Monthly Archives: October 2014

Actresses, very rightly, complain that there are not enough roles for them; and this is particularly true in Shakespeare. The answer is, surely, not to have women pretending to be men, but to change the sex of the role? Phyllida … Continue reading →

If Oscar Wilde had not been so foolish as to bring an action of criminal libel against the Marquess of Queensberry he would not have been sentenced to two years hard labour and died at 46. The highly dramatic script … Continue reading →

Ayub Khan-Din’s account of an Anglo-Asian family growing up in white working-class Salford in the 1970’s is now as much a period piece as are those other Salford comedies, Hobson’s Choice, Love on the Dole and A Taste of Honey. … Continue reading →

This is a version of Chekhov’s play by Anya Reiss, who, in a Q&A published in the programme (which I unfortunately read just before the play started), admits that the plays of Chekhov never grabbed her when she was a … Continue reading →

Matthew Bourne and Scott Ambler’s eagerly awaited version of William Golding’s powerful and disturbing parable has to be seen for what it is: an immensely worthy project to engage young people through dance. 8,000 boys and young men will have … Continue reading →

In the Middle Ages Jesus used to appear regularly in plays. In the last 100 years Jesus has appeared mainly on film and television and also in two highly popular musicals. Alec McCowen once learned the whole of St Mark’s … Continue reading →

A Hollywood producer has to make a choice between a brainless blockbuster and an art house ecological film. Who cares about artistic integrity? What is the sense in making a film nobody is going to watch? David Mamet, master of … Continue reading →

Can writing be taught? Are creative writing courses a waste of time? American playwright Theresa Rebeck writes about four aspiring twentysomething writers, who each pay $5,000 to be humiliated by a once famous novelist who runs weekly seminars on creative … Continue reading →