Why it's best to experience Shakespeare in your salad days by Lyn Gardner

Helen Mirren thinks that you need to be a teenager to enjoy Shakespeare, but the sooner children encounter the plays in performance the less likely they will dismiss them as difficult and du…

Have Your Circumstances Changed? review " Artangel's surreal triptych by Lyn Gardner

Archway Mall, LondonThis experimental show about the relationship between old and young, past and present offers snapshots of ageing and everyday life through a shop windowPeer through a sho…

Kids Week " London theatre's top 10 summertime family treats by Lyn Gardner

West End shows offer big savings for children in August. Here's our pick of the hottest stage productions for summer days out in the cityAugust in London, and there are often seats to fill i…

The Famous Victories of Henry V review " energy, clarity and diabolical French accents by Lyn Gardner

Clifton primary school, BirminghamThe RSC's cleverly pared-down version of Shakespeare's history plays for schools is full of engaging touches and vivacious performances There is talk of hor…

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Kafka is adapted in Manchester and London, National Theatre Scotland takes audiences for a drive in Edinburgh, David Suchet becomes Lady Bracknell and Robert Wilson performs in Beckett at th…

Now This Is Not the End review " family-history drama hums with life by Lyn Gardner

Arcola, LondonRose Lewenstein's heartfelt play " about the pains and surprises of rediscovering the past " is flawed but watchable and well scriptedWhat is history, and how much are our live…

An Audience with Jimmy Savile review " Alistair McGowan is repellently convincing by Lyn Gardner

Park theatre, LondonJonathan Maitland's play puts the serial abuser where he wanted to be " in the spotlight " and fails to tackle the difficult question: why we fell for his brazen actWhen …

The Hook review " stylish premiere of Arthur Miller's waterfront drama by Lyn Gardner

Royal & Derngate, NorthamptonJames Dacre's atmospheric production masks the deficiencies of a politically charged story that rattled early-50s America and caught the attention of the FBI…

The closure of the Arches in Glasgow will be felt around the world by Lyn Gardner

The much-loved Scottish venue, which nurtured all sorts of brilliant artists, has gone into administration. A great many people will be the poorer for this disasterThe Arches in Glasgow has …

Image of an Unknown Young Woman review " a gripping look at rage and revolution by Lyn Gardner

Gate, LondonChristopher Haydon's unsettling production of Elinor Cook's play explores our capacity for violenceEvery picture tells a story, just not always the one that we think it tells, or…

Do we need diversity quotas for theatre? by Lyn Gardner

There's been much talk about the need for theatre to reflect the UK's cultural diversity. With change so slow to be implemented, are quotas the only way to bring about a transformation?We kn…

Lessness review " an intense hit of Beckett performed by Olwen Fouéré by Lyn Gardner

Barbican, LondonThe Irish playwright's 1969 prose poem is reinvented in a 35-minute staging that wears away at your psycheLessness turns out to be oddly moreish. Samuel Beckett's brief 1969 …

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

Debbie Tucker Green has a new play at the Royal Court, there's new black writing in Talawa Firsts, RashDash talk porn at the National, Constellations is on tour, Hull prepares to Grow and th…

Waiting for Godot review " a dystopian Laurel and Hardy after an ​apocalypse by Lyn Gardner

Barbican, LondonSydney Theatre Company's intelligent revival turns Beckett into a performance, playing on the idea of theatre I can't go on," cries Richard Roxburgh's Estragon. "That's what …

Edinburgh festival 2015: what to see and where to go by Lyn Gardner

New shows from Daniel Kitson, Circa and Mark Thomas, the return of Tim Crouch's An Oak Tree and a musical based on an Alan Warner novel are among this year's fringe highlightsSo the 2015 Edi…

Shelter Me review " acrobatics in the Guardian's old offices by Lyn Gardner

Theatre Delicatessen, LondonAn experimental young company use our former HQ to stage a promenade-style circus showUK circus has come a long way in recent years, and we are starting to see a …

Georgian theatre company refused visa to perform in Britain by Lyn Gardner

Theatre should be without borders, but while British companies get to perform around the world " and their work improves because of it " it's a different story for foreign artists invited he…

Circus Geeks: Beta-Testing review " jugglers face fear of failure by Lyn Gardner

Southbank Centre, LondonPerforming at the Udderbelly festival, this trio of jugglers remind us that when you drop everything you simply have to pick it up and carry on Continue reading...

James Freedman: Man of Steal review " light-fingered tales from the thief with the million-pound hands by Lyn Gardner

Trafalgar Studios, LondonPickpocket performer Freedman fools us with terrifying ease, but too often this feels like a personable Neighbourhood Watch lecture Continue reading...

Like Mother, Like Daughter review " home truths in Q&A show for parents and children by Lyn Gardner

Battersea Arts Centre, LondonFour sets of mothers and daughters, ranging in age from 15 to their 80s, ask each other about their lives in a compelling theatre piece Continue reading...

Plan your week's theatre: top tickets by Lyn Gardner

There's an Arthur Miller world premiere in Northampton, Chris Goode and co take a Stand in Edinburgh, and a new non-league football play from Patrick Marber kicks off at the NTThere's loads …

How would you explain theatre to somebody who's never been? by Lyn Gardner

Manchester's welcoming new art space Home wants to attract unseasoned audiences. But how does it describe to them the unique pleasures it can offer? Continue reading...

The Mother review " Gina McKee is ghost-like in haunting empty nest drama by Lyn Gardner

Ustinov, BathA mother's depression after her son leaves home is brought to life in a play that veers between reality and hallucination Continue reading...

Home is where the heart is: why theatres must be more welcoming by Lyn Gardner

As the new multimillion-pound building in Manchester shows, you can call an arts complex Home " but the challenge is to really make it feel like one Continue reading...

The Ghost Train review " off the rails on a comedy detour by Lyn Gardner

Royal Exchange, ManchesterIn spite of innovative staging and an uptight spinster played by a man, Told by an Idiot's version of this 1922 chiller aims for laughs over edge-of-your-seat horro…

What Would Helen Mirren Do? | Edinburgh theatre review by Lyn Gardner

The Sun Also Rises | Edinburgh theatre review by Lyn Gardner

Reports of London fringe theatre's death have been greatly exaggerated | Lyn Gardner by Lyn Gardner

Once just a stepping stone, the fringe has become a vital forum for the realisation of actors' and directors' creative ambitions

The best theatre companies play many parts by Lyn Gardner

It's no longer enough for companies to put on plays and hope that people turn up. The most exciting theatre at the moment is interactive, collaborative and out there

Arts cuts mean theatres must learn to share the stage by Lyn Gardner

A 21st-century venue is measured on its relationships as well as its output. Now is our chance to encourage collaboration

Why do theatres stubbornly refuse to put on their Sunday best? by Lyn Gardner

Plenty of businesses are buzzing on a Sunday. So why do so few theatres open their doors on a day that would suit most normal people?