Wednesday, December 13, 2023
One of the great postwar theatre directors, Blakemore – who has died aged 95 – had a vast range and was a formidable writer
It is sadly ironic that the death of Michael Blakemore, at the…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:24PMA superb, starry cast in the West End paid homage to the musical duo behind Carousel, Oklahoma! and South Pacific. If only the concert had also addressed their shows’ contradictions
The st…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AMFriday, November 24, 2023
Katie Mitchell has compared her experiences of hierarchies in British and German theatre. Our strength has always lain in honouring the text
Katie Mitchell this week gave the annual lecture …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:02PMSunday, November 19, 2023
From a sportive Falstaff for the RSC to a powerful Juan Perón in Evita, Ackland – who has died aged 95 – rarely had the star role but was a reassuring presence
Joss Ackland, who has die…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36PMMonday, November 6, 2023
Despite being panned as ‘a dirty act done publicly’ on its London premiere, the tragedy is now regarded as a classic – here are three productions that radically shifted our perspective…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PMThursday, October 19, 2023
A pilot scheme means some performances will now begin at 6.30pm. That means more time for eating, travelling and – most importantly – discussing the show
‘The drama’s laws the drama�…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:25AMThursday, October 5, 2023
The NT has a civic duty to revive woefully neglected plays from the world repertory. Doing so will make modern drama stronger
Writing about the National Theatre on its 50th anniversary, I sa…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:43AMThursday, September 28, 2023
Versatile actor with a magnificent presence who starred in The Singing Detective and the Harry Potter filmsThe word “great” is somewhat promiscuously applied to actors. But it was undoub…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:33PMTuesday, September 26, 2023
Paul Scofield, Ian McKellen and Glenda Jackson have all redefined Shakespeare’s unpredictable ruler – a role in which actors usually succeed
Kenneth Branagh is set to play, and direct, K…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:07AMWednesday, September 20, 2023
Oliver Cotton’s The Score, a new drama about Bach’s confrontation with Frederick II, continues a rich tradition of plays about great composers
You wait decades for a play about Johann Se…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:13AMSunday, August 6, 2023
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s former artistic director was a great theatrical leader whose legacy includes proving the history cycle is at the centre of our national story
News of the de…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:04AMTuesday, July 18, 2023
Not all buildings are created equal. From sightlines to acoustics to the alchemy of actor-audience rapport, the physical facts of a dramatic space are fundamental
What makes a good theatre? …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:37PMWednesday, July 5, 2023
Stephen Wood, who has died aged 73 after a stroke, was a press officer, administrator and former stage manager who worked closely with Alan Ayckbourn at Scarborough. He was at the National T…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:25PMFriday, June 30, 2023
Return of Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s political farce begs a question: can theatre ever be as potent as documentary?
There is a fascinating role reversal going on in London theatre. Behind …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13AMThursday, June 29, 2023
An all-star cast arrived in Westminster on Monday with a potted Julius Caesar, partly in hopes of elevating public discourse. It’s good to have a dream …
A murder took place in the speak…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:55PMThursday, June 15, 2023
The director, who has announced he is stepping down, should be credited for opening up the organisation and steering it through the Covid crisis. Now, who’s next for the NT job?
Every dire…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:43AMThe actor and former MP, who has died aged 87, displayed courage and a sharp mind, on stage and in politics
Glenda Jackson, who has died aged 87, had a career unmatched by any of her contemp…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:19AMTuesday, May 16, 2023
Playing in the vast ancient amphitheatre, imaginative new productions of Euripides and Aeschylus find fresh nuance even in this huge space
How best to stage the great Greek classics? The fas…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AMSunday, May 7, 2023
A blend of pageantry, procession, music and mystery, with many private moments to savour
A coronation is pure theatre. But how does one review it when there is so little to compare it with? …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:02PMMonday, April 24, 2023
A new revival of The Circle is a reminder of a dramatist who smuggled vital messages into broad crowdpleasers
Never trust what dramatists say about themselves. Noël Coward spent decades dis…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06AMMonday, April 17, 2023
Actor, archivist of the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, and director, with a long career in theatre, film and televisionThe actor and director Murray Melvin, who has died aged 90, had a rich …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AMThursday, April 6, 2023
Thirty directors from all over Europe converged on Greece for a showcase of its fizzing new talent that even included a play about the Nazis by Tony Kushner. What did they learn on this five…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AMThursday, March 23, 2023
There are invigorating versions of Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma! and Cabaret in London – and some enticing new dramas coming – yet theatre risks being cut off from its past
David Hare has ar…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PMTuesday, March 21, 2023
He presented himself as a message-free entertainer but, 50 years after his death, it is time to reconsider the variety of the great playwright’s work
Anniversaries offer a chance for reapp…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:17AMSunday, January 22, 2023
Dramatist and screenwriter whose best-known stage play, Alpha Beta, is a scorching study of marriage and morality
As a passionate lover of football, in particular of Liverpool FC, Ted Whiteh…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PMMonday, January 9, 2023
It was a box-office hit directed by John Gielgud and created turmoil on stage and off. Now, the 1964 Broadway staging has inspired The Motive and the Cue, a new play by Jack Thorne
In 1964 R…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00PMTuesday, January 3, 2023
Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran battle it out in the Almeida’s new production of a poetic drama whose ambiguity is enthralling
Tennessee Williams’s old bus keeps on running. The Almeida’s…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48PMThursday, December 8, 2022
Pitting the capital against the regions is a cynical political ploy and the Arts Council’s cuts are a catastrophe for new writing – as well as the entertainment industry
The resignation …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMMonday, October 17, 2022
Costumes, props, posters and archive footage all feature in an exhibition that leaves you itching to see some shows again
Weave your way round the new exhibition Re:Imagining Musicals at the…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AMTuesday, September 20, 2022
An immense task awaits the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new artistic directors who must attract top talent, prioritise verse-speaking and combine classic repertory and contemporary drama
It…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:55PMWednesday, September 14, 2022
The whodunnit starring Saoirse Ronan is a fun spoof but tinkers with history and never captures the unique way Agatha Christie’s play fascinated audiences in the 50s
The smell of greasepai…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:49PM 
