If Mr Burns, a provocative vision of post-apocalyptic America, has been slammed, it's because theatre critics know more about Homer than Homer Simpson. More fool them.One of the most tantali…
An early hit can be both a blessing and a curse for celebrated young writers such as Polly StenhamThe word "promise", as anyone who has been a partner or a parent knows, always ris…
Travel may be tough to stage, but whether it's the car in Driving Miss Daisy, the bus in Circles or the barge in Bring Up the Bodies, vehicles are theatre's most potent propsIn contrast to t…
Critical acclaim has greeted Boublil and Schönberg's show second time around, but repeat success is not guaranteed when a hit returns to the stageThe enthusiastic reviews for the new produc…
David Henry Hwang's new play is the latest in a series of interlinked works including Madame Butterfly that question racial and social attitudesThere's a phenomenon in pop music of the &qu…
Aldwych Theatre, LondonPoulton has created two darkly comic plays that have learned from those earlier masters but will also not disappoint fans of modern political dramas such as House of C…
From Privacy to Eat Pray Laugh, getting theatregoers on stage is growing in popularity. Does participation always add value to a theatre production, or can it be a laborious distraction? Rea…
The writer remains nationally visible and professionally treasured, just don't be fooled into using the obvious label B is for Betty's, S is for splother ... An A-Z of Alan BennettAlan Benne…
While musicals are closing, Wicked marches on and is about to start a 10th anniversary tour of Australia. So what's its secret?The recent closure of three big-budget West End musicals after…
The popularity of Simon Cowell's TV talent shows peaked a couple of years ago. Harry Hill and Steve Brown's show was staged too late and felt conflicted. We were asked to laugh at the vacuo…
This clever PG Wodehouse tribute reproduces the manners of the Edwardian English upper classes, while cunningly sending them up Bertie Wooster or Jez from Peep Show? Take our quiz Mark Heap …
In the week the Almeida won eight Oliviers, Mark Lawson traces the turbulent history of one of the leading lights of London studio theatre The Almeida theatre's top 10 productions in pictur…
From the Queen and Margaret Thatcher to the Prince of Wales and Simon Cowell, contemporary personalities are currently rife on stage and sometimes the subject of a bio-play will be sitting …
The producers of the comedian's ailing show are clearly trying to revamp it to play to the comedian's strengths. What do Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross have that he doesn't?Last night's thi…
From Urinetown to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof via Other Desert Cities and Betty Blue Eyes " does a title become famous because of a play or a play become famous because (or despite) of its title?O…
The Globe's Hamlet tour has been criticised by Amnesty for stopping off at North Korea. But theatre does not always legitimise its hosts " it can be a weapon against oppressionDoubts about t…
Theatregoers are being brought to their feet " but not in a good way " in numbers not seen since the 1950s. But what is provoking today's outraged early exits?Theatrical sound effects have b…
The theatre director and playwright talks to Mark Lawson about his new play, Versailles, which explores the impact of the first world war on one familyTwo of the landmarks in the career of P…
The theatre director and playwright talks to Mark Lawson about his new play, Versailles, which explores the impact of the first world war on one familyTwo of the landmarks in the career of P…
In the latest in our series on writers' favourite shows, Mark Lawson explains his potentially controversial choice of this verbatim musical about the Ipswich serial murdersFavourite musicals…
Parents criticising the use of Vivienne Franzmann's play as a set text forget one thing: Waiting for Godot never caused us to take to the road as trampsThe latest of the periodic spats over …
When Paapa Essiedu stepped up at the National Theatre, it was like seeing a football team go on to win after having a star player sent offOne of the pleasures and perils of live theatre is i…
As well as creating pools of sweat and candlewax, the 'authentic' theatre shows us how daylight, or lack of it, influenced the writingSome of the best classical music of recent decades has c…
Adaptations of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies are running to sell-out audiences at the RSC. Do they disprove the rule that theatre and literature make fractious companions…
Keeley Hawes has left the play Barking in Essex early after reported rows with co-star Sheila Hancock. Such creative tensions have always lurked in the wingsAlthough heavily sandbagged with …