All stories by Zoe Williams on BroadwayStars

Monday, October 7, 2024

‘I was always the bit of totty’: Emily Atack on tabloids, trolls and life after The Inbetweeners by Zoe Williams

The role of Charlotte ‘Big Jugs’ Hinchcliffe made her a star – then she spent years trying to get the respect and the roles she deserved. Now, at the age of 34, she’s been having the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM
Thursday, January 18, 2024

‘I had to stop therapy. I needed the pain’: Fantasia Barrino on trauma, triumph and filming The Color Purple by Zoe Williams

Barrino entered American Idol in 2004 as a young single mother who struggled to read, and won over the nation with her powerhouse voice and personality. Now she is starring in her first film…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AM
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

I’m an inspiration to my sister. Unfortunately, what I’ve inspired is a standup routine | Zoe Williams by Zoe Williams

Comedians will say anything for a laugh – and I’ve given her years of material Two years ago, my sister was about to turn 50 and I called her spouse to see what he was getting her. He ra…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54AM
Monday, November 7, 2022

I saw the magnificent Pussy Riot last night. If only the world had listened to what they were saying a decade ago | Zoe Williams by Zoe Williams

For years the world saw Putin as almost a figure of fun – while in Russia he was already meting out brutality to dissidents and LGBTQ+ activists Last night I saw Pussy Riot, on the London …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42PM
Thursday, October 20, 2022

‘I wouldn’t admit I was an actor. I once said I was a tree surgeon’: Gina McKee on confidence, class and #MeToo by Zoe Williams

After more than 40 years in film and TV, the star of Our Friends in the North is about to share the screen with Harry Styles. She talks about 90s sexism, her start in drama and playing the v…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:25AM
Tuesday, April 19, 2022

‘I was in front of an audience but all I could think was, I could be dying’: Robert Lindsay on acting, ageing – and surviving cancer by Zoe Williams

The actor, who has starred in everything from sitcoms to Shakespeare, talks about his family rows over Brexit, having his phone hacked – and why he did not want to be like Laurence Olivier…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM
Monday, April 18, 2022

‘I come from a country of strong women’: Oti Mabuse on fame, family, Strictly – and that samba by Zoe Williams

The Strictly Come Dancing star has left the show that made her name in the UK but her creative, competitive spirit loves a challenge – with three projects on the go, she’s not standing s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Monday, November 15, 2021

Moira Buffini: ‘My friends who work in telly say, “Why do you do theatre? It’s so elitist”’ by Zoe Williams

The prolific playwright behind the soaraway hit Dinner, Netflix’s The Dig and Harlots reflects on coming up in the 1990s, her new play Manor and putting her characters ‘through a grinder…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:36AM
Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Rob Beckett: ‘You have to suppress your working-class rage to operate in comedy’ by Zoe Williams

The award-winning standup is known for his exuberance, but, as he writes in his memoir, he has had to dodge snobbery throughout his career. He discusses family, fame and being funny Rob Beck…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12AM
Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Maureen Lipman: 'I'd have to be stark raving mad to support Boris Johnson' by Zoe Williams

Trans actors, Palestine, Tony Blair, typecasting, socialists with multiple houses … as she stars in Rose, a play that covers everything from the Holocaust to the six-day war, the actor let…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Sunday, June 28, 2020

Jenny Eclair: 'Menopause gave me incandescent rage. It was like a superpower' by Zoe Williams

The first woman to win the UK’s biggest comedy prize has written a guide to the menopause. She discusses HRT, getting sacked and how much she liked her female comedy peers – until their …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Josie Lawrence: ‘Of course I don’t think I’m sexy!’ by Zoe Williams

Whose Line Is It Anyway? made her a household name. But, more than 30 years on, does the queen of improv also think it held her back? She talks about ambition, sexism and her lucky escape fr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54PM
Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Ardal O'Hanlon: 'Comedy never used to be a career – it was for slackers with ukuleles' by Zoe Williams

The star of Father Ted and Death in Paradise on his ‘unstable’ personality, his revealing new standup show – and the terrifying bomb scare he endured as a child Ardal O’Hanlon is too…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:33AM
Monday, June 25, 2018

