The comedian and author on studying laughter theory, industry frustrations and the perils of gigging at a racecourse How did you get into comedy?I studied the history of variety and vaudevil…
New theatre, OxfordFrench heaps detail upon self-abasing detail as she shares hugely engaging stories from her 40-year career It's called semantic satiation, when you say a word so many time…
The broadcaster would rather screen seven sex scenes than my finely honed jokes. It's a national disgrace Despite wearing a supportive EU blue-and-gold hat to the first post-referendum parli…
Almeida; Hampstead; Young Vic; Apollo, LondonFamily celebrations go pear-shaped in Dipo Baruwa-Etti's mischievous new play; Richard Eyre's writing debut falls mysteriously flat; and Gabriel …
Original Theatre OnlineShomit Dutta's play imagines the two cricket-obsessed Nobel prize winners as waiting batsmen in an enjoyable spin on Waiting for Godot and The Dumb Waiter Samuel Becke…
Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughDirecting a masterly production, the playwright follows three generations of women in one home, from 1952 to 2022 Alan Ayckbourn's 87th play makes masterly…
Coliseum, LondonIn borrowed costumes, this company exiled by war inhabit Alexei Ratmansky's take on the 19th-century classic High emotion inevitably surrounded this production of Giselle by…
Broadway's longest-running musical never fully recovered from the pandemic shutdown and will close next February The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway's longest-running show, is scheduled to cl…
Bush theatre, LondonWaleed Akhtar's bewitching love story between a gym bunny and an asylum seeker raises urgent issues The P Word is a love story with shades of When Harry Met Sally: it has…
The Ohio-raised star of movies and TV shows such as Shrill and I Think You Should Leave says comedy is a refuge from the impacts of being trans and that, right now, she's happy to be in the …
Park theatre, LondonA mourning woman looks back on her life in Martin Sherman's ethereal yet uneven drama about history, heritage and memory Rose doesn't believe in the future. It's hard to …
Kiln theatre, LondonMoira Buffini's clever political comedy returns, educating a new generation on Margaret Thatcher's legacy through her weekly encounters with the monarch It is unnerving t…
Nottingham PlayhouseAdrian Scarborough stars in his own adaptation of Bennett's story, featuring convincing new dialogue and staged with visual panache Between the stage and TV plays and jou…
Hampstead theatre, LondonThe venerable director's drama about a doctor's splintering family broaches huge issues but never makes a unified whole The pandemic has brought out the budding play…
The whodunnit starring Saoirse Ronan is a fun spoof but tinkers with history and never captures the unique way Agatha Christie's play fascinated audiences in the 50s The smell of greasepaint…
Actor best known for her role as the no-nonsense headteacher Mrs McClusky in Grange Hill The actor Gwyneth Powell, who has died aged 76 after complications following an operation, will be re…
The Kiln theatre's Handbagged, about the monarch's meetings with Margaret Thatcher, has opened in a week of mourning. Its stars reflect on the play's humour and their tears in rehearsal They…
Crucible, SheffieldDaneka Etchells is the most compelling Beatrice you might ever see in an exceptional production of the romantic comedy Post lockdown, theatres are looking for sure things …
The Yard, LondonVinay Patel's sci-fi adaptation boldly goes into the future on a rickety starship while exploring entrenched hierarchies and class There is still a cherry orchard in this Che…
Theatre Royal, WakefieldJane Thornton and John Godber's knockabout 1985 cocktail bar comedy is updated to the cost of living crisis era, with a downsized cast doing a valiant job of keeping …
Coliseum, LondonChoreographer Alexei Ratmansky and a company featuring exiled dancers deliver a moving production with an urgent tone This production is little short of a miracle. The United…
After her gripping trilogy The James Plays, Rona Munro continues her ambitious series on Scottish history with a saga about power and race in the 16th century When an early draft of Rona Mun…
The comedian talks about his hunt for fresh talent, the new series of Man Like Mobeen and how one disastrous standup gig led to multiple arrests Your route to the stage started with funny vi…
Almeida, LondonA family fight about politics, policing and race in Dipo Baruwa-Etti's play but the ominous early signs lead nowhere The Clinic starts off with a satirical set piece as a Blac…
Mike Bartlett's 2014 play anticipated a constitutional crisis, while playwrights including Shakespeare and Chekhov have shown how traumatic a transfer of power can be What does the future ho…