FORGOTTEN HISTORY: 3 - Caught on Camera

James McArdle: ‘There’s ego in theatre too! It’s vanities across the board’

INTERVIEW: The Scottish star of ‘Playing Nice’ and ‘Sexy Beasts’ speaks to Annabel Nugent about his new play at the National, sexy accents, and whether fans can ever expect a second season of ‘Mare of Easttown’

The Independent UK · Sep 15, 2025

Our understanding of lightning has been driven by fear and shaped by curiosity

Playwright Tom Stoppard, in Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are Dead, provides one of the best definitions of science: “The scientific approach to the examination of phenomena is a defence against the pure emotion of fear.”

The Conversation · Sep 7, 2025

Ray Brooks obituary

Star of Cathy Come Home and The Knack who later appeared in EastEnders and was the voice of Mr Benn

The Guardian - UK · Aug 11, 2025

The week in theatre: G; The Spy Who Came in from the Cold; The Real Thing – review

Reality is up for debate in Tife Kusoro’s rapid-fire new drama, David Eldridge’s nuanced take on John le Carré, and Tom Stoppard’s most loving play

The Guardian - UK · Sep 8, 2024

The Real Thing review – Tom Stoppard’s gem still shines

Passion and art are dissected in tricksy style in a production that manages to wrongfoot the audience

The Guardian - UK · Sep 4, 2024

The Real Thing review: Tom Stoppard’s 1982 play is the writer at his most brilliant and infuriating

James McArdle and Bel Powley star in the Old Vic’s revival of Stoppard’s tricksy, self-parodical play, but it feels dated to watch middle class couples being beastly to each other in beige living rooms

The Independent UK · Sep 4, 2024

The Real Thing at the Old Vic review: James McArdle is a revelation in this Stoppard play

Though it suffers from dated references, the script’s intelligence and passion shines through

Evening Standard · Sep 4, 2024

‘You never really know if it’s the real thing’: Bel Powley on love and Stoppard

From The Diary of a Teenage Girl to her latest stage role, the actor is drawn to projects about the tangle of sex and the messy parts of relationships

The Guardian - UK · Aug 16, 2024

Rock’n’Roll review – Tom Stoppard’s blast from the past

Stoppard’s 2006 play asks important ideological questions with typically fizzing wordplay but its growling, feral energy comes too late

The Guardian - UK · Dec 13, 2023

Rock ‘N’ Roll at Hampstead Theatre review: Some rip-roaring Stoppard writing but can we crank the volume up?

The revival of a big, weird, fascinating play suppresses more than it ignites

Evening Standard · Dec 13, 2023