I’m jealous of guests attending the UK gala screening of Into the Woods tonight at London’s Curzon Mayfair cinema. Not for the celeb-spotting, paparazzi-dodging, canape-scarfing …
Here we are in week two of my new, non-theatrical blog challenge: to get Caitlin Moran to take notice of me and eventually become my best friend. And also to get me into the discipline of wr…
In this new year gorgefest of lists, The Stage‘s annually compiled Stage 100 of the top influencers in theatre takes the cake. Launched in January 1997, The Stage 100 is now in i…
Rounding up the best of the best of theatre 2014 highlights got me reflecting on my own year in theatre. Having unexpectedly left WhatsOnStage just before Christmas 2013, the shape and pace …
Can you keep up with all the 2014 theatrical year round-ups? I've rounded up the round-ups to give you a quick overview. The Guardian went ALL out looking back with a profusion of top 10 lis…
If your brain has started to turn to mush after too much turkey and mash, get yourself along to one of these four plays quick. I can personally recommend each for provoking serious thought, …
If your brain has started to turn to mush after too much turkey and mash, get yourself along to one of these four plays quick. I can personally recommend each for provoking serious thought, …
In April, I set myself a month-long challenge to learn and share something useful every day. (You can read them all in my What I Learned Today series.) Now I'm getting a jump on my New Year'…
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It's frightening how prescient Jack Thorne's Hope is. Just this week, new research released by the Labour Party showed that streetlights are being switched off in three-quarters of En…
If you want a white Christmas in London, even after the 25th, you may consider stopping in to see Aled Jones and Tom Chambers in Irving Berlin's White Christmas. However, for a thicker snowf…
Less than 24 hours before my scheduled post-show Q&A at the St James Theatre, I had a temperature of over 103° F (39.4° C). My boyfriend tells me I was semi-delirious. He contacted…
What a fantastic time to be a kid in Theatreland! Never mind the plethora of pantomimes, and the superlative programming year-round at the Unicorn and Polka Theatres, this holiday season in …
What’s caught your eye this week? Here are a few pieces and issues that have caught mine and may be worth a longer look for you too. Free tickets, like free lunches, are paid for in go…
I am fascinated and slightly bemused by the ongoing battle raging around theatre criticism: i.e. the "death" of serious print critics in favour of bloggers and the Twittersphere, which wa…
I'm playing catch-up. Here are four shows I caught before my turkey-filled escape to the States last week for Thanksgiving. All of which serve up entertaining evenings in the theatre. As usu…
Yesterday was the inaugural #LoveTheatre day. Run in partnership with Twitter UK, Guardian Culture Professionals Network and Culture Themes, it was widely embraced by theatres and theatre lo…
There are plenty of plays to choose from on London's fringe and Off-West End. Here are some that I've seen recently and am happy to recommend. As usual, I've listed them in closing date orde…
You may not have heard of octogenarian Sondra Lee, but you should have. This petite lady is a legend – and I had the privilege of chairing a Q&A with her along with Peter Tate and …
A note in the programme for Wildefire, Roy Williams' new play about the perils of modern-day policing at Hampstead Theatre, deftly summarises the public relations problem that the police for…
My partner Peter had vicious man-flu for over a week so it was only a matter of time until I caught the female equivalent, a.k.a the common cold. Yesterday morning, after a no-sleep night, I…
Most review publications rate shows on a five-star basis. But even full fives across the board from every theatre critic in the country won't guarantee a hit. So what does? Over his 30-odd y…
On Monday night, I had the pleasure of attending the second official gathering of the London theatre bloggers, an amorphous group of 30-odd who you can follow collectively at #LDNTheatreBlog…
My first thought when the folks behind a new musical based on Guy Fawkes tweeted me this morning was: what a great idea for a musical! My second thought was: why hasn't it been done befor…
In my Theatre Diary last week, I recommended two new musicals " Urinetown and The Scottsboro Boys, both originated in New York and given UK premiere productions Off-West End before transferr…