Theatre
The real original kitchen-sink drama
Rewrite the history books! Tradition tells us that kitchen-sink drama began in 1956 with Look Back in Anger. A season…
Another Country could almost be a YouTube advert for Eton
Another Country was an instant response to Anthony Blunt’s exposure in 1979 as a Marxist spy. Julian Mitchell set out…
Beware of Banksy: his art can make you homeless
You may not have heard of Goldie. He’s an actor and singer whose name refers to the bullion with which…
Simon Cowell’s latest attempt at global domination
I Can’t Sing! is a parody of The X Factor, which already parodies itself at every turn. Quite a tough…
Where’s a goofy, flat-chested shrew when you need one?
Ray Cooney, the master of farce, is back. These days he’s in the modest Menier rather than the wonderful West…
A gaggle of husbands and a pair of piglets
Here’s a great idea for a play. Turn the polygamy principle upside-down and you get a female egoist presiding over…
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 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 Thomas Cromwell plays would be stronger if they made him weaker
Three things you might not expect of the RSC’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Tudor novels. First, Mike Poulton’s plays have…
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…
How to get your child hooked on theatre (hint: don't rule out Peppa Pig)
Mike Shaw on what (and what not) to do when taking children to the theatre
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…
