Monthly Archives: May 2014

TITUS ANDRONICUS, the least performed of all Shakespeare’s plays, is sheer melodrama. Relentless and grotesque, it is far too crude for tragedy. Ben Jonson dismissed it as “blood and thunder.” Audiences in the 1590’s relished the brutality and black comedy. … Continue reading →

There are two sets of parents: one Christian, the other atheist. The Christians take the atheists into their home when the atheists’ house is waterlogged during a flood. A child dies. Who is responsible? Scott Graham, artistic director and founder … Continue reading →

The abduction of the Sabine women by the Romans, as related by Livy and Plutarch, has inspired not only some great paintings but also Stanley Donen’s much-loved Hollywood musical. Sixty years on it is still worth seeing just for the … Continue reading →

We live, for better, for worse, in a digital age which has no respect for privacy. Edward Snowden’s revelations that the UK and US governments regularly spy on us is alarming. But not surprising. George Orwell warned us years ago … Continue reading →

Arthur Wing Pinero’s society drama has not been seen in London since its revival in 1900 and is chiefly remembered for a notorious scene in which the heroine (a role famously created by Mrs Patrick Campbell) throws a Bible into … Continue reading →

Theatregoers owe an enormous debt to Sam Walters, who is retiring as artistic director of the charming in-the-round Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. He has been discovering overlooked plays by such playwrights as Granville Barker, Arthur Murphy, Rodney Ackland, John … Continue reading →

Oscar Wilde’s Gothic novella is remarkably prophetic of his downfall and certain passages (with hindsight) read as if he were expressing his worst fears. The story’s popularity is undimmed. The novella, first published in 1890, has been translated into every … Continue reading →