The week in TV: House of the Dragon; Euro 2024; The Stormtrooper Scandal; Under the Bridge – review
‘I’m outacted by a nine-year-old’: Matt Smith on House of the Dragon, chaos and child stars
May 2024
The greatest Doctor Who – ranked!
Tom Baker’s scarf! Jodie Whittaker’s cupboard! David Tennant’s gifs! As Ncuti Gatwa picks up his sonic screwdriver for the new series of Doctor Who, we rate every two-hearted Time Lord so far
March 2024
Keoghan, Madden, James Martin: who should be James Bond, if Aaron Taylor-Johnson is out?
Idris Elba has been waiting in the wings for years but perhaps the time has come for Matt Smith, Henry Golding … or a certain TV chef
Walkouts and rows in the stalls as politics enters Theatreland stage left – or maybe right
Vanessa Thorpe
From black-only nights to an anti-capitalist rant, the West End has discovered its radical side. But is it a playwright’s job to change the world?
The best original photographs from the Observer
Observer Original Photography
From film-maker Wim Wenders on shooting a movie in 16 days to actor matt Smith on friendship and fame: the best original photographs from the Observer commissioned in February 2024
February 2024
The week in theatre: An Enemy of the People; King Lear; Double Feature – review
Matt Smith heads a rousing adaptation of Ibsen for a bruised world; Danny Sapani and co lean into the storm in Yaël Farber’s liberating Lear. Plus, Hollywood power play the hard way
An Enemy of the People review – Matt Smith’s groovy firebrand swings from rebel to conspiracist
Rock’n’roll reimagining of Ibsen’s timeless corruption drama brings the audience into direct Question Time-style dialogue with Smith’s idealist revolutionary
‘I want to do stuff that pushes things to the edge’: Matt Smith on friendship, fame and radical theatre
For his latest challenge, the Doctor Who star is taking to the stage in Thomas Ostermeier’s new production of Ibsen’s dynamic, politically charged An Enemy of the People
December 2023
2024 culture preview
The best theatre, dance and comedy tickets to book in 2024
Every episode of The Crown – ranked!
October 2023
Starve Acre review – intelligent performances in sinister Yorkshire folk horror
London film festival Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark play an unhappy couple who have moved to the moors with their young son, and soon become entwined in the occult
April 2023
The best and worst Doctor Who fashion – ranked!
Production begins on season two of House of the Dragon
October 2022
TV review
House of the Dragon finale review – this meticulous series saved its best episode for last
This knotty, character-based Game of Thrones prequel took a while to get there, but it’s set up an explosive second season. Hopefully it stops featuring gratuitously insensitive childbirth
September 2022
House of the Dragon: episode by episode
House of the Dragon recap: episode five – a Red Wedding to rival Game of Thrones
The King and Rhaenyra go on a marital mission to Driftmark … and at the ensuing wedding, the rats get a fine bloody feast indeed
House of the Dragon: episode by episode
House of the Dragon recap: episode four – sex and laughs return to Westeros at last
Rhaenyra endures hilarious proposals from older men and young lads, but finds her solace elsewhere. What a surprising, even miraculous piece of television
Bums away! Has House of the Dragon given up on sex?
House of the Dragon: episode by episode
House of the Dragon recap: episode three – want to wreak havoc? Send Matt Smith!
Mark Kermode's film of the week
The Forgiven review – brooding tale of crime and punishment starring Fiennes and Chastain
