“This play is about the immense strength and endurance of women and how they can survive tremendous suffering to keep those they love alive. It is also about how even in the darkest of times and places, love can grow and sustain the human spirit beyond all pain and hard-ship. It’s about friendship and loyalty, courage and selflessness, grief and violence. What the play has to say about love, endurance, and survival is very much worth listening to for a contemporary audience. There is beauty and strength at the heart of A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I feel so proud to be part of its evolution from novel to stage.”

Ursula Rani Sarma is a scriptwriter for stage and screen. Her previous credits include Delicious (Sky), the award-winning film Anywhere But Here, Yerma (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and The Dark Things (Traverse Theatre).

Khaled Hosseini is one of the most widely read and beloved novelists in the world, with over 38 million copies of his books sold in more than seventy countries. The Kite Runner was a major film and was a Book of the Decade, chosen by The Times, Daily Telegraph and Guardian. A Thousand Splendid Suns was the Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year in 2008. Hosseini is currently a Goodwill Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Refugee Agency and the founder of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. He was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and lives in northern California.

A Thousand Splendid Suns will have set and costume designs by Ana Inés Jabares-Pita, lighting design by Simon Bond, composition by Mahmood Kamen, sound design and co-composition by Dave Price with Ben Hart as magic consultant.

Tour Listings

30 May – 15 June Northern Stage

Box Office: 0191 230 5151 / northernstage.co.uk

25 June – 6 July

Nuffield Southampton Theatres

Box Office: 023 8067 1771 / nstheatre.co.uk

Sujaya Dasgupta (Laila) Pal Aron (Rasheed) Amina Zia (Mariam)
Pamela Raith Photography

Theatre Review - PRINCESS AND THE HUSTLER - LIVE THEATRE, NEWCASTLE

The Princess and The Hustler is a new multi-layered play written by Chinonyerem Odimba, current writer in residence at The Live Theatre and Northumbria University.

The story revolves around 10-year-old Princess, who dreams of winning the Weston-Super-Mare Beauty Contest. It is Christmas Day, signified by a very small tree showing their poverty with a lack of presents. As Princess’ Mother, Mavis, prepares a chicken dinner, a surprise visitor arrives. Enter, Wendell The Hustler, the long-lost homeless father, who also has a half-sister for Princess, Lorna in tow. He is not welcomed by Mavis, Princess or Wendell Junior. What follows is a well scripted journey which not only brilliantly develops all of the characters, but also brings in the prejudice encountered which led to the bus boycott in Bristol in 1963.

It has to be said that the acting is perfect throughout from the entire cast. Though Kudzia Sitima as Princess and Emily Burnett as Lorna produce outstanding performances playing the young girls, they both achieve truly believable performances.

This is a wonderfully crafted play, dealing with important issues which we should be reminded about. It certainly deserves another tour in the future. I for one can’t wait to see more work from Chinonyerem Odimba

Theatre Review - THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST - PEOPLE'S THEATRE, NEWCASTLE

Algernon (Richard Jack) & Jack (Colin Jeffrey)
photo Richard Gardner

It’s always with much anticipation and high expectation we return to Newcastle’s People’s Theatre. Serving up this mouth- watering classic from Oscar Wilde would surely be something to savour, and I’m not just talking about the cucumber sandwiches…

Algernon (Richard Jack), Jack (Colin Jeffrey)
 photo Richard Gardner

There was a very healthy turn out for opening night, in this great venue. We were first of all treated to a delightful classic set. Well done to the scenic team, designers, builders and painters. Each scene looked perfect with the use of the space available on this massive stage well executed. Though the hard floor was occasionally noisy under foot of the actors.

Each actors costume and hair was perfect with Lady Bracknell (Karen Elliot) particularly elaborate. Take a bow wardrobe (Julie Tucker).

Cecily (Kitty Parkins), Algernon (Richard Jack),
Gwendolen (Rachel Scott) photo Richard Gardner

All nine of the cast were excellent, with each one of them bringing individuality to their character. The confidence so evidently displayed allowed the audience to relax into this great play from Wilde. Praise must go to the Director Kevin Gibson and his assistants Brian Green and Emma Weetch who got so much out of the performers.

Dr Chasuble (Jack Thompson) and Miss Prism (Alison Carr)
photo Richard Gardner

For those new to the play it revolves around two bachelors John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff. Each have their creative excuses to allow them to have alternative lives whilst in ‘London’ or ‘The country’. Mr Worthing who calls himself Earnest in London is in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, Algernon’s cousin and daughter of his aunt, Lady Bracknell. Algernon travels to the country and pretends to be John Worthing’s non-existent brother ‘Earnest’ and falls in love with Cecily, the Ward of Mr Worthing. In order to win Gwendolen’s hand in marriage under questioning from Lady Bracknell Mr Worthing reveals that as a baby he was abandoned and found in a handbag. Gwendolen and Cecily both declare they could only marry someone with the name Earnest.     

Now to single out individual actors feels like I’m being asked to choose a favourite child. I could easily list the positives for each of them, but... The chaps drove the play along with great timing, and I did delight in the ladies performances, especially Kitty Parkins portrayal of the 18 year old Cecily Cardew. Some of her expressions made me laugh out loud on several occasions!

The exquisite script with such competent delivery is a sure fire winner. Don’t miss out on another great show from the People’s Theatre. I for one will be back. I’m starving now. Cucumber sandwich anyone?

