I wish I could have been in Manchester last week for the Conservative Party annual conference. Not because I've suddenly gone "true Blue" and definitely not because I wanted to spit at those…
I’ve been looking forward to Barney Norris‘ new play ever since I caught his acclaimed four-hander Visitors at the Bush Theatre last year. The play, which centred on an elderl…
A couple of weeks ago, as part of the ongoing Hamlet hysteria, I was amazed that such an apparent uproar was caused by director Lyndsey Turner’s experimenting with the placement of the…
I was pleased to be invited to an event at the Arcola Theatre last night, to hear Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn launch his new Arts Policy document. This is the latest in more th…
Yesterday wasn't just a miserably wet Bank Holiday Monday in London (and most of the rest of England): north of the border, it was also the conclusion of the world's largest arts festival, t…
We owe the phrase "you won't succeed on Broadway if you don't have any Jews" to Spamalot " so it only officially entered the theatrical lexicon circa 2005 when the Monty Python musical opene…
As one critic stated upfront: the press night is a major anti-climax. Nevertheless, while the verdicts don’t make a blind bit of difference to the box office on a production that sold …
Apart from my Edinburgh blitz, I like to take August a little slow on the theatregoing front. These few weeks offer a brief respite while many people are away on holiday or still up at the F…
Dear reader Writing a blog in the form of the letter (as I did with my Conversation with Caitlin Moran series) about the stage adaptation of the 2012 book Dear Lupin allows me to both …
Birth-wise, more than three decades separate The Who's Tommy and Green Day's American Idiot, but location-wise, the distance is only three short train stops, from London's Charing Cross t…
I had ninety, non-stop magic moments at the Menier Chocolate Factory earlier this month at the opening of What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined. Sat on one of the (extremely com…
If you have never been unlucky enough to find yourself in the middle of a legal dispute, I can almost guarantee you " or, at least, 99% of you " that you can't afford it. Certainly not if it…
Is it all a Blur? That's a pun you may hear frequently in relation to the musical theatre debut of the seminal 1990s band's frontman, Damon Albarn, which opened in Manchester last night. won…
Most actors don't read their reviews " or, at least, most actors say they don't read their reviews. And when it comes to stage acting, I can see their point. Critics review a single performa…
There are few things that excite me more at a party than when I meet someone who says they can do card tricks. I will move heaven and earth to find a playing deck and then trail that person …
In my other blog today, I wrote about the "fact" that JM Barrie wrote Peter Pan as a metaphor for World War One. This was a little bit of a fib (explained fully here), but I thought I'd m…
Peter Pan is currently enjoying a critically acclaimed but maddeningly short run at the Open Air Theatre. (I understand the logistical reasons behind back-to-back productions in Regent's Par…
During my visit to the rehearsal rooms of It's a Wonderful Life on radio, which launches a new UK tour this week, I also got to chat to three of the incredibly hard-working, six-strong…
Frank Capra's 1946 classic It's a Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart as everyman George Bailey, is probably my favourite film of all time. It's certainly the one I've seen more times tha…
In my #PressPass round-up today of The Elephant Man, one recent clipping that I did not include is the one that got me, and others, so riled up about yesterday on Twitter. It’s S…
After nearly a week of staggered press performances, and one starry gala evening, the reviews are now out for the West End transfer for The Elephant Man, which is now running for a limited 1…
In my theatregoing, I like to make connections. Are you the same? There are, of course, the physical connections on the night " between performers and audience, between the other theatregoer…
Tonight, Antony Sher opens in the West End in the RSC’s transfer of Death of a Salesman. But, as acclaimed as the production is, as important as it is in this centenary year of Arthur …
Several weeks after the West End press night, I'm still thinking about Oppenheimer, which, after its premiere in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Shakespeare Company has transferred to the Vau…
On Monday, we announced on MyTheatreMates.com the winners of our inaugural #AlsoRecognised Awards. The first year of these Awards has caught the imagination of the industry, the audience vot…