461 stories by "Mark Lawson"
Casting well-known names from TV or film has become a sure-fire way of generating ticket sales. But it blinds us to the true depth and breadth of British theatre Continue reading...
I'd always been sceptical of site-specific and non-text-based theatre, but Robert Wilson's astonishing Walking won me overAs readers rapidly come to suspect, critics tend to have their preju…
Some dramatists, such as Caryl Churchill and Debbie Tucker Green, refuse point blank to talk about their work. Is this vow of silence defensible " or detrimental?Before the opening of a new …
It's a paradox that the more successful a show or theatre, the more difficult it is to get a ticket. Has Josie Rourke found a cure?Is it possible for a theatre to become too successful? Over…
From Madness frontman Graham McPherson to Falklands veteran Ken Lukowiak, solo shows are all the rage right now. But what makes this the moment of the monologue?It's often been said that eve…
In search of theatrical immortality? You could get your play on the school syllabus, like Tom Stoppard, mention the US elections or Christmas, like Gore Vidal and Alan Ayckbourn " or just wr…
You thought it was innocent family entertainment? Wrong. Danny Boyle's political production would have made Joan Littlewood and the leftwing Theatre Workshop proudDuring the era of agitprop …
I've somehow notched up 15 different Julius Caesars, 12 Pinter Betrayals, and who knows what else. Where do you stand on seeing shows more than once?Audiences sometimes experience the unfort…
Picasso, Munch and Gormley have all dabbled, but imagine the inspired collaborations that could result if more major artists turned their talents to stage designThe artists Gilbert & George,…
Whether it's coalition government, banking or war, scenes or subjects " even apparently inconsequential " can take on a new resonance for audiences in the light of current eventsA director o…
The sight of Stephen Mangan's prosthetic penis in Joe Penhall's Birthday was too much for preview audiences, who thought it was real. Why can't theatre cope with too much reality?A few weeks…
The sight of Stephen Mangan's prosthetic penis in Joe Penhall's Birthday was too much for preview audiences, who thought it was real. Why can't theatre cope with too much reality? Continue r…
Too much publicity threatens the surprise and suspense of narrative art. That is why the Royal Court and the National Theatre have tried to keep quiet the entire content of a playIn the stor…
Julie Walters returns to National stage in The Last of the Haussmans as baby boomer confronted by her adult childrenSubsidised theatres have been under pressure from governments and funding …
The idea of the epic theatre marathon isn't new " but it raises fascinating questions about how much an audience is prepared to put up withIn Tom Stoppard's one-acter The Real Inspector Houn…
From One Man, Two Guvnors to Noises Off and What the Butler Saw, trouser-dropping and door-slamming is back with a vengeance in the West End and on Broadway. How come?On radio phone-ins at t…
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 …
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. Neithe…
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 impre…
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 and …
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 t…
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 tale …
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…
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…
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…
