The Great Gatsby – review
Wilton's Music Hall, LondonRecognisably Gatsby, but certainly not great, this stage version of F Scott Fitzgerald's story aches with promise unfulfilled. The audience is encouraged to dress up 1920s style; there is alcohol served in jam jars, and Bosto...
Gatz: The greater Gatsby
A performance of every word of F Scott Fitzgerald's jazz era classic, Gatz lasts a marathon eight hours (with a break for dinner). How do the actors manage it?On paper it looks like punishment: an eight-hour stage production (albeit with a dinner ...
Michael Frayn: ‘I’m never going to write anything again…’
…but that's what the veteran playwright and novelist always says. And his latest novel, a laugh-out-loud farce set on a Greek island, gives no hint of being his last wordReviewers will often say a book made them laugh out loud, when what they mean
Seven days on stage: the Cultural Olympiad unveils its full lineup
Tim Minchin and Stephen Fry are among the new Cultural Olympiad acts, while protestors take to the stage at Stratford-upon-Avon and encourage audiences to rip up their seatsStarter's ordersAfter more than a few false dawns, the Cultural Olympiad finall...
From the archive, 25 April 1890: Life and times of a long-forgotten dramatist
Watts Phillips, a 19th century English dramatist, never achieved the fame of his contemporaries, but lived the life of a great man of lettersIn a small book just issued of disjointed reminiscences of Watts Phillips, the author of "The Dead Heart," his ...
Kidnapped – review
Eastgate, PeeblesRobert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel is a lot for a dramatist to contain on stage. It kicks off at the creepy House of Shaws, where the recently orphaned David Balfour finds himself at the mercy of an acquisitive uncle, before taking us...
World Shakespeare festival: at-a-glance interactive map
To mark the launch of the World Shakespeare festival we've created an interactive guide to the countries involved, plotting all our coverage through the summerMarishka Van Steenbergen
The Humorist by Russell Kane – review
Russell Kane's debut novel revolves around a secret formula for comedy, but his own humour falls flatIs Russell Kane brewing over a bad review? His debut novel is narrated by a tormented, repellent comedy critic who can deconstruct jokes in a flash but...
World Shakespeare festival: around the Globe in 37 plays
The World Shakespeare festival, with performances from across the globe in nearly 50 languages, begins this weekend. Andrew Dickson travelled to India to watch rehearsals for a Bollywood version of Twelfth Night and an All's Well about the opium trade ...
Jean Benedetti
Biographer of Konstantin Stanislavski, he was also a translator, director and dramatistJean Benedetti, who has died aged 81, combined several theatrical careers in one. The former principal of Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, in Sidcup,...
Angelin Preljocaj: Who’s the kinkiest of them all?
He did a totalitarian Romeo and Juliet and turned Casanova into a VD nightmare. Now choreographer Angelin Preljocaj has given Snow White a dominatrix for a stepmotherAngelin Preljocaj has a touching way of remembering his dancers. Down at his mode...
Mark Rylance to co-write play with Louis Jenkins
Rylance has used poems by Jenkins as award speeches. Now the two will collaborate on a new play, Nice Fish, to premiere in Minneapolis next yearOn both occasions that Mark Rylance has won a Tony award, he has read out a poem by Louis Jenkins. Now the ...
