The Guardian view on the right to fail in the arts: a principle that must be upheld
Digested week
Digested week: Sondheim’s old pencils, dogs in prams and Christ on a bike
Emma Brockes
January 2024
David Kernan obituary
Glynis Johns obituary
December 2023
The week in theatre: Infinite Life; The Homecoming; Pacific Overtures – review
Pacific Overtures review – small Sondheim is beautifully done
October 2023
Here We Are review – posthumous Stephen Sondheim musical is hit-and-miss
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends review – merrily they roll along
September 2023
‘I didn’t want to be Bubbly Bonnie Langford for ever’ – the star relives her career highs and lows
Observer New Review Q&A
Bernadette Peters: ‘Sondheim’s music is about the big, important things’
July 2023
Sweeney Todd review – a solid, haunting take on Sondheim’s demon barber
Drama theatre, Sydney Opera House This dark and theatrical production doesn’t carve out new territory but its commanding cast deliver a crowd pleaser
June 2023
Assassins review – Sondheim’s dark study of aspiring presidential killers
Polly Findlay’s production underlines the way these left-behinds and psychopaths invert the American dream
May 2023
Gypsy review – the ultimate stage mother rules with hard-bitten brashness
Mama Rose drags her two daughters from one vaudeville fleapit to the next in a bulldozer of a role
April 2023
Sweeney Todd: behind the blockbuster take on Sondheim’s Broadway hit
Stephen Sondheim’s darkly funny quasi-opera has been remounted as one of the year’s biggest new productions
March 2023
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street review – dazzling Broadway revival
Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford play Stephen Sondheim’s murderous Victorian couple in a bold and barnstorming take
Into The Woods review – Australian take on Sondheim masterpiece needs more time to soar
With standout turns from Esther Hannaford and Tamsin Carroll, and some inventive, whimsical choices, the fractured-fairytale musical fails to truly take off
The best theatre to stream this month
The best theatre to stream this month: The Boys Are Kissing, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends and more
Our roundup of drama to watch at home includes Hans Christian Andersen on skates, a verbatim play five years in the making and poems from Ukraine
December 2022
Merrily We Roll Along review – Sondheim flop finds new lease of life
The infamous 1981 disaster has returned off-Broadway with help from Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe
October 2022
‘This isn’t fair!’: how Stephen Sondheim flew into a rage over a bad review
