Monday, May 5, 2014
Laurence Olivier on stage and Ralph Fiennes on film are Michael Billington's favourite versions of this magnificent playI've loved this play ever since I was a revolting Roman citizen in a p…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AMSaturday, May 3, 2014
Nicholas Hytner's production in 2012 turned this unfashionable play into a bitter fable about our credit cultureTimon, wrote Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail, "tends to be dismissed as o…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:00AMFriday, May 2, 2014
Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins impressed as lovers embroiled in the sex and politics of this play. But which other double acts have ruled as Shakespeare's power couple?I've been accused of n…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:00AMWednesday, April 30, 2014
Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi and John Wood all excelled in what Kenneth Tynan called a "flawed pyramid of a play". Which other actors have been every inch a king?I have a confession to make. …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:50PMTuesday, April 29, 2014
From Willard White to Adrian Lester, modern theatre has yielded some terrific Othellos but none more so than Chiwetel EjioforWho should play Othello? In Britain, the last white men to do so…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:00AMMonday, April 28, 2014
Once regarded as salacious, Shakespeare's tale of seduction and the abuse of power has proved a natural fit for modern timesThere was a time when this play was considered too indecent for mo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AMSunday, April 27, 2014
Finborough, LondonJean-Jacques Bernard's exquisitely poignant tale of a summer romance in the French countryside is brilliantly performed by Hannah Murray and Barnaby Sax"The theatre is…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:30PMFriday, April 25, 2014
The tale of a poor physician's daughter who cures a king and claims a husband as reward sits well with modern gender politics. Here are my favourite stagingsThis supposedly unloved comedy of…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:28AMWyndham's, LondonAndrei Konchalovsky's use of film and sexually explicit gestures doesn't always work well on stage, but there are compelling performances in this Russian double bill Andrei …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:25AMThursday, April 24, 2014
Lyttelton, LondonHoward Davies brilliantly handles Seán O'Casey's blend of Dublin realism and expressionismSeán O'Casey's tumultuous play has always posed a problem: how to reconcile…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:43AMIn honour of the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, we're recalling our favourite stagings of his plays. This tragedy has come into its own in today's war-weary times, yielding many f…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AMWednesday, April 23, 2014
To mark the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth we're choosing our favourite versions of his plays. Here's a handful of the finest Hamlets 45 Hamlets for Shakespeare's 450th birthday i…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:00AMTuesday, April 22, 2014
Donmar Warehouse, LondonJames Graham's new play under the direction of Josie Rourke is rich and adrenalin-fuelled but lacks a real intellectual tussleJames Graham's new play deals with the b…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:34PMOrange Tree, RichmondThis lively revival of Boucicault's play starts promisingly, but his assault on speculative capitalism soon turns into a convoluted comedy about aristocratic marriageA k…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AMMonday, April 21, 2014
This comedy demands a balance between laughter and pain and needs a strong, all-round ensemble. Here's a handful of stagings to celebrateTwelfth Night is Shakespeare's most perfect comedy. …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AMFriday, April 18, 2014
The first revival in 100 years of Arthur Wing Pinero's proto-feminist, anti-marriage drama is shrewd and polished, even though it does patronise its independent-minded heroine"The play …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AMBy setting this play in a modern African state, the RSC's Gregory Doran gave its debate new urgency. Which versions of Julius Caesar have you hailed?For all its popularity, Shakespeare's Rom…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AMThursday, April 17, 2014
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Straford-upon-Avon These plays embrace the whole range of human experience and the RSC's production is rich in psychological insight What are your favourite versio…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:44AMFrom Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith to Simon Russell Beale and Zoë Wanamaker, countless duos have sparred as Benedick and Beatrice. What's your favourite version?Charles I famously wrote …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:00AMWednesday, April 16, 2014
The Swan, Stratford-upon-AvonUpdating this Jacobean play to the 1890s diminishes some of its impact, but it's a rousing productionThe RSC has had the bright idea of giving the new Swan seaso…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:09AMTuesday, April 15, 2014
From Ben Kingsley's Ford to Bill Alexander's 50s-era staging, Shakespeare's only purely English comedy perfectly captures middle-class mores. Let us know the best versions you've seenI've al…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:13AMYoung Vic, LondonAncestral memory and a labyrinthine quest intertwine in this extraordinary piece set in Paris and the Middle EastHow do you present the situation in Syria on stage? The answ…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:30AMMonday, April 14, 2014
Stylishly presented, but why Trevor Nunn chose to lavish such loving care on this rancid relic from Noël Coward is a mysteryI can't imagine Noël Coward's 1951 light comedy being much b…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:30PMHalesworth, SuffolkThe premiere of Nick Payne's ingenious play Incognito leads an exceptional festival devoted to new worksIt's a sign of the growing prestige of this exemplary festival for …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AMMichael Billington recalls a feast of Falstaffs including Joss Ackland, David Warner and Orson Welles. Tell us your favourite versions of these state-of-the-nation playsKenneth Tynan called …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AMSunday, April 13, 2014
Lucy Kirkwood's Chimerica deserves all the praise heaped upon it but I'm sad to see The Scottsboro Boys coming away empty-handed Almeida theatre defeats West End giants Video: Watch scenes …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:30PMYoung Vic, LondonArthur Miller's 1955 Brooklyn drama is stripped right back to showcase rich behavioural accuracy and high-quality performances Interview: Ivo van Hove Interview: Mark Strong…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:51AMPeter O'Toole, Patrick Stewart and Antony Sher have all made stunning Shylocks which versions of this problematic play have you been sold on?Obviously, The Merchant of Venice poses a proble…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:00AMFriday, April 11, 2014
On stage, the diary-writing teenager Adrian Mole was a joy because Townsend was serious about her single-parent hero and funny about everything elseI first came across Sue Townsend in 1979. …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:57AMThursday, April 10, 2014
Almeida theatre, LondonMike Bartlett has written a speculative play about the future of the monarchy that has the courage to ask serious questionsMike Bartlett has written a speculative play…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:28PMThis enchanting comedy has been revived many times yet the play gives constant pleasure. Peter Brook and Michael Boyd's versions both had a magical sensualityI sometimes feel sorry for direc…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:08AM 
