75 stories by "Ben Dowell"
Gielgud Theatre, London: Noel Coward's 1930 comedy sweeps into the West End on a wave of love for Jonathan Kent's fresh and zesty Chichester revival from last autumn- and you can s…
Donmar Warehouse, London: Following the Donmar's highly praised revival of Conor McPherson's 1997 play The Weir, the writer brings his own directorial skills to his latest work, a …
Actor, comedian, novelist, playwright, journalist and singer; the multi-talented Meera Syal talks to Ben Dowell
Hampstead, London: Bagging the UK premiere of a new David Mamet play represents a coup for Edward Hall's Hampstead Theatre even if liberal-minded theatregoers will always be divided by …
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London: From the outset of this lively and intelligent production, Harper Lee's world bursts into life on the bare stage when the cast draw in chalk an o…
Chariots of Fire star Ben Cross, now playing the mysterious Rabbit in HBO's TV series Banshee, talks to Ben Dowell about his habit of playing bad guys and how his work has led to a life outs…
Trafalgar Studios, London: The idea that Harold Pinter developed his beliefs about the horror of unchecked state power later in his career can be swept away by this 1958 work (which premiere…
Donmar Warehouse, London: Finbar (Risteard Cooper), the big fish entrepreneur, had a lot going for him when he swaggered into the small pond of his local village pub when this play premiered…
Lyttelton, National Theatre, London: Director Howard Davies and translator Andrew Upton who (among other successful collaborations) brought Bulgakov's The White Guard to vivid and scint…
Duchess, London: A double bill of Alan Bennett reflections couldn't have been more at home at the National Theatre. But what about this transfer to the commercial bear pit of the West E…
Actor Alex Jennings stopped the curtain call applause at the Duchess Theatre last night to recall his old friend and colleague Richard Griffiths and ask the audience to applaud him. Deliveri…
Almeida, London: Full marks to the Almeida for reviving this brilliantly modulated 1949 play, based on Maugham's 1926 story about a widow returning from Africa and intent on marrying be…
Garrick Theatre, London: That this short, two-man parody of all seven Harry Potter books has been touring successfully for seven years is down to many things - though not perhaps to the orig…
Gielgud Theatre, London: Oscar-nominated writer Peter Morgan clearly has a thing for the Queen. His hit 2006 film portrayed a royal family at a time of crisis, when the death of Diana threat…
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court, London: Young writer Anna Wakulik's new play shows too often its roots in a 2011 Royal Court workshop on the Polish experience, with all the theme…
He played Tom in BBC comedy and also starred in shows such as Ever Decreasing Circles and Monarch Of The Glen
Actor Arsher Ali has declined offers of work since the summer partly because he is "sick" of being offered scripts which typecast Asians as terrorists. Ali, who plays a suspected terrorist i…
Vaudeville Theatre, London: In this stage re-imagining of Dickens' classic, all the action takes place with Miss Havisham's dusty living room as the backdrop - an eerie, ghostlike …
Trafalgar Studios, London: "I annihilate you," observes Leo Bill's faltering German officer Werner to the old man who has been forced to take him in to his cottage during the …
Judi Dench lobbied unsuccessfully to persuade former BBC director general Mark Thompson to abandon the practice of squeezing programme credits more than five years ago, The Stage can reveal.…
Hampstead, London: The influx of so many Poles to Britain in recent years was bound to be felt in theatreland sooner or later and it is welcome to have this particular immigrant experience e…
Ambassadors Theatre, London: Last Christmas this venue played host to a rather flat kid's show about Father Christmas. This year's effort is more successful, assured and thought ou…
Tricycle Theatre, London: This production of Mary Zimmerman's 1994 take on the wonderful fables from the Islamic Golden Age is not the first Arabian Nights I have seen staged. But it is…
Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London: First performed in 2008 and now debuting in the West End, this is another successful Tall Stories bid to negotiate the tricky task of being creativ…
Leicester Square Theatre, London: Returning to the West End for a short Christmas run, this is a delightful, simply-staged show for young children.
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