Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Ragdoll review – Patty Hearst inspires an audacious account of power and privilege by Arifa Akbar

Jermyn Street theatre, LondonKatherine Moar’s bold and taut drama about the kidnapping of a fictional heiress explores the toxic inheritance of the 1970s Katherine Moar’s riveting drama …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PM

Artists plan nationwide US protests against Trump and ‘authoritarian forces’ by Benjamin Lee

Michael Moore, Lynn Nottage, Ava DuVernay and Amanda Palmer will take part in an event series to ‘unite in defiance’ Artists and artistic organisations around the US are set to take part…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:31AM

Lifers review – an inside look at the ageing prison population by Chris Wiegand

Southwark Playhouse Borough, LondonA young officer becomes the de facto carer of a vulnerable inmate in Evan Placey’s well-observed play about a stretched Prison Service A decade ago, play…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM

Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic review – a thrilling collision of ecstasy and grief by Catherine Love

Aviva Studios, ManchesterResisting simple titillation, this sprawling four-hour odyssey through often naked rituals has weddings, funerals and eye-popping love potions Factory International�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM

Remembering Mama Africa: struggle of fearless singer Miriam Makeba told in daring dance drama by Lyndsey Winship

Mimi’s Shebeen, choreographed by Alesandra Seutin, charts South African legend’s exile and ascendancy with ‘beautiful songs, strong messages and moments that hit’ “You speak about …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42AM
Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Bog Witch review – Bryony Kimmings is back with a haunting and hilarious climate reckoning by Chris Wiegand

Soho Theatre Walthamstow, LondonThe performance artist’s first solo show in five years considers the plight of our planet, with a compelling mix of standup, songs and folk horror It may co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PM

‘Under 5ft 5in? Forget about being a prince!’ How the Royal Ballet is kicking out the old rules by Lyndsey Winship

What will the ballet dancer of the future look like? We visit the hunting lodge where the next generation are being trained – and find huge changes are under way It’s an idyllic autumn …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:36PM

‘Risky is the best way to be’: Tim Curry on sexuality, surviving a stroke – and 50 years of stardom by Chris Godfrey

From Rocky Horror to the Muppets, Curry’s extraordinary career made him world-famous. Then, a stroke left him paralysed. The actor talks about his cocaine years, his friendship with David …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48AM

Sunlight review – monkey-suited woman goes on road trip in Nina Conti’s super-quirky directing debut by Phil Hoad

There are plenty of laughs and a fair bit of trauma to process when a depressed man takes a monkey woman across country It is perhaps an unexpected development that one of the most erotic mo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48AM

Actors trained during pandemic lack vocal power and range, says RSC leader by Dalya Alberge

Daniel Evans says young drama graduates who learned voice work online missed out on the physical presence of theatre training Young actors who trained at drama school during the pandemic are…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42AM
Monday, October 13, 2025

John Woodvine obituary by Michael Coveney

Actor who played senior police officers on TV and delighted critics with his Falstaff for the English Shakespeare Company John Woodvine, who has died aged 96, was a proud Tynesider and stalw…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06PM

After Oscar by Merlin Holland review – Wilde’s grandson on the legacy of a scandal by Matthew Sturgis

The playwright’s only living descendant traces the shadow cast by his trial – and his rehabilitation as a gay icon Today, Oscar Wilde is one of the most celebrated writers in English, bo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM

‘Like losing a friend’: farewell to Marc Maron’s pioneering podcast WTF by Eleanor Biggs

After 16 years and almost 1,700 episodes, Maron is ending his show – which changed the face of podcasting. No wonder it’s sparking an outpouring of sadness When I discovered Marc Maron�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM

Get Down Tonight review – KC and the Sunshine Band’s story dimmed in drearily meta musical by Chris Wiegand

Charing Cross theatre, LondonFeaturing 20 of the band’s disco-funk songs, this jukebox musical has sparkle but comes with an infuriating concept and little depth of characterisation Fifty …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Saturday, October 11, 2025

Exe Men review – entertaining rugby drama tackles triumph of underdogs Exeter Chiefs by Mark Lawson

Exeter Northcott theatreThe journey of the Devon club from league minnows to championship winners is told with considerable elan and affection Driving to this theatre, I passed signs to Sidm…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:02AM

Emma Doran: ‘When I was growing up, a woman’s biggest compliment would be that she was immaculate’ by Interview By Liam Pape

