Scary Christmas shows

It was the blow job joke that did it.

Admittedly, the RSC’s new winter show, The Heart of Robin Hood, had signalled from the …

Theatre embraces old age

Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, currently running at the Young Vic, is a feast of quotable lines and memorable scenes. But of all …

The secret of great sets? Less is more

When was the last time you looked up the name of the set designer in your theatre programme? I did so only last week, at …

Wild mothers and mild daughters

Julie was delighted when I told her I was getting married, but there was a flash of amusement in her smile.

“What?”

“It’s just that …

Is your reading suffering from multimedia overload?

Two years ago, I had a very straightforward reading pattern. Every few days, I’d read a book. I would immerse myself in its characters and …

Premature evacuation

Eddie Izzard didn’t look happy, and I wasn’t surprised. He’d been riffing his comedic heart out for the past two hours, he’d finished with a …

Can quirky West End theatres survive?

We love to moan about the West End. There are the prices (of programmes and over-packaged cashews, not just …

Does theatre absolve us of responsibility?

In the past few weeks, I’ve seen more evidence than ever that the recession has injected a shot of adrenalin into theatre land. Three “state …

Bonding with books

Lunchtime. Parked beside the window in the Covent Garden branch of a well-known café chain, drinking horrible tea just so I can escape the rain …

When did a story last change you?

I’d never heard of William P Young’s US-chart-topping novel The Shack until I got it free on the front of a magazine (I know, I know. …

Why are the British so shy about sex onstage?

Why do the British find sex such a difficult subject to stage? Watching Michael Grandage’s new production of Madame de Sade, you’d be forgiven for …

The joy of anti-social media

The latest GoodReads newsletter is staring balefully out at me from my inbox, bolded and unread. Below it is an invite from a semi-friend to join …

The best theatre bars

In the UK, theatre and alcohol go together like Falstaff and sack. When 16th-century companies of roving players visited a town, chances were they’d end …

Do you have a seasonal reading pattern?

Are you currently reading something that might be described as “richly textured”, “sumptuous”, “heart-warming” or “a book to curl up with by the fire“? …

Books we knew before we could read

“There is always one moment in childhood”, wrote that modern master of the soulful soundbite, Kahlil Gibran, “when the door opens and lets the future …