Anti-fracking poets, Lebanese dancers and a gay Welsh donkey were just some of the acts who conga-ed into Nigel Farage's local in Kent this weekend " and ended up making headlines. Stuart Je…
Ian Lavender was 22 when he was cast as mummy's boy Private Pike in Dad's Army. It was a role that would come to haunt his career, stopping him from getting meatier parts. His one-man Edinbu…
As Imelda Staunton storms the West End as another hard-scrabble working woman, she explains why it's class and not the classics that matters"Those women!" says Imelda Staunton. &…
Soon to appear in the new season of Game of Thrones, the actor talks about her long career, how to deal with getting older and why she talks to pigeonsDiana Rigg is trying to cross the …
Academics are considering how comedy can be socially beneficial'You know what's not funny?" said the comedian Chris Rock once. "Thinking about it." As if to prove the point, last weekend's P…
Opera is waking up to the power of video. For his new production of Don Giovanni, the Royal Opera House's Kasper Holten collaborated with a designer who turned U2 tours and the 2012 Olympics…
Simon McBurney thought operas were obscure, wooden and pointless. So what made him agree to direct The Magic Flute? Stuart Jeffries finds outSimon McBurney has a wild glint in his eye as he…
Margaret Thatcher idolised the Queen " but the monarch felt patronised by her prime minister. Playwright Moira Buffini tells Stuart Jeffries how her new work eavesdrops on their weekly meeti…
As he prepares for his Edinburgh festival show, David Sedaris talks about the things that scare him: hecklers in their 80s, the stench of enthusiasm " and the word 'loo'One day David Sedaris…
Comedian, actor, writer and director who came to prominence in satirical TV sketch show Not the Nine O'Clock NewsMel Smith was once upstaged by a talking gorilla. He was playing a zoologist …
Actor who became a household name in her 70s as Albert Square's indomitable matriarchWhen Anna Wing took on her most famous role, in EastEnders in 1985, the Sun ran the headline: "Enter the …
The actor famous for being game for anything talks about his passion for physical theatre, his attraction to strong directors " but declines to comment on the size of his penisWhen Willem Da…
For Tennessee Williams's troubling play about a fading movie star and her gigolo, the star of Sex and the City and director of War Horse had to face some uncomfortable truths'It's very painf…
For Tennessee Williams's troubling play about a fading movie star and her gigolo, the star of Sex and the City and director of War Horse had to face some uncomfortable truths Continue readin…
Sitcom star whose tragi-comic character Ted Bovis in Hi-de-Hi! was his great triumphIn one episode of the 1980s sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, the tragi-comic holiday camp crooner and funnyman Ted Bovis …
National Indoor Arena, Birmingham"Oh my God, Birmingham, England!" yelled Jerry Seinfeld as he came on stage suited and shouting as though he sought to sell us something disreputable. "Do yo…
The critics adore her and tomorrow she is up for an Olivier award. She is known for brave portrayals of emotional extremity, but Ruth Wilson says fear is the key to her acting'I wish I was m…
The artistic director of London's Tricycle Theatre is leaving after a 28-year tenure. So what next for the man who put real-life politics, from Iraq to last year's riots, on stage?On his fir…
Bond girl, fashion icon, renowned stage actor, Gurkha champion: Joanna Lumley has had a wonderful career. But it is her portrayal of Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous that is stamped on the nati…
Caryl Churchill's play may be regarded as a classic of political and feminist theatre, but I couldn't wait to leave. Was I missing something?Last week, a friend whispered to me: "This is ter…
Andrew Lloyd Webber's tame simulacrum of dark passion is now celebrating 25 years. This cultural juggernaut must be stoppedThe Phantom of the Opera is the most successful piece of entertainm…
Legendary actor and life-long activist Vanessa Redgrave on bad habits, brother Corin and why the battle for the beleaguered Travellers of Dale Farm matters so much to herWhen Corin Redgrave …
David Hare is one of Britain's most successful and political playwrights. His work has taken on everything from the invasion of Iraq to the global financial meltdown, yet today he finds hims…
Science and art are often considered opposites " so what happens when top practitioners in each field collaborate? The results, finds Stuart Jeffries, can be seismicYes, Leonardo da Vinci wa…
Janet Suzman was one of the giants of the British stage in the 60s and 70s. She might have made it in Hollywood too " if she hadn't looked so good in a tiara'See Pooh bear up there?" says Ja…