3,863 stories by "Matthew Hemley"
Despite having no formal training, Anna-Jane Casey has forged an impressive career. As she tackles her latest leading role, in the musical version of Billy Elliot, she tells Matthew Hemley w…
Peter Shaffer's one act plays The Private Ear and The Public Eye will have their first major revival in 50 years when they tour the UK from August. The double-bill of one act plays was...
This year's West End Live will include performances from new shows including Tim Rice's From Here to Eternity and the Menier Chocolate Factory's production of The Color Purple. The free even…
Michael Ball, Kerry Ellis and Gina Beck are to perform at a concert celebrating the music of George Gershwin. Summertime " An Evening of Gershwin will be part of the Live by the Lake season.…
Hereford's Courtyard Centre for the Arts has become the first theatre to sign up to a national alliance aimed at improving the quality of life for people living with dementia. The Courtyard …
ITV has commissioned a drama about Tommy Cooper, written by Men Behaving Badly creator Simon Nye and starring Shameless actor David Threlfall as the comedian. The 120-minute drama, called To…
Producers of The X Factor musical have confirmed that the show, called I Can't Sing!, will open at the London Palladium in February next year. It will preview from February 27, 2014, with pr…
Department store Debenhams has become the first retailer to sign up to a code of conduct aimed at improving the treatment of models on photo shoots. The code has been created by Equity's mod…
Equity has hit out at the "political vindictiveness" that has resulted in many local councils being forced to cut their arts budgets. The union has claimed that the government is passing on …
Lobbying body the Performers' Alliance Parliamentary Group " which includes Equity and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain " is being urged to pressure the BBC to produce and cast more drama…
Calls for Equity to be dissolved have been rejected. The walk-on and supporting artists' committee called for the "dissolution of the union" at the Annual Representative Conference, claiming…
BBC charity the Performing Arts Fund will focus solely on supporting the theatre industry for the first time this year, with a total of £450,000 available to the professional and communit…
A disused former chapel in the heart of London's West End is to reopen as a temporary performance space next month, with plans being developed to turn the iconic building into a permanent "e…
Maxine Peake and Andrew Scott are to feature in a season of BBC dramas exploring "a world of dystopian futures". The BBC Radio 4 season, called Dangerous Visions, will be broadcast in June a…
Channel 4 has commissioned a new eight-part comedy drama from Shameless creator Paul Abbott. The commission comes as the last ever series of Shameless is aired on Channel 4. Abbott's new com…
The first two previews of new musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have been rescheduled, with producers blaming "unforeseen problems" involving a contractor. Performances for this week…
Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey will deliver this year's MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Spacey executive produced and starred in the drama Hous…
Olivia Colman picked up two prizes at this year's BAFTA TV Awards, winning both best supporting actress and best female in a comedy. The ceremony also saw Ben Whishaw win the leading actor c…
Dirty Dancing is to replace Viva Forever! at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End. The musical previously played in London at the Aldwych Theatre from 2006 until 2011 and has since been to…
Alex Bourne and Tiffany Graves are to star in The Witches of Eastwick at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury. The production, directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, opens at the the…
Paddy Considine talks about the reprisal of his Mr Whicher role and gives Matthew Hemley an honest account of his television career choices
Cutting It creator Debbie Horsfield is adapting Winston Graham's Poldark novels into a six-part series for the BBC. The series is one of four new dramas that has been announced by outgoing B…
Hundreds of circus performers could be forced to give up their jobs if planned education reforms are introduced. Equity is warning that a proposal to remove a section of the Education Act, w…
ITV has commissioned a second series of The Bletchley Circle, starring Anna Maxwell Martin and Julie Graham. The second run of four episodes will see Hattie Morahan join the cast, which also…
Gillian Lynne, fresh from being honoured at the Oliviers, reviews aspects of her amazing career with Matthew Hemley
