BIG SOUL MCR
WORKS IN THEATRE
"Theatre is a human right and privilege- to consider what makes us human"
'Of All the Beautiful Things in the World'
Written & Directed by Yusra Warsama
Of All the Beautiful Things in the World is Yusra Warsama’s powerful reimagining of Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba—a bold transplantation of the classic into the rain-soaked terraces of Moss Side, South Manchester. In this world, cultures converge, identities collide, and the domestic space becomes a pressure cooker where generations wrestle with the weight of expectation, grief, and the unspoken consequences of being made to feel “other” in their own country.
At the centre of the story is a mother fiercely trying to shield her daughters from a world she believes is shifting too fast to be trusted. She speaks in proverbs, carrying with her the echoes of another homeland. Her daughters speak in posts, pixels, and 280 characters—children of a digital age negotiating a landscape where the rules seem constantly rewritten. When the death of their father cracks open the already fragile walls of the household, the outside world begins to seep in, tugging at each woman in different ways. The air thickens, the tension mounts, and something—inevitably, painfully—has to give.
Of All the Beautiful Things in the World
Written & Directed by Yusra Warsama
Warsama’s play marries poetic abstraction with raw realism, blending humour, sharp dialogue, and moments of startling theatricality. It is a story of women in one terraced house, locked in love, frustration, protection, and misunderstanding—a house where tenderness and conflict live dangerously close together. Through this intimate, volatile ecosystem, the play explores how cultural lineage, inherited fear, and the longing for self-determination shape the lives of those navigating multiple identities at once.
Critics and audiences alike have celebrated the production for its emotional ferocity, lyrical depth, and fearless performances. Reviewers have praised its “punchy, vigorous and alive” ensemble work, its “mercurial and majestic” spirit, and its ability to hit “right between the eyes.” Many describe it as a must-see for those drawn to theatre that refuses easy answers, that challenges and comforts, that reveals the beauty within struggle.
Of All the Beautiful Things in the World
Written & Directed by Yusra Warsama
As Chris Thorpe wrote, it is “one of the beautiful things in the world.”
As Lemn Sissay put it: “theatre of the unafraid.”
Of All the Beautiful Things in the World continues Yusra Warsama’s commitment to creating work that honours the complexities of diaspora life, amplifies the voices of women, and transforms familiar streets into landscapes of myth, memory, and resistance.
