Dramatists have long focused on the agonies and irritations of self-imposed or enforced isolation 'I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space," says Hamlet. H…
This is the art form that makes us feel most acutely human. We are going to need it more than ever How will society cope with the total shutdown of theatres for the foreseeable future? It wi…
A versatile master of stage, radio and TV, Hudd survived changes in popular taste through his good-hearted skill I last saw Roy Hudd, who has died at the age of 83, at a lunch organised by t…
From Olivier's strangled fury to Ralph Fiennes' Oedipal embraces, this complex political play is extraordinarily flexible 'The tragedy of Coriolanus is one of the most amusing of our author'…
To kick off our critical tour of Europe's cultural hotspots, Michael Billington reports on thrilling theatre in a post-slump Greece " from a minimalist Doll's House to Beckett like he's neve…
The playwright's new work has been seen as a departure from his intellectual stock-in-trade. But look deeper, and passion has always been present What kind of writer is Tom Stoppard? In coun…
The Royal Shakespeare Company has vowed to drill the Bard's rhythms into its actors " but our alienation from his language runs deeper 'Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to y…
The former RSC director had a stellar career, seeing the depth in derided plays and restoring the Histories to their rightful stage I was saddened to hear of the death of Terry Hands at the …
From Rome to Paris to London, Uncle Vanya delivers fresh meanings wherever and whenever it's performed Which is Chekhov's greatest play? It tends to be the one you've seen most recently. But…
Royal and Derngate, NorthamptonAstrid Lindgren's nine-year-old rebel is suitably anarchic and altruistic in a festive musical show that leaves you chuckling I've come late in life to Astrid …
Katori Hall gave us a miracle, Caryl Churchill delivered a dark quartet and Tom Hiddleston astounded in Betrayal. But the year's highlight was a breathtaking Ibsen with Hayley Atwell More on…
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonElla Hickson's Elizabeth I story vividly portrays her battles with men and a patriarchal system but doesn't make a strong case for contemporary parallels Ella …
Donmar Warehouse, LondonMike Lew's American update of Shakespeare, directed by Michael Longhurst, captures the king's complexity Mike Lew's relocation of Richard III to a US high school is p…
Royal Court, London Race and relationships are the focus of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's deeply moving drama that presents an honest picture of multi-cultural Britain There's a great story by Dost…
Lyttelton, LondonBuoyed by first-rate performances, this production transforms the Russian classic into an eye-opening account of the Biafran war Inua Ellams describes his new play, his firs…
11 December 1972: on the evidence of recent shows, the musical is in dead trouble: the more one watches dancers catapulting across the stage as if fired from a cannon and leading ladies bari…
With shows such as Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Six and The Boy in the Dress, the musical is in rude health in this country " whether Broadway knows it or not Has the British musical los…
Playhouse, LondonVisual flummery and the famous nose are dispensed with in Martin Crimp's modern take on Rostand's proxy-wooing play This version of Edmond Rostand's play, as adapted by Mart…
Hampstead theatre, LondonBoris Spassky and Bobby Fischer's 1972 match is a proxy war in this intriguing but overcomplicated chess drama There has already been a musical, Chess, inspired by t…
Young Vic, London Directed by Nadia Latif, this Pulitzer prize-winning play by Jackie Sibblies Drury is definitely one to see " and argue over This play by Jackie Sibblies Drury is tricky to…
Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonThis pitch-perfect revival of Sandy Wilson's 1953 musical is a positive invitation to dance Time has been good to Sandy Wilson's 1953 musical. Although set in…
As Michael Billington, the Guardian's chief theatre critic, prepares to step down, he discusses what has changed " and what hasn't " in his 48 years as a nightly aisle-squatter Ten of my fav…
Finborough, LondonA Welsh teenager is hailed as the second coming in this fascinating revival of Emlyn Williams' long-forgotten play This enterprising theatre struck gold in 2011 with its re…
The Guardian's theatre critic was at the sketch group's first show in 1960. It was the beginning of a friendship … and a satire boom that changed the world My first sighting of Jonathan Mi…
Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonA resplendent cast sing the praises of self-expression in Mark Ravenhill's adaptation of the feelgood football novel The boy who defies tribal e…