Richard Eyre
This Royal Opera Traviata is no ordinary revival
First opera of the year, first night back in London, and the jolly old metrop was already springing surprises. A…
If you think you can’t have too much Ian McEwan, then you are wrong
The Children Act is the third Ian McEwan film adaptation in 18 months (after The Child in Time and On…
Understated and heartbreaking: BBC2’s King Lear reviewed
I recently came across a theory of the American poet Delmore Schwartz’s that Hamlet only makes sense if you assume…
Foote fault
Samuel Foote (1720–77) was a star of the 18th-century stage who avoided the censors by extemporising his performances. Today we’d…
Dream team
The aching hum of crickets. The susurrus of reeds. The lapping of waves. The unmistakable noise of a sound technician…
Sexy ladies
This season of live Met relays got off to a most impressive start, with an electrifying account of Verdi’s tenth…
One drama after another
In 1976, as the National Theatre moved into its new home on London’s South Bank, its literary manager Kenneth Tynan…
Dodgy dealings
High summer and it’s blockbuster time. The Donmar’s latest show is by the acclaimed Nick Payne, whose play about string…
