After the End review – violence, comedy and cliches in Dennis Kelly’s nuclear bunker
This dated two-hander about colleagues cowering in the wake of an explosion creates all-too-familiar disgust and fear
December 2021
2021 in TV
The 50 best TV shows of 2021
The great telly countdown hits the top spot with a furiously joyful, gut-wrenching five-part drama that was funny and full of life
November 2021
How we made
‘It had to be dark’ – how we made Matilda the Musical
‘We didn’t give Matilda any songs because she was shy. Then we realised: it’s a fricking musical – the protagonist needs to sing!
June 2021
Observer TV reviews
The week in TV: Together; GB News; Horizon Special: The Vaccine; We Are Lady Parts
A talent-packed BBC drama was more letdown than lockdown, while Channel 4’s punk comedy was a delight
September 2020
Jude Law: 'When I became a parent, I would cry at anything'
As he plays a troubled dad trapped on a sinister island in The Third Day, the star reveals how the drama unlocked his deepest parenting fears – and shares his worries about its 12-hour, live-action section
September 2019
Best culture of the 21st century
The 50 best theatre shows of the 21st century
A hip-hop history lesson, a dizzy Dahl musical and a continent-hopping barbershop … we pick the finest new works of theatre since 2000
February 2018
Dennis Kelly on Girls and Boys: 'I was shocked Carey Mulligan did it'
The Matilda playwright has written a shattering solo drama that he didn’t think his star would read. He talks about fear, masculinity and burying secrets
The week in theatre: Girls & Boys; The York Realist – review
Alone on stage for an hour and a half, Carey Mulligan is extraordinary in Dennis Kelly’s gripping new play
Girls and Boys review – gut-wrenching Carey Mulligan charts a marriage's end
Mulligan is a joy to watch as she brings her expressive powers to bear in Dennis Kelly’s flawed but compelling one-hander
December 2017
Christmas culture 2017
The best theatre shows this Christmas – from panto to Pinocchio and Narnia
Romance and adventure abound as Rhys Ifans plays Scrooge, Guys and Dolls hits Harlem and Sherlock returns
March 2017
The G2 interview
Funny, messy and real: why Sharon Horgan is the most watchable woman on TV
The star of the brutally honest Catastrophe talks about why fans identify with the sitcom – and why it’s tricky to watch HBO show Divorce with her husband
October 2016
Sharon Horgan: Queen of difficult women
Sharp-eyed, sharp-tongued and very funny, Sharon Horgan is about to seduce America with her tragicomic take on a divorce from hell, starring Sarah Jessica Parker. By Eva Wiseman
June 2016
From Sharon Horgan to Jo Brand: women take the comedy throne at C4
Game of Thrones’ Sean Bean plays it for laughs in Wasted as broadcaster unveils new season
August 2015
Matilda the Musical: the Australian premiere – in pictures
Matilda the Musical review – still a revoltingly subversive success
November 2014
Media Monkey
Utopia picks up an Emmy but still won’t be back on Channel 4
Media Monkey: Despite winning yet another award, the series will not be returning to British screens
June 2014
Theatre blog
Which plays should be set texts at GCSE?
An Inspector Calls and Blood Brothers are on the syllabus. I'd add some Polly Stenham and Caryl Churchill, writes Lyn Gardner
February 2014
TV and radio blog
Utopia to be remade by HBO, David Fincher will direct
The Channel 4 conspiracy thriller will be remade for the US by HBO, with House of Cards’ David Fincher at the helm, while Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn will write
November 2013
West End hit Matilda to transfer to cinemas … but not until 2019
Matt Trueman: Playwright Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin will contribute to the Royal Shakespeare Company production
September 2013
Tim Minchin: 'I really don't like upsetting people'
Musician, satirist, writer of Matilda... Tim Minchin talks to Kate Kellaway about his Aussie roots, why he never Googles himself and how, as a rationalist, he still has a romantic side
