Off West End hit returns for a deserved encore Thebes Land returns to the Arcola Theatre as part of the wider CASA Latin American Theatre Festival, following a short 2016 run that resulted i…
Playwright Terry Johnson gets inside the mind of cinematographer Jack CardiffJack Cardiff was one of the all-time greats of cinematography, the man who shot such Powell and Pressburger class…
A British queen brought back to life: Tristan Bernays's new play fits its venue perfectlyHistory comes to the stage of the Globe only rarely " at least if you compare the frequency of produc…
Enoch Powell's 'rivers of blood' speech re-examined in flawed but timely playYou've got to hand it to David Greig. The artistic director of Edinburgh's Lyceum Theatre has show…
The writer on working with Northern Broadsides on 'For Love or Money'Is there anything more terrifying for a playwright than the first day of rehearsals? For months, even years, yo…
David Storey skilfully probes troubled relations inside a Yorkshire bungalowThe late David Storey spoke movingly, elsewhere on The Arts Desk, of his sense of overwhelming powerlessness at th…
Playwright August Strindberg goes psychotic in Howard Brenton's latestAnyone who likes playing "Spot the weirdo" will find themselves instantly at home in Howard Brenton's new play, which ha…
The colossus who founded the RSC and took the National to the Southbank is fondly rememberedTheatre artist, political agitator, cultural advocate: Sir Peter Hall was all these and more in a …
Tanya Moodie on the inspiration of Alice Childress' 'Trouble in Mind', opening at the Print Room Trouble in Mind, written by Alice Childress, the black actress, playwright and…
The novelist and playwright introduces her new verbatim play about the last industrial outpost in Wales I've always written alone. As a novelist, that's what you do. Sit around in your pyjam…
'Reflections on Language and Meaning' - on Shakespeare and the 'empty space', and thinking between English and FrenchA long time ago when I was very young, a voice hidden…
Three weekends of performance, sound and vision on the English RivieraA dark star explodes. I cannot remember the future. A figure appears on the beach. We're always reaching out. It's alway…
Glitter and be sad as Sondheim''s former showgirls gather for a momentous reunionOf Sondheim's half-dozen masterpieces, Follies is the one which sets the bar impossibly high, both …
Maggie Bain on discovering the world of Manfred Karge's newly-revived 'Man to Man'When director Bruce Guthrie first gave me the script for Man to Man by Manfred Karge, I…
Brenton's new play 'The Blinding Light' tells the story of August Strindberg's Paris breakdownI wrote The Blinding Light to try to understand the mental and spiritual crisis t…
Magnificent setting for history playTemple Church gained worldwide fame when Dan Brown included a major plot point there in his mega-selling novel The Da Vinci Code in 2003, but it has been …
Family trauma stripped back to the barest bonesCanadian playwright Jordan Tannahill wrote Late Company when he was only 23. It would be an impressive achievement at any age, but it seems all…
Anniversary revival of Joe Orton's farce is a delight from start to finishFifty years ago this month, playwright Joe Orton was murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell. His debut play, Entert…
The star director's revival of a nineties classic is atmospheric but unconvincing Hark, is that the call of the earth I hear? In a frenetic urban world, the myth of rural simplicity exerts a…
New American drama about God and violence is baggy, but often brilliantLuke is a Silicon Valley billionaire, a high-tech wizard. And he's just had a message from God. And what does God say? …
Grief, loss, unending pain - and critics talking out of their backsides Meet Me at Dawn ★★★★★
A tragedy so quiet it proves almost inaudible at timesEvery play is a Brexit play. This much we have learnt in the year since the referendum. But in Nancy Meckler's hands the Globe's new Kin…
Comedy, tragedy and a whole lot more at Paines Plough's pop-up RoundaboutPike St ★★★★
New play about democracy is entertaining, but a bit too tricksy A new plague is sweeping British theatre: audience participation. Instead of just sitting back and enjoying the show, your vis…
The playwright explains the gestation of Against, his new play for the Almeida Theatre starring Ben WhishawPlays do not usually come into being in isolation. When I search my gmail archive I…