The week in theatre: Starter for Ten; Uncle Vanya review – fingers on buzzers, and samovars
Bamber goes to Bristol in a buoyant musical of David Nicholls’s University Challenge romcom, while Trevor Nunn’s impeccably traditional Chekhov works like a charm
Uncle Vanya review – Trevor Nunn triumphs with Chekhov’s tragicomedy
This chamber staging, movingly played by an immaculate ensemble, fits perfectly with the drama’s hothouse of disappointment
Great expectations and a bleak house: the promise and perils of staging Dickens
London Tide at the National Theatre is the latest in a flood of Dickensian adaptations. Few have captured the novelist’s surreal imagination – are solo shows the most successful?
October 2023
The Score review – Brian Cox is magnetic as JS Bach in a clash of values
The Succession star excels in Oliver Cotton’s play about the meeting between the composer and Frederick the Great
June 2023
The Third Man: A Musical Thriller review – atmospheric and eccentric version of classic noir
The songs may not compare to the 1949 film’s zither music, but the design amplifies Trevor Nunn’s elegantly shadowy production
May 2023
The best theatre to stream this month
The best theatre to stream this month: Heathers, Alvin Ailey and more
Our roundup of drama to watch at home includes Panti Bliss’s drag journey, Athol Fugard’s ballroom dreamers and Alain Platel’s nightmarish dance-theatre
August 2022
Identical review – a new musical of The Parent Trap has its own special effect
Identical review – Trevor Nunn takes on The Parent Trap, with songs
In this dark, poetic one-man play, Toby Stephens gives it his all as the wrecked writer – imprisoned for gay sex in 1895 – as he rues his misfortunes with his younger self
July 2021
Rodgers and Hammerstein: cosy box-office bankers or radical trailblazers?
The duo’s shows boast catchy songs but pose problems for directors. As South Pacific and Carousel return this summer, our writer looks back on enchanted evenings with the odd couple’s musicals
May 2021
Whiskers, claws and applause: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats – in pictures
Since its debut in May 1981, the poetically inspired Cats has become one of the most popular stage shows in the world. Forty years on, here’s a look back at how the long-running musical began
March 2021
The RSC at 60: the glorious past and vital future of a theatrical revolution
The Royal Shakespeare Company survived establishment resistance and economic storms to become a powerhouse. How should it now change?
November 2020
Trevor Nunn to direct Lisa Dwan in Beckett's Happy Days
Dwan will play Winnie in a 60th-anniversary revival of the play at Riverside Studios in London
September 2020
Culture in peril
Vanessa Redgrave calls on businesses to help UK's Covid-hit arts sector
Actor appeals for funds to save jobs in industry that is one of worst affected by pandemic
June 2020
Foul is fair: stunning shots of Shakespeare's Macbeth – in pictures
As the RSC’s production starring Christopher Eccleston is broadcast on BBC Four, take a look back at some of the most arresting stagings of the ‘Scottish play’
January 2020
The week in theatre: The Welkin; Krapp’s Last Tape/ Eh Joe/ The Old Tune; The Sunset Limited – review
A pregnant question hangs over Lucy Kirkwood’s elegant new courthouse drama, while a superlative Beckett triple bill could teach Cormac McCarthy a thing or two
Beckett Triple Bill review – ticklish satire and quiet melancholy
David Threlfall, James Hayes, Niall Buggy and Lisa Dwan star in Trevor Nunn’s atmospheric productions of Krapp’s Last Tape, Eh Joe and The Old Tune
2020 culture preview
Star debuts and happy returns: theatre, dance and comedy in 2020
Tom Stoppard gets personal, Cush Jumbo does Hamlet, Hollywood names bring everything from tragedy to comedy … plus dance confronts shame and there’s standup open heart surgery
December 2019
Waiting for … the reunion of two theatre greats in Beckett triple bill
Director Trevor Nunn revives The Old Tune and casts Shameless star in a plum role
July 2019
The week in theatre: The Bridges of Madison County; Oklahoma!; Blues in the Night – review
Three musicals explore every shade of love and longing
