Alistair Smith: Tax doesn't have to be taxing… unless you work in the performing arts by Alistair Smith

National Insurance has been a complicated issue for performers for some time. From 1998 until April 2014, actors held a strange dual

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on March 10, 2016[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Can London support two full-time, large-scale opera houses? by Alistair Smith

The evidence of the last two decades " during which English National Opera has flip-flopped from one financial crisis to another " would appear

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on March 3, 2016[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: West End is still thriving by Alistair Smith

Another year, another record box office recorded by the West End and London's major not-for-profit theatres. With audiences steady, this year's increase

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on February 25, 2016[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: The rise and fall of Stage Entertainment by Alistair Smith

Stage Entertainment has, for some time, been the biggest commercial theatre operator in mainland Europe. Formed in 1998, after it was spun

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on February 18, 2016[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: How far will Equity's low pay battle travel? by Alistair Smith

Equity's push to get fringe theatres to pay actors at least national minimum wage has not been universally popular. The union has

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on February 4, 2016[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Access to drama training isn't the biggest issue by Alistair Smith

Who'd be an aspiring working-class actor today? No one wants to teach you drama at school because it's not on the EBacc.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on January 28, 2016[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Would a British performer have taken the risk? by Alistair Smith

Melissa Bayern's story is an extraordinary one. Since we broke the news on our website last week, it has been picked up

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on January 21, 2016[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: What future for West End poster pioneers? by Alistair Smith

West End posters are one of Theatreland's most distinctive features. These images " spotted on the side of a bus or alongside

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on January 14, 2016[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Much to cheer in 2015, but storm clouds gather by Alistair Smith

For most people, Christmas is a time of reflection. Nothing could be further from the truth, though, in theatre, where mid-December to

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 2:00am on December 24, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: The perils of twisting a quote too far by Alistair Smith

I'd wager theatre producers have been misquoting reviews since the time of Thespis. It is a practice as old as the hills.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on December 17, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: The gender gap needs to narrow on stage, too by Alistair Smith

Our front page story manages to be both encouraging and deeply disappointing at the same time. It's great news that progress appears

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on December 10, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Is it finally time to give the Tories some credit? by Alistair Smith

In the arts world, the only noise that could be heard above the popping of champagne corks after last week's comprehensive spending

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:09am on December 3, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Have the Evening Standard awards lost their way? by Alistair Smith

When I first started writing for The Stage, a little over a decade ago, there was a definite perception that the Evening

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on November 26, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Is magic making a comeback? by Alistair Smith

Magic was once a mainstay of the West End, but for decades it has been largely out of fashion in theatre. This

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on November 19, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Theatre thrives on star performers by Alistair Smith

Speaking in our Big Interview this week (pages 12-15), Gregory Doran highlights one of the key differences between him and his predecessor

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on November 12, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: UK theatre is in a gilt age rather than a golden one by Alistair Smith

On the face of things, British theatre is enjoying a golden period. This week, we discovered the first accurate estimates for total

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 5:00am on November 5, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: London needs more modern theatres by Alistair Smith

As someone about to open a new theatre in London, former National Theatre executive director Nick Starr does not come from a

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 7:11am on October 29, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Celebrating all of the UK's theatre by Alistair Smith

Last Sunday's UK Theatre Awards was, as ever, a joyous celebration of the quite incredible standard of theatre that is produced up

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:00am on October 22, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Should we have MOBOs for theatre? by Alistair Smith

Should we have an awards ceremony devoted to black theatre? Don Warrington, soon to appear on stage as King Lear at the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:00am on October 15, 2015[SHARE]

Where is the next Les Miserables? by Alistair Smith

Les Miserables chalks up a remarkable 30 years in the West End today. It is a phenomenon, a juggernaut of a show

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:00am on October 8, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Theatre needs to tidy up its house by Alistair Smith

Theatre can be a funny place. It is generally regarded as a bastion of liberalism, populated by nice, progressive, broadly left-wing people.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:00am on October 1, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Is artistic director becoming too big a job for one person? by Alistair Smith

The business of running a theatre gets more and more complicated. Long gone are the days when an artistic director's principal, and

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:00am on September 24, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Best to steer clear of bitter tweet moments by Alistair Smith

Tim Roberts is not the first, and he certainly won't be the last, person to get in trouble because of something he

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:00am on September 3, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: New theatre is a welcome addition by Alistair Smith

Does London need any more theatres? This is a pertinent question in light of the announcement by Nicks Hytner and Starr that

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:00am on August 27, 2015[SHARE]

Alistair Smith: Producers are the linchpins of theatre by Alistair Smith

We celebrate producers in this issue of The Stage " the people in theatre who get things done and without whom, frankly,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 6:00am on August 20, 2015[SHARE]