London Tide at the National Theatre is the latest in a flood of Dickensian adaptations. Few have captured the novelist's surreal imagination " are solo shows the most successful? Dickens and…
Eugene O'Neill's mighty drama, returning to the West End with Brian Cox and Patricia Clarkson, has drawn generations of stage greats and casts its spell with a story we can all recognise How…
Sean Mathias has reimagined his 2021 production of the tragedy as a movie, inventively using Windsor's Theatre Royal and capturing McKellen's subtle performance How best to film a stage prod…
Ian McKellen follows in the footsteps of David Warner and Antony Sher as he takes on a character who has been played as wittily jovial and cruelly cunning When asked why he had never played …
Party punch-ups, brides in disguise, simmering family rancour … playwrights have cordially invited audiences to some nightmarish nuptials There are myriad plays about marriage. Far fewer a…
Best known for writing Tom and Viv, Hastings made his debut as a teenage dramatist in the 1950s. Now, his vivid 'young man's play' Don't Destroy Me is back We watch old movies. We read old n…
One of the great postwar theatre directors, Blakemore " who has died aged 95 " had a vast range and was a formidable writer It is sadly ironic that the death of Michael Blakemore, at the age…
A superb, starry cast in the West End paid homage to the musical duo behind Carousel, Oklahoma! and South Pacific. If only the concert had also addressed their shows' contradictions The star…
Katie Mitchell has compared her experiences of hierarchies in British and German theatre. Our strength has always lain in honouring the text Katie Mitchell this week gave the annual lecture …
From a sportive Falstaff for the RSC to a powerful Juan Perón in Evita, Ackland " who has died aged 95 " rarely had the star role but was a reassuring presence Joss Ackland, who has died …
Despite being panned as 'a dirty act done publicly' on its London premiere, the tragedy is now regarded as a classic " here are three productions that radically shifted our perspective Today…
A pilot scheme means some performances will now begin at 6.30pm. That means more time for eating, travelling and " most importantly " discussing the show 'The drama's laws the drama's patron…
The NT has a civic duty to revive woefully neglected plays from the world repertory. Doing so will make modern drama stronger Writing about the National Theatre on its 50th anniversary, I sa…
Versatile actor with a magnificent presence who starred in The Singing Detective and the Harry Potter filmsThe word "great" is somewhat promiscuously applied to actors. But it was undoubtedl…
Paul Scofield, Ian McKellen and Glenda Jackson have all redefined Shakespeare's unpredictable ruler " a role in which actors usually succeed Kenneth Branagh is set to play, and direct, King …
Oliver Cotton's The Score, a new drama about Bach's confrontation with Frederick II, continues a rich tradition of plays about great composers You wait decades for a play about Johann Sebast…
The Royal Shakespeare Company's former artistic director was a great theatrical leader whose legacy includes proving the history cycle is at the centre of our national story News of the deat…
Not all buildings are created equal. From sightlines to acoustics to the alchemy of actor-audience rapport, the physical facts of a dramatic space are fundamental What makes a good theatre? …
Stephen Wood, who has died aged 73 after a stroke, was a press officer, administrator and former stage manager who worked closely with Alan Ayckbourn at Scarborough. He was at the National T…
Return of Dario Fo and Franca Rame's political farce begs a question: can theatre ever be as potent as documentary? There is a fascinating role reversal going on in London theatre. Behind th…
An all-star cast arrived in Westminster on Monday with a potted Julius Caesar, partly in hopes of elevating public discourse. It's good to have a dream … A murder took place in the speaker…
The director, who has announced he is stepping down, should be credited for opening up the organisation and steering it through the Covid crisis. Now, who's next for the NT job? Every direct…
The actor and former MP, who has died aged 87, displayed courage and a sharp mind, on stage and in politics Glenda Jackson, who has died aged 87, had a career unmatched by any of her contemp…
Playing in the vast ancient amphitheatre, imaginative new productions of Euripides and Aeschylus find fresh nuance even in this huge space How best to stage the great Greek classics? The fas…
A blend of pageantry, procession, music and mystery, with many private moments to savour A coronation is pure theatre. But how does one review it when there is so little to compare it with? …