Film version of a loud and proud 2017 tribute to Ian Dury and the Blockheads If any musical can live up to this title in these troubled times, it must be this show from Graeae, a theatre co…
The power of the mob still resonates in a production that speaks powerfully to our times An arrogant leader contemptuous of his people. Could there be a more perfect timing for Josie Rourke'…
Tom Hiddleston reminds us of his stage roots, as does Christopher Walken as Captain Hook As we continue into a third month in lockdown, the arts continue to suggest ever-changing worlds beyo…
James Graham acutely perceives the obsessions and motivations of our times There is a line of argument that " unfairly " blames playwright James Graham for Dominic Cummings. Would Cummings, …
Early James Graham joins various Broadway legends, Irving Berlin and Jerry Herman amongst them The live-ness of theatre seems further away with every passing week, but at least the art form…
Remembering the AIDS activist who wrote The Normal Heart and the screenplay for Women in Love Larry Kramer, who has died at the age of 84, was the Solzhenitsyn of AIDS who indomitably report…
Nice in-jokes and smart observations about actors A running gag in David Nicholls' novel The Understudy is that its main character is called Steve McQueen. Not that Steve McQueen, the multi…
NT Live recording of this classic Young Vic production is genuinely unmissable The National Theatre's triumphant march through its archive of NT Live recordings continues this week with a gl…
A popular American star vehicle and 'Alice in Wonderland' minute-by-minute figure among the cultural bounty during the week ahead Can we really be entering a third month in lockdown? Indeed…
Barbershop banter and the place it occupies in black male identity Barber shops " as we are all starting to appreciate in this time of lockdown " fulfil an emotional as much as a cosmetic ro…
This filmed version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical captures its eccentric charms Cats is, declares composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, a show that doesn't really have a story, but was beloved on…
From a much-traveled one-man play to a continent-spanning National Theatre premiere, the theatrical week offers plenty so savour No one can accuse the gods of streaming of failing to cast a…
Revival of 2011 HighTide hit reconceived for streaming stars Diana Quick During lockdown, some of the best online theatre has been shows that are specially created for this digital format. M…
A triumvirate of talent and a slick set can't in itself speed things along Like an asp eating its own tail, the National Theatre's 2018 production of Antony and Cleopatra, streaming on YouT…
In an ever-busy week, the Donmar and Finborough join the online bustle Has anyone else noticed how fulltime this streaming thing has become? Those who were of a mind to (and who never s…
Ivo van Hove engages British and Dutch actors to debate the urgent question of 2019 Are we really past all this? From Ivo van Hove's 2019 polyphony of opinions and reflections down the centu…
NT Live version of this iconic tale of creative hubris features a dynamic acting duo So far, it could be said that the National Theatre is having a good lockdown. Every week, this flagship s…
Sonnets galore also form part of another busy week amidst bizarre times Time is moving in mysterious ways at the moment. It's been possible over the last month or so to mark out the beginni…
A little-known Stoppard play comes to new life during lockdown I am fortunate to have worked as a director in theatre, film, television and radio, and so it was hugely intriguing to be invi…
A host of Broadway stars varies the strain in classily done from-home gala Maybe you can't compare incomparables, but it was instructive to watch this Broadway lockdown gala feting nonagenar…
Howard Brenton's docu-drama about the harassment of the Chinese artist is defiantly brilliant London's Hampstead Theatre has recently been very successful in bringing some of its best shows …
Sondheim's and Shakespeare's natal days feted. Plus a chance to match wits with a knight and a dame As lockdown continues, so does the ability of the theatre community to find new ways to t…
Nina Raine's urgent story of hospital stress rings truer than ever today If ever there was a "play for today", it's surely this.
The remarkable Patsy Ferran anchors a creatively updated classic Swaggering pirates, X marks the spot, a chattering parrot, "Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum"? All present and correct. But Br…
Theatre buffs have no shortage of scintillating options during our ongoing shut-in The lockdown has been extended, but here's the good news: each week whereby we are shut inside seems to br…