Basil Payne obituary
My father, the poet and writer Basil Payne, has died aged 88. Basil believed a poet's job was to act not as an oracle, but as a catalyst. He wanted his words to take the reader on a reflective journey of enlightenment, shaped by their own experience.He...
‘A life crammed with many separate talents’: Len Deighton remembers Ted Dicks
Tucked away behind the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, there is a row of hidden studios. During the second world war they were used by the Special Operations Executive to train agents who were about to be dropped into German-occupied Europe. Late...
Letters: JB Priestley remains a good companion
How prescient of the Guardian to remember JB Priestley (In praise of..., 27 January). At a time when so many of the postwar institutions that were founded on socialist principles of collective responsibility are being systematically dismantled by the c...
Rudi van Dantzig obituary
Choreographer of socially aware ballets who became a novelistThe choreographer and director Rudi van Dantzig, who has died of cancer aged 78, played a major role in the development of classical ballet in the Netherlands. He also had a second career, wh...
Jacobean tragedy: of love and death
With new productions of The Changeling and The Duchess of Malfi about to open, it seems we can't get enough of revenge tragediesIn a hushed, darkened room inside London's Young Vic theatre, two young people are about to make a terrible mistake. The wom...
Noises off: What are stories for? And what’s producing all about?
This week, bloggers were getting back to the very basics of what theatre is about – and not just on the stageWhat are stories for? Poet and children's writer Michael Rosen isn't talking directly about drama, but his question gets to the heart of the ...
National Theatre claims victory over Spielberg in War Horse race
Artistic director Nicholas Hytner says War Horse will prove more profitable for his theatre than it will for the film director's studioGiven the choice between a hit West End play and a successful Hollywood blockbuster, most producers would doubtless p...
Portrait of the artist: Caroline Quentin, actor
'I could name on one hand the things I've done that are OK. The rest are rubbish'What got you started?I started as a hoofer and all-round chorus girl. I did my first ballet lesson when I was three, then trained as a dancer and went into pantomimes...
Authors and activists condemn decision to deport Cameroonian playwright
Home secretary urged not to deport Lydia Besong and her husband, who fear they will be persecuted in CameroonBestselling authors and leading human rights figures have joined forces to condemn the UK Border Agency's decision to deport a Cameroonian play...
Lovesong; The Table; A Christmas Carol – review
Lyric Hammersmith; Soho; Arts, LondonLike love itself, Lovesong can take your breath away. This collaboration between the writing of Abi Morgan and the choreography of Frantic Assembly's Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett teeters on the brink of mawkishne...
The Kreutzer Sonata – review
Gate, LondonThe man on the train makes it quite clear that he is not a music lover. Yet he cannot escape it; music leaks into his mind. For this is Pozdynyshev, the anti-hero of Tolstoy's banned 1889 novella, who has used Beethoven's great sonata for p...
In praise of … JB Priestley | Editorial