456 stories by "Mark Lawson"
In search of theatrical immortality? You could get your play on the school syllabus, like Tom Stoppard, mention the US elections or Christmas, like Gore Vidal and Alan Ayckbourn " or just wr…
You thought it was innocent family entertainment? Wrong. Danny Boyle's political production would have made Joan Littlewood and the leftwing Theatre Workshop proudDuring the era of agitprop …
I've somehow notched up 15 different Julius Caesars, 12 Pinter Betrayals, and who knows what else. Where do you stand on seeing shows more than once?Audiences sometimes experience the unfort…
Picasso, Munch and Gormley have all dabbled, but imagine the inspired collaborations that could result if more major artists turned their talents to stage designThe artists Gilbert & George,…
Whether it's coalition government, banking or war, scenes or subjects " even apparently inconsequential " can take on a new resonance for audiences in the light of current eventsA director o…
The sight of Stephen Mangan's prosthetic penis in Joe Penhall's Birthday was too much for preview audiences, who thought it was real. Why can't theatre cope with too much reality?A few weeks…
The sight of Stephen Mangan's prosthetic penis in Joe Penhall's Birthday was too much for preview audiences, who thought it was real. Why can't theatre cope with too much reality? Continue r…
Too much publicity threatens the surprise and suspense of narrative art. That is why the Royal Court and the National Theatre have tried to keep quiet the entire content of a playIn the stor…
Julie Walters returns to National stage in The Last of the Haussmans as baby boomer confronted by her adult childrenSubsidised theatres have been under pressure from governments and funding …
The idea of the epic theatre marathon isn't new " but it raises fascinating questions about how much an audience is prepared to put up withIn Tom Stoppard's one-acter The Real Inspector Houn…
From One Man, Two Guvnors to Noises Off and What the Butler Saw, trouser-dropping and door-slamming is back with a vengeance in the West End and on Broadway. How come?On radio phone-ins at t…
Long test periods for shows are driven by the neurosis of producers. In any case, these days bloggers and tweeters are sharing their verdicts long before the official opening nightIt's rare …
This specialised weapon in a theatre's armoury must be used with care " but the benefits are revolutionaryOn two consecutive nights last week, I saw examples of revolutionary theatre. Neithe…
Programmes can give a clue to game-changing last-minute appearances " which is why some writers have gone to great lengths to conceal crucial surprisesThe actor Christian Rodska has an impre…
Audiences know the action kicks off on stage when the curtain goes up " so why are so many directors dispensing with the idea?The tradition that performances are punctuated by the rise and …
Several of the Bard's plays, as was common in Elizabethan drama, incorporated the efforts of other writers " so why are we reluctant to acknowledge it?The depressingly predictable decision t…
From David Suchet's broken shoelace to the tumbling barometer in Noel Coward's Hay Fever, theatre is always playing with the threat " and the thrill " of things going wrong for realThe tale …
The King's Speech is struggling to make anywhere near the same impact on stage as it did on the big screen. Can cinematic and theatrical versions of the same piece happily co-exist?Two newsp…
The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and Blood Brothers all have links to French literature and have been going strong for around 25 years. The plot thickens ...Working on a radio docum…
In the first of a new series that puts theatre's hidden stories in the spotlight, Mark Lawson looks at the dramatic effect that an awkward fall or twanged hamstring can have on a productionO…
Mike Daisey's campaigning monologue about Apple may have succeeded as a play, but it failed as journalism. Does it matter if theatre based on real-life material takes dramatic licence?Some t…
Barry Humphries' announcement that he is to retire Dame Edna Everage is sad news for all fans of the housewife superstarOne of Dame Edna Everage's shows was called, in a characteristically c…
Her mother was a celebrated Ellida. So was her sister. Is that why Joely Richardson is marking her return to the stage by playing Ibsen's difficult heroine?One day last year, Joely Richards…
With his plays about heroin addicts and barrow boys, David Eldridge has swung the wrecking ball at class bias in theatre. But his biggest conflict is with himselfOver the last 15 years, Davi…
From The King's Speech to the Great British Bake Off, this year's arts winners ignored the safety-first rules of surviving a downturnThe year began and now ends with an odd little movie, sho…
