All stories by Alistair Smith on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Editor’s View: Our new-look website is coming – and it will help us keep you better informed by Alistair Smith

Over the past few weeks, we’ve all got used to major upheavals to our day-to-day lives. Much of this change has been

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:30AM
Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Editor’s View: When will theatres reopen? by Alistair Smith

We cannot be sure when theatres will open their doors again, but there are early signs if you read the tea leaves.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:30AM
Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Editor’s View: Do whatever you need to do to survive this crisis by Alistair Smith

Theatre is a sector full of obsessives. For almost everyone working in this business, it is more than a job – it

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:15AM
Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Editor’s View: Government support for freelances would help secure theatre’s future by Alistair Smith

We are just over a week into a crisis that will represent the biggest change to our day-to-day lives we have ever

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:30AM
Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Editor’s View: Theatres need clarity and support to avoid existential crisis by Alistair Smith

The show will not go on. At least, not for a while. The events of the past few days are unprecedented. There

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:30AM
Thursday, February 13, 2020

Editor’s View: Guildhall’s move to cut fees is welcome, but schools have been slow to act by Alistair Smith

Is the tide finally turning against exorbitant drama school audition fees? Guildhall School of Music and Drama, for a long time one

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:00AM
Thursday, February 6, 2020

Editor’s View: Celebrating 140 years of The Stage by turning the spotlight outwards by Alistair Smith

It has survived two world wars, the internet, even five years of my editorship, and last Saturday The Stage turned the grand

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:30AM
Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Editor’s View: Is Arts Council England’s 10-year strategy really radical? by Alistair Smith

“Let’s create”, exhorts Arts Council England’s 10-year strategy, published this week. The title reflects how the funding body’s priorities appear to be

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:18AM
Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Editor’s View: Theatre is a place for protest, but it also needs to be a forum for debate by Alistair Smith

Much like the young Rufus Norris after he fell off his decorator’s ladder and hit himself in a sensitive spot, theatre finds

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 04:00AM
Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Editor’s view: Variant 31 complaints are a reminder that safe working conditions should be top priority by Alistair Smith

“Go and look at the rooms in which our artists are compelled to spend the greater part of their official career, notice

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 04:00AM
Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Editor’s View: Data metrics are blunt tools but they can be useful by Alistair Smith

Last week, we ran some discouraging research into representation among senior leadership teams at theatres in England. It found that between 2009

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:00AM
Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Editor’s View: Arts Council England needs to ask who the arts are for by Alistair Smith

Labour’s performance in the general election – especially in its former northern heartlands – has resulted in a slew of think pieces

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:00AM
Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Editor’s View: Nominations for The Stage Awards 2020 highlight theatre’s rich variety by Alistair Smith

As December marches on, we enter the season of lists. Not Christmas card lists – in journalistic circles, December means end-of-year lists.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:01PM
Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Editor’s View: Bridlington Spa saga highlights how councils can undervalue theatre staff by Alistair Smith

The story of Andrew Aldis, the general manager of Bridlington Spa who claims he was sacked after refusing to take a pay

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:00AM
Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Editor’s View: Ian McKellen is right – theatre needs stars to tour by Alistair Smith

From Jersey to Orkney, Ian McKellen has covered the length and breadth of the UK during his year-long, 80-date tour. It has

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:30AM
Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Editor’s View: Lunchbox was a major international player – its collapse has big implications for the theatre industry by Alistair Smith

James Cundall might not be a name familiar to some UK-based readers, but he has been a key commercial player internationally for

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:04AM
Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Editor’s View: After the Piccadilly ceiling collapse, transparency is key for West End venue operators by Alistair Smith

There probably aren’t many conclusions to be drawn about the state of the West End’s historic theatre stock from the incident at

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 04:00AM
Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Editor’s View: the Guardian’s Michael Billington is the last critic of his kind by Alistair Smith

Speaking to The Stage in 2015, soon after his 75th birthday, Michael Billington pondered the possibility of retirement. “I don’t intend to

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 12:50PM
Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Editor’s View: Is it time for a revolution in drama training? by Alistair Smith

In January, HighTide artistic director Suba Das posted an image on social media captioned: “The class of 2019… we’re here to fuck

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 03:00AM
Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Editor’s View: Is Paul Jepson right? Are we facing a crisis in regional jobs for creatives? by Alistair Smith

Regional theatre has been in a state of impending crisis for as long as I have been writing for The Stage –

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:01PM
Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Editor’s View: Will Jonathan Church emulate the success of Sonia Friedman Productions’ model? by Alistair Smith

Jonathan Church’s decision to go in-house at Trafalgar Entertainment makes a lot of sense for both parties. At Trafalgar, founders Howard Panter

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:01PM
Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Editor’s View: Is Ambassador Theatre Group really up for sale? by Alistair Smith

It appears not. Or at least not yet. Ambassador Theatre Group – the UK’s largest theatre operator, with an expanding US operation

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:00AM
Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Editor’s View: Even if the law disagrees, Leicester Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome were right to replace Seyi Omooba by Alistair Smith

What will happen in the Seyi Omooba case? I don’t know. As I wrote at the time her anti-gay comments were first

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 03:00AM
Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Editor’s view: Decline in school theatre trips will have serious consequences by Alistair Smith

Our story this week, revealing the precipitous decline in children’s theatregoing in the past decade, is deeply worrying. That the rate of

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:15AM
Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Editor’s View: The Stage Debut Awards reveal theatre stars at their generous best by Alistair Smith

We all have to start somewhere. This is the beauty of The Stage Debut Awards, which last Sunday celebrated another year of

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 03:00AM
Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Government help alone will not fix cuts to arts coverage by Alistair Smith

Arts journalism is facing a tricky time – it has been pushing against a strong headwind for a few years now. It

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 03:00AM
Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Editor’s View: Councils must think hard when choosing a theatre operator by Alistair Smith

The catastrophic collapse of Preston Guild Hall’s operator should give many UK local authorities pause for thought. It has become increasingly common

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:00AM
Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Editor’s View: Will BAFTA casting director award lead to changes at Oliviers? by Alistair Smith

Five years ago, the Oliviers faced calls to introduce an award for musical directors; today, there are demands for a casting director

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:00AM
Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Editor’s View: Could the arts really receive a BoJo boost? by Alistair Smith

Arts Council England chief executive Darren Henley holds out a friendly hand to the new prime minister, Boris Johnson, in his column

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:00AM
Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Editor’s View: What does Grand Theft Auto have to do with theatre? by Alistair Smith

I suspect most commercial theatre producers aren’t big Grand Theft Auto fans, but I wonder whether some of them might have paused

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:00AM
Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Editor’s View: Ushers are key to a good theatre experience by Alistair Smith

Our story about the trials of usher body cameras in the West End proved to be one of those rare industry stories

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:00AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards