Northern lights
Paul Allen rounds up theatrical matters in the north of England
Northern lights: How theatre undermined the coal industry
Paul Allen: Film has closely documented the lives of miners. Why has the stage all but forgotten them?
Northern lights: Curtain up for Richard Wilson and Victoria Wood
Paul Allen: Several popular stars of the screen are returning to theatres in the north over the next few months
Northern lights: Young people take centre-stage
A New York hip-hop artist joins Manchester's Contact, while York prepares for a three-week takeover by young artists and entrepreneurs at the Theatre Royal
Northern lights: Abi Titmuss tackles John Godber play in Hull
Paul Allen: Playwright keeps on truckin' with a 25th-anniversary revival of Up 'n' Under. Plus, who's in the running for the UK's first city of culture?
Shakespeare? Oh no it's not!
Paul Allen: Picnics, families and some absolutely splendid backdrops - the British obsession with open-air Shakespeare is little more than a summer pantomime
Northern lights: Facing facts in verbatim theatre
Paul Allen: In Hull, Newcastle, Leeds and Burnley, plays are exploring events of the recent past, from football to flooding
Northern lights: Lavery's Wicked Lady this way comes
Paul Allen: Lady Barbara Skelton, the notorious star of Magdalen King-Hall's novel, should steal the show at Newcastle-under-Lyme's New Vic this summer
Northern lights: It's show time for Derby theatre
Paul Allen: The city's beleaguered Playhouse will reopen with a new name and a new musical. There are also plans for productions all over town
Northern lights: Ayckbourn in black and white
Paul Allen: A revival of Bedroom Farce at the West Yorkshire Playhouse raises questions about colour-blind casting, while Northampton prepares a birthday bonanza for the playwright
Northern lights: What we owe Alan Plater
Paul Allen's paean to the natural storytelling and disappointed anger of Alan Plater
Northern lights: Bernard Shaw brings down the house in Manchester
Paul Allen: A revival of Widowers' Houses at the Royal Exchange chimes with our times, while Arts Council England whips the regions into line
Northern lights: Lenny Henry brings his Moorish magic to London
Paul Allen: All eyes will be on Lenny Henry when he takes to the West End stage as Othello. But the real surprise of the production lies elsewhere …
Northern lights: Hull Truck's new theatre plays the regeneration game
Paul Allen: John Godber and Hull Truck have got a shiny new venue. But it was funded in the name of urban improvement, not for the good of theatre – and that's a real shame
Northern lights: A homecoming for Bragg's Buttermere at Keswick theatre
Paul Allen: In a new series, I'll be diverting the spotlight from the West End to the glorious north. This week's tour starts at Keswick's Theatre-by-the-Lake
