Monday, June 4, 2012
Long test periods for shows are driven by the neurosis of producers. In any case, these days bloggers and tweeters are sharing their verdicts long before the official opening nightIt's rare …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AMTuesday, May 29, 2012
This specialised weapon in a theatre's armoury must be used with care – but the benefits are revolutionaryOn two consecutive nights last week, I saw examples of revolutionary theatre. Neit…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:09AMMonday, May 21, 2012
Programmes can give a clue to game-changing last-minute appearances – which is why some writers have gone to great lengths to conceal crucial surprisesThe actor Christian Rodska has an imp…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:02AMMonday, May 14, 2012
Audiences know the action kicks off on stage when the curtain goes up – so why are so many directors dispensing with the idea?The tradition that performances are punctuated by the rise an…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:57AMTuesday, May 1, 2012
Several of the Bard's plays, as was common in Elizabethan drama, incorporated the efforts of other writers – so why are we reluctant to acknowledge it?The depressingly predictable decision…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:17AMMonday, April 23, 2012
From David Suchet's broken shoelace to the tumbling barometer in Noel Coward's Hay Fever, theatre is always playing with the threat – and the thrill – of things going wrong for realThe t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AMTuesday, April 17, 2012
The King's Speech is struggling to make anywhere near the same impact on stage as it did on the big screen. Can cinematic and theatrical versions of the same piece happily co-exist?Two newsp…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:56AMMonday, April 9, 2012
The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and Blood Brothers all have links to French literature and have been going strong for around 25 years. The plot thickens ...Working on a radio docum…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AMFriday, March 30, 2012
In the first of a new series that puts theatre's hidden stories in the spotlight, Mark Lawson looks at the dramatic effect that an awkward fall or twanged hamstring can have on a productionO…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AMFriday, March 23, 2012
Mike Daisey's campaigning monologue about Apple may have succeeded as a play, but it failed as journalism. Does it matter if theatre based on real-life material takes dramatic licence?Some t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:29PMMonday, March 19, 2012
Barry Humphries' announcement that he is to retire Dame Edna Everage is sad news for all fans of the housewife superstarOne of Dame Edna Everage's shows was called, in a characteristically c…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:05PMTuesday, February 14, 2012
Her mother was a celebrated Ellida. So was her sister. Is that why Joely Richardson is marking her return to the stage by playing Ibsen's difficult heroine?One day last year, Joely Richards…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:30PMMonday, February 6, 2012
With his plays about heroin addicts and barrow boys, David Eldridge has swung the wrecking ball at class bias in theatre. But his biggest conflict is with himselfOver the last 15 years, Davi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:31PMFriday, December 23, 2011
From The King's Speech to the Great British Bake Off, this year's arts winners ignored the safety-first rules of surviving a downturnThe year began and now ends with an odd little movie, sho…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:00PMWednesday, September 21, 2011
Betty Blue Eyes was a critical smash, but the final curtain comes down early this weekend. Why are original British musicals being squeezed out of the West End? Blog: join the debateOn the…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:31PMThursday, June 16, 2011
David Mellor is right to remonstrate with unruly theatre-goers. But he's fighting a losing battleThe opera-going former politician David Mellor has reportedly taken to remonstrating with mem…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:30PMSaturday, April 23, 2011
On the anniversary of his death, researchers – driven by a devotion to plays which have lasted centuries – are still finding, and deleting, works to credit to himThis week, I spent six h…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:30AMMonday, April 11, 2011
Copyright law can be a minefield – as the BBC found out over Room at the TopThe sudden removal from the BBC4 schedule last week of a new dramatisation of John Braine's novel Room at the To…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00PMSunday, February 20, 2011
He may be white, but Johnny Depp is perfect casting for Tonto, the Lone Ranger's Native American sidekickReports that a movie remake of The Lone Ranger will star Johnny Depp as the Native A…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:00PMFriday, December 3, 2010
From pantos to atheism, from Great War slaughter to Ronnie Corbett, every hit festive show will make us look back in wonderThe Royal Court Theatre in London has always been a pioneer: the si…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:00PM 
