Theatre
The New Normal Festival shows how theatre could return
So the madness continues. Planes full of passengers are going everywhere. Theatres full of ghosts are going bust. My first…
From riveting Hitchockian melodrama to bigoted drivel: BBC’s Unprecedented reviewed
Back to the West End at last. After a four- month lay-off, I grabbed the first available chance to catch…
Theatres can now reopen – but they will resemble prison camps
Auditoriums can now reopen — but they will resemble prison camps, says Lloyd Evans
RSC’s Merchant of Venice is full of puzzling ornaments and accents
The BBC announces Merchant of Venice as if it were a Hollywood blockbuster. ‘In the melting pot of Venice, trade…
James Graham's small new drama is exquisite: BBC Four's Unprecedented reviewed
Let’s face it. Theatre via the internet is barely theatre. It takes a huge amount of creativity and inventiveness to…
Not even a genius could make Much Ado About Nothing funny
The RSC’s 2014 version of Much Ado is breathtaking to look at. Sets, lighting and costumes are exquisitely done, even…
The extinction of the arts has been deferred – for now
The government’s £1.57 billion lifeline for the cultural sector was bigger than most practitioners were expecting — and drew a…
What are online shoppers most likely to snap up?
Price of protest Greenpeace was fined £80,000 for defying a court order and occupying an oil rig in the North…
Culture is going underground: meet the rebel army
Leaf Arbuthnot and Igor Toronyi-Lalic on the new cultural rebels
Chaotic, if good-natured, muddle: Hytner’s Midsummer Night’s Dream reviewed
Nicholas Hytner’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens in a world of puritanical austerity. The cast wear sombre black costumes and…
Why haven’t podcasts cracked the recipe for audio drama?
In Beeb-dominated Britain, the commercial triumph of podcasting — epitomised by Spotify’s recent £100 million deals with Joe Rogan and…
The Madness of George III is much easier to like than King Lear
The longest interval in theatre history continues. Last week the National Theatre livestreamed a 2018 version of The Madness of…
As a lyricist, Ian Dury had few equals in the 20th century
The National Theatre’s programme of livestreamed shows continues with the Donmar’s 2014 production of Coriolanus starring Tom Hiddleston. The play…
This crisis could be the catalyst for a golden age of British theatre
The coronavirus crisis offers theatre a golden opportunity to break free of the structures that have held it back for years, says William Cook
Privatisation is the best option for the South Bank Centre
I must have written about this subject 100 times in 30 years and I’m still having to restate the bloody…
So good and so raw that avoiding it might be the wisest course: Sea Wall reviewed
Sea Wall, by Simon Stephens, is a half-hour monologue about grief performed by Andrew Scott. The YouTube clip has been…
Our theatres are dark – and in danger
Car showrooms are open again: some dealerships, with a hint of forgivable hyperbole, report a surge of pent-up demand. And…
Like a project the BBC might have considered 30 years ago and turned down: The Understudy reviewed
Hats off to the Lawrence Batley Theatre for producing a brand-new full-length show on-line. Stephen Fry, with avuncular fruitiness, narrates…
The best Macbeths to watch online
The world’s greatest playwright ought to be dynamite at the movies. But it’s notoriously hard to turn a profit from…
Swanky, stale and sullen, the summer music festival has had its day
The summer music festival has had its day, says Norman Lebrecht
The National Theatre’s live-streaming policy is bizarre
The National’s bizarre livestreaming service continues. On 7 May, for one week only, it released a modern-dress version of Antony…
How Tom Stoppard foretold what we’re living through
A TV play by Tom Stoppard, A Separate Peace, was broadcast live on Zoom last Saturday. I watched as my…
Worth watching for the comments thread alone: NT's Twelfth Night livestream reviewed
‘Enjoy world-class theatre online for free,’ announces the National Theatre. Every Thursday at 7 p.m. a play from the archive…
The best theatre of the 21st century
Not looking great, is it? Until we all get jabbed, theatres may have to stay closed. And even the optimists…
From Middlemarch to Mickey Mouse: a short history of The Spectator’s books and arts pages
The Spectator arts and books pages have spent 10,000 issues identifying the dominant cultural phenomena of the day and being difficult about them, says Richard Bratby
