This past Sunday, I went on my first run for ages – and managed all of 5k. I have run a few half-marathons in fitter periods, after each of which I vowed that I would never – nev…
In this theatre diary catch-up, I want to concentrate on five top plays " four of them which also make Mark Shenton's Top Ten list and three of them led from the front by stunning female per…
As the second-annual Also Recognised Awards conclude, here are a few words, and many thanks, from the awards organisers - and an invitation to you to help us decide what else should be recog…
All the overnight reviews for Sunset Boulevard at English National Opera, starring Hollywood's Glenn Close as Norma Desmond. Plus, #StageFaves social media directory for the production and f…
Mates co-founder Terri Paddock was in Twitter duty for @MyTheatreMates as well as her mad-about-musicals site @StageFaves and her own @TerriPaddock. How'd she do?
Post-show Q&A: What's the essence of good comedy? And what marks out an Alan Ayckbourn comedy in particular? What does the UK's most prolific, produced playwright (80 plays and counting…
I recently wrote about super-hot French playwright Florian Zeller's London hat trick " with The Father, The Mother and, still running at the Menier Chocolate Factory, The Truth. As I sat dow…
This time last week I was coming down from the buzz of BEAM:2016. Today, as was re-reading my notes and other people's write-ups for this blog, I got news on casting for The Toxic Avenger, s…
My partner Peter and I spent most of this weekend in a frenzy of DIY-ing and de-cluttering, with an emphasis on the latter. We live in a small two-bedroom flat near Waterloo and, in a matter…
I have all sorts of bias when it comes to Bar Mitzvah Boy: my friend Lara Stubbs stars (as the somewhat spoilt, Jewish princess older sister of bar-mitzvahed boy in question); the show is di…
Yes, I am posting this #PressPass at gone 4am – blame those incessant Motown hits that keep spinning round and round and round my head after attending tonight’s (technically, now…
What's the difference between political theatre and theatre about politics? Can theatre be a catalyst for real change? Do right-wing political perspectives get a fair hearing onstage or is t…
The speeches at this year's Susan Smith Blackburn Prize ceremony were inspiring - in particular, the speech made by actor and judge Tanya Moodie, whose many credits (coincidentally) include …
The Donmar Warehouse announces that Ron Cook will complete full casting in Brian Friel's Faith Healer, joining previously announced cast Stephen Dillane and Gina McKee. Faith Healer is direc…
I gave Mrs Henderson Presents a very enthusiastic response at the curtain call of last night’s West End premiere – so enthusiastic that, as I tweeted at the time, I dented my rin…
The poster of Nell Gwynn shows a saucy, bare-shouldered Gemma Arterton and promises “fun, funny and joyous… a cast of 20! and a band… naughty songs… merry dances. And…
I wrote last night about my personal response (including misgivings) to Matthew Perry's playwriting debut, and return to the West End stage, in The End of Longing which I saw last week. And …
Near the end of an interview Matthew Perry gave with The Times last weekend, the interviewer Sarfraz Manzoor commented "having made so many people so happy it feels only right to wish some h…
Is Florian Zeller the new Yasmina Reza? Certainly, he’s the most successful French playwright to hit English shores since Reza, whose 1990s hits – Life x 3, The Unexpected Man an…
Here are a few more plays that I’ve seen recently and can happily recommend. As usual, I’ve listed them in closing order – and two of them finish their London runs this wee…
When commissioned by the Finborough, the young director Jake Daniel (one to watch) suggested dusting off Andy Capp The Musical, not least because he hails from near Hartlepool himself and, h…
The Perfect Pitch Award, co-presented by Theatre Royal Stratford East, is a sort of Dragons Den for new musical writing … with a twist. In this, long before the aspirants get to the pitch …
The audience at yesterday’s National Theatre press conference gave the biggest cheer to news that hasn’t generated headlines anywhere: artistic director Rufus Norris invited jour…
My partner and I saw, and were deeply moved by, The Pianist of Willesden Lane when it had its London premiere at the St James Theatre last Friday. The play is based on the book The Childr…
Hangmen, Judi Dench, Bend It Like Beckham, Oresteia are among the winners... The annual best of lists are always a good indication of who's likely to triumph at the Critics' Circle Awards, w…