The actor’s sophisticated sense of humour and natural ability to make everyone laugh were there long before her famous sitcom rolesA life in picturesPenelope Keith: the most spectacular si…
London Theatre Company founded in 2017 by Hytner and former National Theatre colleague Nick Starr has been sold to company that owns 20-plus venues in UK and abroadThe Bridge theatre in Lond…
Watford Palace theatreThere’s plenty of devilment as the Pennsylvanian flies the flag for the magnificence of women and riffs on pregnancyThe Best Job in the World, Michelle Wolf’s touri…
This year’s celebration of contemporary dance in the French city is bold, baffling and breathtaking, with some high-voltage performersLaunched in 1981, the pioneering Montpellier Danse fes…
A familiar face on TV and the stage, Keith was made a dame in 2014 for her services to the arts and charitiesPenelope Keith – a life in pictures Penelope Keith, best known for starring in …
The Happy Valley actor is lined up as the lead in German director Thomas Ostermeier’s first Shakespearean play in EnglishJames Norton is to take on his first major Shakespearean stage role…
In a collaboration with young British dancers, supported by Oxford’s new Schwarzman Centre, the Memphis dancer tackles US history’s ‘broken promise’ of equality in a performance fill…
Polka theatre, London Marietta Kirkbride’s enchanting take on the Arthur myth brings silliness and songs when young Grace travels back in time with Merlin the wizardHere is a sparkling new…
Royal Court Downstairs, London Hunger and TB, as much as imperialism, are triggers for the assassination that precipitated the first world war in Rajiv Joseph’s tragicomic reimagining of t…
Leeds PlayhouseIn a cavernous venue seemingly designed for a colliery-based story, Amy Leach directs Paul Allen’s adaptation of the 1996 filmIt’s odd that this most Yorkshire of stories …
Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonFull of surprises, Stephanie Lake’s 2018 piece is a feat of logistics as 60 performers display split-second timingMass movement can have a walloping impact. Whe…
Lyric Hammersmith, London Four siblings squabble over an art treasure possibly stolen by their grandfather in this riotous play by Ben OckrentBen Ockrent’s black comedy about a family in m…
Aviva Studios, Manchester The late singer gets a thrilling tribute from a cast of 10 dancers in Sonya Taleh’s heartfelt show‘I’m just a troubled soul who needs to scream into a mic now…
Dorfman theatre, LondonThe director and writer of the hit 2014 film deliver a stage celebration of togetherness in the face of adversityA group of 1980s LGBTQ+ activists begin fundraising fo…
Sadler’s Wells, London Molina says she wants a show that never finishes – this one is endlessly thrilling and surprisingRocío Molina has completely redefined what flamenco can be. Some …
Apollo theatre, LondonStephen Mangan, Sarah Hadland, Ardal O’Hanlon and Janie Dee are seat-shakingly funny in this study of adulteryAlice and Michel must conceal their affair from possibly…
I use a wheelchair and yearn to dance like I did when I was a kid. Could I possibly hold my own in a class run by inspirational disabled dance star Kate Stanforth and the Royal Ballet? From …
A blooming new wave of musical theatre is exploring the plight of the planet with a playful and hopeful approachEarth is a single woman with a lot to give; Humanity is a charismatic bad boy …
Aldwych theatre, LondonFrank swings into the West End with a swaggering turn from Joel Harper-Jackson and plenty of style yet the script is flatOl’ Blue Eyes is back: first staged in Birmi…
The Pit, Barbican, LondonGreg Doran directs Shakespeare’s timeless poem of seduction, told with Lyndie Wright’s gorgeous, masterfully manoeuvred miniaturesLove comes with strings attache…
Miranda and Eisa Davis’s concept album based on the 1979 film is to be realised for the stage, co-directed by Jenny Koons and Hamilton’s Andy BlankenbuehlerLin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Da…
Young Vic theatre, London Sophie Swithinbank’s urgent drama shimmers with spark and danger as an archive researcher finds herself trapped in modern-day misogyny…
Helen Hunt and Kristin Scott Thomas are leading revivals of the Russian classic whose blend of comedy and tragedy is baked into our own dramatic heritageWhat kind of play is The Cherry Orcha…
From 20th-century classics to little-known treasures, Michael Cunningham, Hilton Als, Eileen Myles and others share their favorite books about LGBTQ+ life‘Sheer outrageousness’: writers …
National Theatre, LondonHeroic but imperfect modern-day version of the 17th-century classic is stuffed full of debates about how we might live differentlyMolière’s misanthrope here is a b…