Zoe Williams meets Julian Rhind-Tutt by Zoe Williams

He was standing around, minding his own business, Julian Rhind-Tutt tells Zoe Williams, when he got 'very, very lucky' and became an actor. Couldn't talent, she asks, have had something to d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54PM
Friday, February 23, 2018

Bridget Christie: ‘I am a white, able-bodied, heterosexual woman. Do I have a right to be angry? Yes!’ by Zoe Williams

The world’s anxieties are bleeding into her personal life, but the comedian is done with political despair. Ahead of her new tour, she explains why it’s time to bring something new to th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:56AM
Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Fast & Furious Live: cars are the stars as hit movie shifts gear to the stage by Zoe Williams

It’s got a plane, a submarine and hair-frazzling explosions. As the Fast and Furious phenomenon spawns a live show, we go behind the scenes to meet the drivers and crew at the wheelThe Liv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM
Friday, December 8, 2017

'A good traitor': the extraordinary life of George Blake, the spy who went into the cold by Zoe Williams

He escaped from prison, fled to Russia and – unlike the posh Cambridge spies – didn’t end up a miserable alcoholic. The revival of Cell Mates, the play about George Blake’s betrayal …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:42AM
Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Is satire dead? Armando Iannucci and others on why there are so few laughs these days by Zoe Williams

It’s hard to poke fun at politicians in an era when they’re held in contempt and every joke is policed for offence, say top television writersIt has become a commonplace to remark on the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM
Friday, September 30, 2016

Bear Grylls on his acrobatic show: 'My son says I'm too old. But that's stinking thinking' by Zoe Williams

He flies, he flips, he falls! Bear Grylls is going on tour – with Endeavour, an acrobatics spectacular celebrating great survivors. But first he gives our writer a crash course on his wall…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:45AM
Monday, August 8, 2016

Why Rhys Ifans shouldn't have apologised for his paedophilia joke by Zoe Williams

The reaction to actor Rhys Ifans's joke at an anti-slavery benefit concert really irks me.Actor Rhys Ifans. Photograph: Dave Hogan/Getty ImagesRhys Ifans' joke at the anti-slavery benefit co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PM
Friday, December 4, 2015

Bristol Old Vic's gender-swap panto: a riotous but subtle Sleeping Beauty | Zoe Williams by Zoe Williams

Director Sally Cookson says she loved the idea of a generous and sweet prince in the title role – but Zoe Williams’ daughter would have preferred a princessThe Bristol Old Vic’s dazzli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42PM
Friday, October 9, 2015

'Bring blankets. Bring breakfast': my night with Ken Dodd by Zoe Williams

Performing on stage at 87, the comedian is still in it for the long haul. And with at least five hours of relentless japery to sit through, so is his audience I hadn’t sat down in Darlingt…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:37AM
Monday, May 25, 2015

Eddie Izzard: straight but not linear by Zoe Williams

He's a transvestite, heterosexual standup comic and actor who ran 43 marathons in 51 days - as a new DVD documentary makes clear, Eddie Izzard's life has been far from predictable

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:58PM
Friday, November 28, 2014

So long, Madame Jojo’s, but Soho’s heart is still beating by Zoe Williams

There is sadness on the streets about the closure of the landmark venue – but optimism about the future of the area Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:46PM
Friday, March 9, 2012

The awkward truth: the class struggle didn't end by Zoe Williams

New play shows the divisive language of the miners' strike is still with us, says Zoe WilliamsThe miners' strike in culture is like a listed building: it's preserved, it can't be torn down, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:28PM
Thursday, July 28, 2011

TV review: Town With Nicholas Crane; The Rattigan Enigma by Zoe Williams

Nicholas Crane is so enthusiastic a guide he seems about to hug a brick wall as historic as TescoYou know when you're at school, and one day they just dump you all in a shopping centre with …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:04PM
Friday, May 6, 2011

Dirty Dancing: it's not just about sex by Zoe Williams

As the hit musical Dirty Dancing prepares to go on tour, our reporter joins young hopefuls at open auditions, and asks how a low-budget film became 'a cultural event that lasted decades'You …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:08PM
Friday, November 19, 2010

Eddie Izzard: straight but not linear by Zoe Williams

He's a transvestite, heterosexual standup comic and actor who ran 43 marathons in 51 days – as a new DVD documentary makes clear, Eddie Izzard's life has been far from predictableI notice…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:01PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime