While facing grief, illness and a very public breakup, the comic reached for his diaries – and found a happy kid who spiralled into despair. Inspired by a Nobel laureate, he wrote a frank,…
St John the Divine church, London The poet’s 1935 verse drama has its eccentricities but the meticulous star plays Thomas Becket with a Shakespearean relishA striking example of site-speci…
Subject to Change: A Dance for David Bowie will explore how the musician ‘practised a form of artistic reincarnation’, says choreographer Marcos Morau‘Let’s dance,” sang David Bowi…
Selina Cartmell announces season including Stockport-set version of Phaedra myth by Simon StephensA theatre boss has promised to channel the “pioneering spirit of Manchester” and be “b…
Every sun-dappled object is an instrument as composer Dom Coyote and sound designers Elena Peña and Dave Price conjure trip-hop-inspired rhythms in the Mendips for a new stage adaptationThe…
Hammersmith Apollo, LondonIn his tour Here If You Need Me, the comic makes laugh-out-loud look easy with jokes about conjugal argy-bargy, smutty downloads – and a bit of politicsIs there a…
The choreographer has said goodbye to Lucy Guerin Inc by dancing in public for the first time in 13 years - which she has found ‘incredibly confronting’If there is one thing the professi…
From Thatcherism to global crisis to an ever-online world, she has chronicled our race to the abyss. Now she’s written a play about a blond-wigged voicepiece for an un-named, strongman rul…
Hudson Theatre, New YorkAllison Janney and Joe Keery co-star in a powerful drama about a family reunion turned political minefieldJust in time for the holidays, Jon Robin Baitz’s family re…
Barbican, LondonOmar Rajeh performs out of frustration, resistance and a need to connect in this stream-of-consciousness solo at Dance Umbrella festivalIn August 2019, Omar Rajeh sat in his …
Amid financial pressures on household and school budgets, the theatre company is expanding access with free plays Six young actors step into the spotlight as a reverent silence descends on t…
Crucible, SheffieldThe yellow stockings are as funny as ever – yet a haunting, folky live score casts a dream-like uncertainty over Shakespeare’s tangled romanceYou can picture Mathew Ho…
A new Washington DC exhibition examines how Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and more used the Bard’s work to help tell their own stories“William Shakespeare was a black woman.” In 1985, Ma…
I was gripped by fear, aching all over – and still recovering from cancer treatment. But Dancing With the Stars was a joyous celebration of survivalIt was an invitation I accepted in a mom…
As The Lucky Son picks up where Cunxin’s 2003 memoir left off, the renowned Chinese Australian ballet dancer reflects on sacrifices made by his wife, his years at a stockbroker, and his su…
What is it about music that makes even non-professionals want to hit the dancefloor, and is it disco, funk or even classical that does it best? Four leading choreographers discuss their theo…
York Theatre RoyalAtwood’s adaptation of her own novella is revived with Amelia Bullmore as a wry Penelope but it’s the eight-strong chorus who pull the story’s threadsAfter a summer o…
It’s a quarter of a century since the company celebrating black and Asian ballet dancers was founded. With an autumn tour in full swing, step back in time through their striking shows Cont…
Dorfman theatre, LondonThe far-fetched plot turns and some underdeveloped characters undermine the powerful messages about prejudice in Helen Edmundson’s playOpposing forces tug against ea…
Venues across BirminghamAs Britain’s longest-running live art festival returns, get ready for late-night artist dinners, a show in a swimming pool and Faye Driscoll’s incredible rotating…
Sherman theatre, Cardiff Hannah McPake’s high-wire drama pokes fun at tech bro machismo, reality TV and Musk-style Martian escapes – think A Christmas Carol in spaceThis show takes local…
Exclusive: London theatre’s new artistic director working with David Tennant and Caryl Churchill as he wrestles with Britain’s decline – and with smart glassesA spate of highly politic…
Brixton House, London Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s compassionate solo play follows a young mother’s struggle to get life back on track after time behind barsPlenty of abuse survivors don’t g…
Harold Pinter theatre, LondonThis Ranevskaya feels of our time but Conor McPherson’s plain-speaking adaptation, co-starring Stephen Mangan, doesn’t always hit you emotionallyThere have b…
Audiences in Manchester will be asked to wear smart glasses for An Ark, which debuted in New York this yearIan McKellen will star in a groundbreaking new play that gets its UK premiere in Ma…