Lady Bracknell (Karen Elliott) photo Richard Gardner

Theatre Review - TOM STOPPARD'S ARCADIA AT THE PEOPLE'S THEATRE, NEWCASTLE

Hannah (Anna Dobson), Bernard (Adam Lowe),
Thomasina (Catherine Ellis), Septimus (Adam Owers)

Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia is a mix of the past and present as they are comically blurred in an English country house as the life of the Croom family in 1809 is juxtaposed with two present-day researchers working in the library of Sidley Park

A unique and interesting play involving inter-relating timelines, with a complex and compelling plot. Simplistic set design is often difficult to master, but master it they did. Only using a large dining table with a few chairs, lectern and occasional props, this allowed the audience to focus on the complexity of the story. The misted panels at the back of the set produced a lovely diffused lighting effect, adding to the atmosphere of the scenes (although occasionally the paper-based panels detracted from the feeling of the scene by rustling as they were moved). The set designer Sands Hope Dobson, alongside lighting designers Will Lupton and James Appleby, created an apt mood that suited the tone of the play and its performance.

Hannah (Anna Dobson), Septimus (Adam Owers),
Bernard (Adam Lowe), Thomasina (Catherine Ellis)

As to the actors, there was not a weak performance amidst them, a truly well-crafted cast, each well-fitted to their roles. Catherine Ellis gives a wondrous performance as the inquisitive Thomansia; Adam Owers commands the stage as the witty and charismatic Septimus; Anna Dobsons utilised every article of wit and sarcasm, appearing to be as relaxed in the role as her character Hannah Jarvis would be.  However, perhaps my favourite of all was James Critchley as Gus, whose mute character did much to endear the audience to him. It must be said that all of the actors managed the difficult trick of being completely involved in their characters’ own worlds, even when the two collided. A funny and thought-provoking show that will leave you contemplating all the mysteries of life.

Arcadia runs until Saturday 16^th March at The People’s Theatre.

Theatre Preview - I, MALVOLIO - TOURING THE NORTH EAST

I, Malvolio is the story of Twelfth Night told through the eyes of the play’s ‘notoriously wronged’ servant. In a story of lost dignity, prudery, practical jokes and bullying, Malvolio draws his audience into the madness of Shakespeare’s play and makes it his own.

A performance for anyone who has ever been told off, called a name or fallen in love with the wrong person!

Perfect Fools’ founder, Gordon Duffy-McGhie has received both national and international acclaim for his theatre productions, including winning an Outstanding Performance Award at the Prague Fringe Festival! Professional actor and mime artist, Gordon’s latest offering, I Malvolio, comes from the stable of writer and performer Tim Crouch, and was originally commissioned by Brighton Festival and Singapore Arts Festival.

I, Malvolio explores the character of Malvolio, the pompous man servant to Olivia in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. His priggish, self-righteous attitude has earned him the wrath of his companions, who have played a cruel trick on him, making him believe that Olivia is in love with him. When Malvolio confronts a startled Olivia, smiling profusely and wearing little but his infamous ‘yellow stockings and cross-garters’, he is taken for a madman and locked up.

Crouch’s irreverent, and hilarious backstage exposè picks up where Shakespeare left off.  Crouch’s Malvolio, dressed only in his stained long-johns, is now hell-bent on revenge and what follows is a modern-day mash-up of stand-up comedy and blunt Shakespearean verse!

So, if you’ve ever dropped a piece of litter or been insulted, or fallen in love with the wrong person, this production is an absolute must. 

For dates check out www.perfectfools.org

Theatre Preview - ARCADIA - THE PEOPLE'S THEATRE, NEWCASTLE, TUES 12th – SAT16th MARCH 2019

“The future is disorder”

In Tom Stoppard’s ARCADIA past and present are comically blurred in an English country house as the life of the Croom family in 1809 is juxtaposed with two present-day researchers working in the library of Sidley Park.

Bernard (Adam Lowe), Septimus (Adam Owers),
Hannah (Anna Dobson), Thomasina (Catherine Ellis)
Photos by Paula Smart

The pert observations of Thomasina, a teenage Regency maths prodigy, are pitched against the subdued passion of the 21st-century academics. Meanwhile, death lurks outside amidst the shrubberies beyond the French window.

ARCADIA is a play of discovery that explores the nature of truth and time. The modern-day characters are bent on discovering what happened in the same place in the nineteenth century, while the nineteenth century characters work to discover the truth about what is going on around them.

The difference between the Classical and the Romantic temperament is explored, along with the disruptive influence of sex on our orbits in life - a force which neither Newton nor Einstein could explain.

A smash hit since its debut at the National Theatre in 1993, ARCADIA is a funny and moving drama for the head and the heart, and is frequently cited as one of the great plays of the 20th century.

Hannah (Anna Dobson), Septimus (Adam Owers),
Bernard (Adam Lowe),
Thomasina (Catherine Ellis)
Photos by Paula Smart

ARCADIA is the first main stage production of our Spring/Summer Season. Other highlights include Oscar Wilde’s comedy THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, FRANKENSTEIN and an adaptation of Catherine Cookson’s local classic THE GAMBLING MAN.

DATE:             Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 March 2019

TIME:              7.30pm

VENUE:          People’s Theatre, Stephenson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5QF

TICKETS:       £14 (Concessions £11.50)
TELE:              0191 265 5020
WEBSITE:      www.peoplestheatre.co.uk