If you're going to adapt a bestseller, don't choose the A-Z
What’s the quickest way to create a hit musical? Base it on a bestselling book. The writers of The A-Z…
Rape, porn and Cheesy Wotsits
Interesting times at Soho Theatre. One of its outstanding shows of last year, Fleabag, was an offbeat Gothic love story…
Superior Donuts – a very irritating success
Tracy Letts, of the Chicago company Steppenwolf, has written one of the best plays of the past ten years. August:…
Brave Tommies and dim earls — Oh What a Lovely War is hoity-toity reductionism
Here it is. Fifty years late. Oh What a Lovely War was originally staged at Stratford East in 1964. It…
Putin: ‘Oi, Europe, you’re a bunch of poofs’
Sochi 2014 is the least wintry Winter Olympics ever. Yes, there’s a bit of downhill shimmying going on in the…
A World Elsewhere hints it's about Bill Clinton. But it's about Al Gore
Why, oh why, the producers ask, are the national press so reluctant to cover the London fringe? The snag is…
Sam Mendes's King Lear is a must-see for masochists
Directors appear to have two design options when approaching a Shakespeare tragedy. Woodstock or jackboot. Woodstock means papal robes, shoulder-length…
If you can figure out the mind-boggling plot of Ciphers — join Mensa
Here’s a heartwarming tale from the London fringe. A company named Above the Stag was merrily plying its trade at…
The 'semi-detached' member of Margaret Thatcher's cabinet
John Biffen was mentally ill. This is the outstanding revelation of Semi-Detached, a memoir which has been assembled from his…
The play to watch if your country is breaking up
Of all the West End’s unloved venues the loveliest is the Arts Theatre. It specialises in creaky off-beat plays like…
The Duck House is the best show in the West End
It’s taken me a few months to catch up with the political farce The Duck House. Then again, it’s taken…
Get tickets for Emil and the Detectives, and opera glasses — some of the child actors are tiny
It starts with a brilliant joke. We’re in the Weimar Republic in 1929. Little Emil Tischbein is listening to his…
Is this the real First Lady of 'Borgen'?
Lloyd Evans tries to get a handle on Birgette Hjort Sorensen
Jude Law's Henry V is a buccaneer leading a stag-night raid across the continent — but he'd be a great Macbeth
Henry V is the final show in Michael Grandage’s first West End season. The theatre was full to bursting on…
You can't have Mojo and your money back
In 1992 Quentin Tarentino gave us Reservoir Dogs. At a stroke he reinvented the gangster genre and turned it into…
Martin Shaw's flaws make him perfect for Twelve Angry Men
Strange actor, Martin Shaw. He’s got all the right equipment for major stardom: a handsome and complicated face, a languid…
Ben Miller interview: 'Everyone was doing alternative comedy. I thought I'd distinguish myself by just telling jokes'
Lloyd Evans talks to Ben Miller about politics, physics and his part in The Duck House
Finally — a play about insomnia that cures insomnia
Athol Fugard is regarded as a theatrical titan but I usually need a microscope to find any trace of greatness…
'Keeler' is not just about Tory bigwigs chasing nymphettes around the pool
It’s an unlovely venue, for sure. Charing Cross Theatre, underneath the arches, likes to welcome vagrant plays that can’t find…
British empire? What British empire?
Here’s a tip for play-goers. When the curtain goes up on a garden, prepare for some feeble plotting. The glory…
Toffs rule!
This is a strange one. Simon Paisley Day’s new play feels like a conventional comedy of manners. Three couples pitch…
Zoë Wanamaker: We need more giants like Obama
Zoë Wanamaker on politics, acting, and drinking vodka
The Light Princess badly needs a mission
There are many pleasures in The Light Princess, a new musical by Tori Amos. George MacDonald’s fairy story introduces us…
The Labour education secretary who could have been Britain's first woman PM
Decent, clever, charming, eloquent, hard-working, conscientious and terribly, terribly nice, Shirley Williams is one of Britain’s best-loved politicians. Mark Peel’s…
Did gay Conservatives have it easier in the past? Tory Boyz makes me think they did
Bang! The race is on. James Graham is the celebrated author of This House, a superb examination of Labour’s administrative…
