Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett’s modern classic The History Boys will make a return to stage in the 20th anniversary production opening at Theatre Royal Bath with performances from Thursday 22 August – Saturday 31 August prior to a national tour. 

My father’s mom died in 1955.  After my own mother passed away fifty-one years later, one of my sisters asked my father the following question: “How long did it take you to get over the loss of your mother?”  My father, now an old man, pondered the question, remembering his mother who had died a half century earlier, then answered quite succinctly but with a sad smile: “I’ll let you know.”

A show about puppets and sex? There are some obvious gags here, not least are their relationships based on “no strings”? Thankfully, Blind Summit artistic director Mark Down and his co-director and co-writer Ben Keaton eschew the corny and porny in this series of emotive vignettes.

The script of 1979 first came to me in 2019 and if I’m honest, despite loving the play, I wanted to run a mile from anything political at that time. In short, politics was in a very ugly place and it felt like people were fed up to the back teeth with it.

Less a bust up of two of the 20th century’s great British artists, Perfection, of a Kind: Britten vs Auden is a celebration of the artists’ curious friendship, and shared artistic virtuosity. Deftly curated musical and poetic extracts from Auden and a young Britten, it is left up to us to decide how much of Auden’s almost paternal influence rubbed off on the composer.

When toxic tradition clashes with inevitable progress, the very structure of the crème de la crème of higher education comes into question. Matt Parvin’s Gentlemen is the cerebral lovechild of Laura Wade’s Posh and Alan Bennett’s The History Boys whose third cousin once removed is Mamet’s Oleanna. Directed by Richard Speir, it’s a cynical glance at the unhealthy microcosmos of the Oxbridge lot.

The Mono Box’s extensive play and audio monologue libraries to be donated to Northern Academy of Performing arts, Powerhouse, Theatre503 and Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass Trust. Learn more about the collection here!

Sir Michael Gambon, who had an acting career that took him from Laurence Olivier’s nascent National Theatre to screen roles in the Harry Potter films, has died at the age of 82.

Scarborough Theatre Company brings its joyous new production of Betty Blues Eyes to the town’s Stephen Joseph Theatre next month. Learn more about the production and find out how to get tickets here!

On Sunday 5 November, City of London Sinfonia and the London Review of Books will present an unmissable evening of music and words exploring the musical-literary collaborations and collisions between two of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, Benjamin Britten and W.H Auden.

54 BELOW will welcome back War Paint star Christine Ebersole and piano virtuoso Billy Stritch in I’ll be Home For Christmas on December 12-17 at 7pm. Learn more about the concert and find out how to get tickets here!

From pop-rock musicals to queer cabaret icons, cult classics to murder mysteries, and even Ghanian acrobatics alongside a cappella anthems. With over 50 new shows gracing the stages this week, seize the opportunity to take a chance and discover something that will entice, excite, and thoroughly entertain you at theSpaceUK.

Leeds Playhouse has revealed the official production photos from IN DREAMS starring Broadway’s Lena Hall and the West End’s Oliver Tompsett as the world premiere of the brand-new musical opens in Leeds. Get a first look at the production below!

Tickets for the North American premiere of IN DREAMS, a new musical featuring the songs of Roy Orbison, will go on sale Wednesday June 28 at 10:00 a.m.

Original Theatre, the multi-award-winning live and digital theatre company, has revamped the way in which it presents online theatre with the launch of its new digital membership scheme. Replacing the previous pay-per-production system, it will be available on a monthly or annual subscription basis.

Original Theatre, the multi-award-winning live and digital theatre company, has revamped the way in which it presents online theatre with the launch of its new digital membership scheme.

A new show for young children featuring the famous walrus which visited Scarborough last Christmas has been announced alongside a season of visiting shows at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Leading Broadway and West End musical theatre actors Lena Hall and Oliver Tompsett are to star in the new musical In Dreams, written by Emmy and Golden Globe-winning and Olivier Award-nominated David West Read (Writer and Executive Producer Schitt’s Creek, Author & Juliet) which will premiere at Leeds Playhouse from 3 July – 5 August.   

Insightful, comical, and wonderfully presented, The Habit of Art by Original Theater is now being performed at 59E59 Theaters.