Anthony Page obituary Stage and screen director behind landmark productions of Samuel Beckett, John Osborne and Edward Albee The Guardian - UK · Sep 18
Phyllida Law obituary Actor with a long career in theatre and on television who was known for the subtle quality of her work The Guardian - UK · Aug 18
TV tonight: a hugely entertaining series about the Roswell alien autopsy A study in obsession and delusion explores the origin of the scandal. Plus: can Dolly Parton unite the US? Here’s what to watch this evening The Guardian - UK · Jun 12
Hoppers to Nomadland: the seven best films to watch on TV this week The latest Pixar is a gloriously cute eco-tale packed with neat gags, robotic beavers and shark assassins named Diane … plus, Frances McDormand is astonishing in the Oscar-winning drama that is an instant classic The Guardian - UK · Jun 5
Britain’s complicity with Israel in Lebanon and the West Bank Letters: Alexandra Lucas asks what has to happen for our government to act, rather than simply condemn Benjamin Netanyahu, while John Deards notes Alan Bennett’s prescience on Donald Trump The Guardian - UK · Apr 14
Desmond Barrit obituary Character actor of energetic comic brilliance, notably as Falstaff at the RSC and in Alan Bennett’s The History Boys The Guardian - UK · Apr 2
A gleaming tribute to Mary Rand’s gold Brief letters: Long-jump marker | Alan Bennett’s call-up | Light news | Lashings | Socialist sunshine The Guardian - UK · Mar 31
Enough Said by Alan Bennett review – a man for all seasons Nostalgia, shame and gossip from Alan Bennett in the fourth instalment of his diaries The Guardian - UK · Mar 24
Tales of the Suburbs by John Grindrod review – queer goings on behind the curtains From ‘gaybours’ to treasure hunts in Tunbridge Wells, a tragicomic history of LGBTQ life outside the big city The Guardian - UK · Mar 5
‘We thought Midnight Cowboy might end everybody’s career’: the diverse, disruptive, Oscar-winning cinema of John Schlesinger In the 60s and 70s, he pioneered kitchen-sink drama and made bisexuality mainstream. So why did the director end up making Tory ads? Those who knew him best reveal all The Guardian - UK · Feb 13
‘We are no longer apologising’: Éanna Hardwicke on Ireland’s cultural confidence and what it’s like to play Roy Keane Currently on stage in a play that provoked riots, the rising Irish actor is also stepping into Keane’s boots to replay a notorious footballing feud. But, he says, his country feels more empowered than ever before The Guardian - UK · Dec 28, 2025
Books to look out for in 2026 – nonfiction Memoirs from Liza Minnelli and Lena Dunham, essays by David Sedaris and Alan Bennett’s diaries are among the highlights of the year ahead The Guardian - UK · Dec 25, 2025
All children should have access to arts education Letters: Readers respond to an article by Martin Kettle about the impact of educational inequality on Britain’s cultural sector The Guardian - UK · Dec 22, 2025
The Standard Theatre Awards Shortlist 2025 revealed Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston and Rachel Zegler are shortlisted as the Standard’s historic celebration of the stage returns Evening Standard · Nov 28, 2025
The Conversation · Nov 14, 2025 The Choral: this moving first world war film reveals the power of music to transcend despair Set in the Oxfordshire village of Ramsden in 1916, The Choral inhabits a world where the war is distant – yet its shadow lies over every street. Many of the young men are gone to the front, their names echoing through the church and village hall. Those left behind hover…
The Guardian - UK · Nov 7, 2025 From fiasco to feted: the story of the Dream of Gerontius, the revolutionary music of The Choral The Choral depicts an amateur choral society in wartime Yorkshire taking on Elgar’s trailblazing and controversial work. But how much does Alan Bennett’s fiction reflect actual fact?
The Guardian - UK · Nov 6, 2025 The Choral review – Ralph Fiennes leads the choir in impressively unsentimental Alan Bennett fable Genteel manners of first world war story about repressed passion delivered with surprising sexual candour
The Guardian - UK · Oct 31, 2025 ‘I’ve played a lot of sneery bastards’: Roger Allam on bad singing, big paydays and Elgar’s level of ‘gitacity’ He launched a thousand memes as the beleaguered Tory MP in The Thick of It, and starred in the original production of Les Misérables. Now the actor is making not-so-sweet music in the Alan Bennett-scripted film The Choral. But there are plenty of things he draws the line at …
Evening Standard · Oct 28, 2025 ‘National treasure’ Prunella Scales remembered as a ‘gifted human being’ The actress has died at the age of 93.
The Guardian - UK · Oct 28, 2025 Prunella Scales was a queen of comedy with a passion for classical theatre The actor best known as TV’s Sybil Fawlty dazzled over five decades on stage, in roles from from Shakespeare to Alan Bennett
Evening Standard · Oct 28, 2025 Prunella Scales will forever be known as the long-suffering wife of Basil Fawlty Although she was regularly cast in comic roles, her abilities ranged far more widely than that – she even appeared in opera.
The Conversation · Oct 6, 2025 Why the BBC’s Shipping Forecast still entrances people after 100 years Like afternoon tea, red pillar boxes and bracing walks on crisp autumn days, there is something reassuringly British about the Shipping Forecast, broadcast twice a day on Radio 4, and three times at weekends.
The Guardian - UK · Oct 3, 2025 From Hyacinth Bucket to Alan Bennett’s muse: Patricia Routledge’s utterly unique TV career She wowed in Coronation Street, inspired Victoria Wood and in Keeping Up Appearances transformed a grotesque comic creation into a character we’ll never forget. Routledge was a talent like no other
The Guardian - UK · Oct 3, 2025 Dame Patricia Routledge obituary Formidable and versatile actor best known for her comic turn as the snobbish Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances
The Guardian - US · Sep 5, 2025 The Choral review – Ralph Fiennes makes pleasant music in low-volume drama The actor is a reliably committed presence in this gentle Alan Bennett-scripted first world war tale which might have worked better on stage