When Edward Bond came to my school to see students put on The Tin Can People
‘I loved every single word’: tributes to the blistering brilliance of Edward Bond
From the Guardian archive
Edward Bond: ‘Our theatre trivialises or generalises – both are forms of sleaze’
Edward Bond obituary
Edward Bond: a phenomenal talent who upturned theatre with his explosive plays
Michael Billington
Edward Bond, blazingly original British playwright, dies aged 89
December 2022
Down the rabbit hole
What links Lady Chatterley’s Lover to Walkabout and William Hurt?
The DH Lawrence classic inexorably leads to violent UK theatre, a stunning John Barry soundtrack and the erotic thriller Body Heat
May 2016
Edward Bond: 'War Horse? Obscene. Downton? Spiteful'
He has walked out of his own plays, been chased up the A1 by a director and thinks British drama is dead. Mark Lawson meets the magnificently irascible Edward Bond
March 2016
The Royal Court at 60: look back in wonder
Mark Lawson's theatre studies
Where's Willy? Why there are so few plays about Shakespeare
February 2016
William Gaskill: a fighter who stayed loyal to his writers
William Gaskill, former artistic director of the Royal Court, dies aged 85
September 2015
From Oedipus to The History Boys: Michael Billington's 101 greatest plays
In his new book, the Guardian’s theatre critic has selected what he thinks are the 101 greatest plays ever written, in any language – so do you agree?
January 2015
From the Guardian archive
A blast at our smug theatre: Edward Bond on Sarah Kane
From the archive: In this piece first published on 28 January 1995, the playwright Edward Bond defends the widely pilloried play Blasted
May 2014
Shortcuts
There will be (fake) blood: five of the goriest theatrical bloodbaths
They've been fainting in the aisles at the Globe, due to a stomach-churning production of Titus Andronicus. Michael Coveney has five more examples of the power of on-stage physical aggression
February 2014
Never mind 1984: Michael Billington's top five theatrical dystopias
Dystopian plays are rare, but from Samuel Beckett's Happy Days to Caryl Churchill's Far Away, there have been some standout original stage creations, writes Michael Billington
October 2013
Books blog
Why becoming a mother has censored my reading
Imogen Russell Williams: They used to be some of my favourites, but it's no longer possible to enjoy stories where children are in danger
September 2013
Bertolt Brecht: irresistible force or forgotten chapter in theatrical history?
Brecht's belief that drama should present moral ideas through action is unfashionable, but as theatre becomes ever more narcissistic, audiences are seeking him out again, writes Michael Billington
October 2012
Hans Werner Henze obituary
Composer devoted to the exploration of political ideas in the opera house and concert hall
