Londoners see premiere of "Midnight" based on Elchin play
By Amina Nazarli
The premiere of "Midnight", a haunting new musical thriller that matches a darkly witty psychological drama with a heart-breakingly beautiful score has been held in London.
Directed by Matthew Gould, this three hander – with an actor-musician ensemble – is based on an original play, "Citizens of Hell" by the great Azerbaijani writer Elchin. In adapting Elchin's parable, Timothy Knapman and Laurence Mark Wythe have created a shatteringly unforgettable musical.
“Famous figures including theatre critics, producers, directors and musicians attended the premiere,” said producer of Aloff theatre Sanan Aliyev. “The event was warmly welcomed by critics. The full staging of the play is planned in 2016. It is possible to demonstrate the play in the regional theatres of UK which is planned for long-term staging.”
Aloff is a theatre company dedicated to the promotion of new and classic works. Born in Baku and based in London, Sanan is the founder-producer of Aloff Theatre, found to create diverse, innovative and vibrant productions of Azerbaijani and related Eastern European and Central Asian texts that have rarely been presented to English-speaking audiences.
It acts as a focus for Anglo-Azerbaijan cultural exchange and to develop UK-led theatre mentoring programmes.
Based in London, Aloff promotes the interchange of dramatic resources between Azerbaijan and the UK, and the opportunity to discover a fabulous tradition of theatre-making. A key part of Aloff's ethos is exploring the possibilities of different genres for staging works, including musicals and site-specific concepts, actively bringing together creatives and performers from all around the world.
Sanan is also the founder/director of the Azerbaijan London Film Festival, a biannual event presenting Azerbaijani cinema in the United Kingdom.
He holds an MA in International Liaison and Communication. Productions include "The Botanist Monsieur Jordan and the Sorcerer-Dervish Mastali Shah" (Arts Educational Theatre), "Shakespeare" (Horse Hospital), "Incomplete Manuscript" (Waterstones), "My Favourite Madman" (Tristan Bates Theatre; Gryphon Venues, Edinburgh Festival Fringe), "You Are Always With Me" (Lost Theatre), "Tales of Malik-Mammed" (Chelsea Theatre, London).
Aside from Midnight he is also producing "Ali and Nino" by Kurban Said from classic Azerbaijani literature.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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