From the Marx Brothers to Albert Camus and Claire Keegan, concise storytelling can get to the heart of the matter What role do the arts have at a time of political change when little is cert…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24AMNot every great work of art is an instant hit – just look at Stephen Sondheim’s Tony-winning Merrily We Roll Along The triumph of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along in last weeke…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32PMThe real culture war is the battle to fund it properly, in the face of politicians bemoaning a lack of money As summer arrives, so too does big culture. The Hay festival has just wound up, w…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48PMFeaturing awe-inspiring aerial antics, Welsh National Opera’s Death In Venice shows how innovative the art form can still be Conversation about opera has become an increasingly cronky mer…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PMThe future will be bleak for drama if the young and the low-paid are excluded When it comes to the cost of entertainment, there is a resigned acceptance that the only way is up. This reality…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54AMAs a decade of assaults on local democracy takes its toll, it is more important than ever to keep faith with the value of culture How do you put a value on culture? In this age of austerity,…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32PMTheir status has fallen since the great days of Under Milk Wood or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but we still need audio dramas On 25 January 1954, Dylan Thomas’s great radio pla…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AMIt is refreshing to hear new ideas, but dividing culture into the best and the rest won’t do anyone any good The arts have taken such a battering in the UK over the last decade that they s…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42PMDespite losses caused by funding cuts, a diverse range of vibrant work is pulling in new audiences Hayao Miyazaki’s glorious animation My Neighbour Totoro reimagined for the stage; a Tenne…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AMBy channelling money to Edinburgh performers, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is passing on some of her own good fortune The Edinburgh fringe is a shaggy old beast with many ailments. It’s too big, t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:25PMBy cancelling all its shows from March, the Oldham Coliseum has thrown down a challenge to both central and local government Pity the poor Oldham Coliseum. This venerable regional theatre h…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:25PMDespite Nick Cave’s broadside against computer-generated lyrics, they’re here to stay. Artists need to be educated and protected Faced with an attempt by a new chatbot to imitate his own…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:25PMA bold attempt to reframe England’s cultural life might be laudable but it comes at a price After a brief period of bafflement, accompanied by scrambled responses to the effect that “We …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PMA delayed announcement about the next three years of support has left the arts world in limbo – but also with time to fight and rethink In the turmoil of the new government’s stock-takin…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AMDon’t assume that the arts are just about entertainment – they have a crucial part to play in the mental health of the nation The playwright Alan Ayckbourn is a standout figure in Briti…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PMChanging Arts Council priorities are raising the stakes for a sector that deserves steady support The reopening of London’s historic Africa Centre in new premises south of the Thames is ha…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AMThe latest city to win the cultural crown must now work to transform its citizens’ hopes and possibilities Bradford is celebrating: it has won the competition to become UK city of culture …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PMThe closure of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella is a sign of the fragility of theatre in the wake of Covid-19 Cinderella will not, after all, be going to the ball. The big new Andrew Lloyd…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:37PMA short-time work scheme would help freelancers when the going gets tough It is not just the hospitality industry that is facing chaos in this moment of not-lockdown. The cultural sector, e…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PMThey may be smaller and quieter than they once were, but Scotland’s capital has its summer arts events, and even some visitors, back The Edinburgh festivals are back – but not as we know…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AMCultural venues in much of the UK are now closed to audiences, but one thing is clear: the shared experience of art should never be taken for granted The late summer and early autumn saw a m…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AMAbout £120m has been set aside for arts commissions. It may as well be used wisely When, at the 2018 Tory party conference, Theresa May announced a “nationwide festival in celebration of …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PMCulture needed a lifeline, and has got one. Now the sector must avoid treading water There are as many reasons to applaud the UK government’s decision to pump £1.57bn into the arts as the…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54PMThe Southbank Centre in London is the latest institution to warn of disaster. It is time for decisive government action A vocal minority in the UK say the arts are parasites on the state, le…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54AMThe brilliant creativity of British theatre must be safeguarded – and not just the great national institutions Theatre has brave new thinking in its bones. What is it, if not the imagining…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54PMTheatres across the UK are struggling to provide the opportunities that actors and audiences needFrom the Ffwrnes in Llanelli to Eden Court in Inverness, the UK’s approximately 1,200 theat…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PMCorporate sponsorship needs to steer clear of impinging on artistic freedomsNews that investment managers the Man Group is withdrawing its sponsorship from the Booker prize after 18 years ha…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PMInstituting a UK ‘town of culture’ award alongside the existing ‘city of culture’ title might look like a desperate post-Brexit search for meaning. But the idea could bring real bene…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:48PMThe actor’s one-man shows, marking his 80th birthday, will take him back to old hauntsMany people seek unusual ways to celebrate a big birthday, but it’s unlikely that anyone has beaten …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42PMThe BBC2 broadcast of Mike Bartlett’s play is a reminder that even for republicans, the Queen’s death will loom largeKing Charles III, Mike Bartlett’s play set in a future shortly afte…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:42PMAuthentic productions of the playwright’s productions can be brilliant but Britain must not be bound by a hertiage-industry view of Mr Anne Hathaway’s workThe abrupt cessation this week …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48PM