The Irish standup on advice to her younger self, dodgy microphones and why success still makes her feel sick How did you get into comedy?I was on maternity leave and, looking back, I may hav…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:02AM
Friday, October 10, 2025

Small Hotel review – Ralph Fiennes’ fever dream leaves you with major reservations by Arifa Akbar

Theatre Royal BathThis bizarre drama, with the star playing twins amid plenty of tap dancing, is a warp of hallucinations and reality Small Hotel is a play that defies category, or even expl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM

My Right Foot review – wryly humorous look at life with a terminal illness by Helen Meany

Axis Ballymun, DublinMixing childhood memories, songs and Shakespeare, Michael Patrick delivers a one-man show about the reality of being given four years to live Michael Patrick may not liv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AM

Charley’s Aunt review – a fresh and fun glow-up for Victorian farce by David Jays

Watermill theatre, Newbury Rob Madge’s colourful reworking of the 1892 comedy makes clever adjustments while retaining the original’s spirit The frump turns fabulous in this new version …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AM

‘Amoral, evil’: vitriolic backlash builds against comics who played Riyadh festival by Hannah Jane Parkinson

Murder by bone-saw, lashings for rape victims, punishment amputation, jail for satirists … these are the Saudi human rights abuses fuelling the fury at the likes of Louis CK, Dave Chappell…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54AM
Thursday, October 9, 2025

Bad Lads review – brutality, shame and fear as horrors of youth detention centre are laid bare by Catherine Love

Live theatre, NewcastleBased on real-life testimonies, this harrowing tale follows a 17-year-old subject to relentless cruelty at Medomsley Detention Centre There is a warning on the screen …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02PM

Ian Judge obituary by Michael Coveney

Theatre and opera director whose work stretched from Gilbert and Sullivan to Shakespeare Ian Judge, who has died aged 79, enjoyed a wide-ranging career as a theatre and opera director withou…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02PM

Mischa Barton to make UK stage debut in Double Indemnity by Chris Wiegand

The OC star will take the role made famous by Barbara Stanwyck in James M Cain’s classic noir tale of murder and deceit, touring the UK in early 2026 Mischa Barton is to make her UK stage …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AM

The Glass Menagerie review – cool gloom makes Tennessee Williams’s sadness hit harder by Mark Fisher

Dundee RepAndrew Panton’s production of the memory play gains in quiet domestic realism what it loses in unhinged vitriol Christopher Jordan-Marshall breathes the evening into life. Glidin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM

‘I absolutely went for it!’: Michael Flatley on sex, swagger, Riverdance – and tapping his feet 35 times a second by Paula Cocozza

The Lord of the Dance was always fanatically driven, practising for sixteen hours a day in his teens. His body now bears the damage of that era. But he still wants more. He discusses love, p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AM

I had a cameo in the Inside No 9 stage show. It was a living nightmare | Adrian Chiles by Adrian Chiles

Immersing myself in the programme’s seriously dark comedy loosened my grip on reality – and then a ventriloquist asked me for a selfie I was on stage, alone, at a packed Alexandra theatr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24AM

Mary Page Marlowe review – Susan Sarandon shines in slippery study of a life in pieces by Arifa Akbar

Old Vic theatre, LondonFive actors play the protagonist at different stages over 70 years in Tracy Letts’ play, co-starring Andrea Riseborough If there is something familiar about a play c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24AM
Wednesday, October 8, 2025

I have been criticised for being part of the Riyadh comedy festival. This is why I did it | Omid Djalili by Omid Djalili

The headlines focus on money, but the gigs were great and I think there are different ways to achieve progress. Art, especially comedy, can be part of that After 15 years of turning down of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48PM

Cyrano de Bergerac review – Adrian Lester brings sublime soul to roistering romance by Arifa Akbar

Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon The giant-hootered lover ventriloquising his passion for Roxane through a physically dashing rival is the standout star of this warm and l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM

Demand the Impossible review – powerful punk rage at injustices of police violence and spycops scandal by Gareth Llŷr Evans

Corn Exchange, NewportEveryday oppression is explored through the narratives of a Black Lives Matter activist, a blacklisted construction worker and an environmental campaigner Performances …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Maybe Tomorrow review – a lifetime of regret behind the razzle-dazzle by Mark Fisher

Òran Mór, GlasgowIn this new musical, a bitter performer is visited by her sparkling younger self and confronts her disappointments Imagine spending a career wanting to play the lead in An…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PM

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