Later this month, a giant puppet will trek from the Syria-Turkey border to Manchester, in a moving-theatre show of solidarity with asylum seekers

From laughter punches to legendary artists, rock and romance to drama and dance… our writers on culture to light up the months ahead

Michael Longhurst, Rebecca Front, Nathaniel Martello-White and more discuss the theatres that have inspired and challenged them

From guerrilla warfare in Zimbabwe to drama at the Young Vic, the playwright and stage director captures a varied life well lived

Lan, who ran the theatre for 18 years, reached out to bold, dynamic directors from across the globe – and they repaid him with spectacular shows

The long read: Her champions regard Katie Mitchell as Britain’s greatest living stage director – but her critics see a vandal smashing up the classics. After staging her most ambitious work in Europe, can she make a triumphant return home?

Theatre directors and writers’ estates do not always see eye to eye. As a new generation seeks to reinterpret Arthur Miller’s work, we lift the lid on the scandals, bans and breakthroughs