Simon Annand

Sir Mark Rylance revisits his extraordinary Rooster Byron in a play that vibrates differently than when first staged in an England almost unrecognisable from the England of today

The thrilling experience of seeing actors live on stage is under threat during the present Covid restrictions. This new book reminds us of what we are missing while theatres are closed. Through the eyes of this legendary photographer we observe how performers get ready to astonish their audiences.

Need something new to read or listen to? Check out this week's list of new and upcoming releases! This week's newly-announced releases include music from Forbidden Broadway, the cast recording for A Killer Party, and more.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary with a ceremony held in the iconic Grand Hall of Battersea Arts Centre on Sunday 8 March 2020, the Off West End Awards once again celebrated the best of independent, fringe and alternative theatres across London.

Production images are released today for the UK premiere of Will Eno's Drama Desk Award winning play The Realistic Joneses, now running at the Ustinov Studio until Saturday 7 March with opening night for press this evening. The full cast includes Corey Johnson as Bob, Sharon Small as Jennifer, Jack Laskey as John and Clare Foster as Pony. The production is the latest from Theatre Royal Bath Productions and is directed by Simon Evans.

Production images are released today for the UK premiere of Hansol Jung's Wild Goose Dreams which marks the first of the three new premieres to open at the Ustinov Studio from Theatre Royal Bath Productions. Michael Boyd directs Hansol Jung's fascinating and unforgettable twenty-first century love story, Wild Goose Dreams which receives its UK premiere in the Ustinov Studio direct from an acclaimed off-Broadway run. The production stars Jessie Baek, Jon Chew, Rick Kiesewetter, London Kim, Vincent Lai, Chuja Seo, Momo Yeung and Crystal Yu.

A major new photography exhibition by world renowned photographer Simon Annand will present rare images of the privacy actors experience backstage in the half hour before performing on the stage a?" the intense transformation from everyday life that is completely hidden from the audience. To celebrate their 25th anniversary as a prestigious multi-arts organisation, The Half opens this September at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield.

The pretense begins as the audience walks into the auditorium. It's as the warm smell of perfect nearly-burnt toast hits their noses that the good-hearted and fluffy nature of Toast reveals itself. Based on Nigel Slater's homonymous memoir, Henry Filloux-Bennett's bakes a play with enough nostalgia and hopefulness to feed a crowd.

Theatre Royal Bath Productions today releases production images for The Omission of the Family Coleman, the award-winning absurdist comedy by Claudio Tolcachir, in a new version by Stella Feehily and directed by Laurence Boswell. The play has its UK premiere at Theatre Royal Bath's Ustinov Studio where it runs until Saturday 27 April with opening night for press on 3 April.

Get a first look below at the UK premiere of Blue Door, Tanya Barfield's searing play with music which examines family, identity and the African-American male experience. First seen in the US in 2006, the UK stage premiere, directed by Eleanor Rhode and starring  Ray Fearon and Fehinti Balogun, has its opening night for press this evening and will run at Theatre Royal Bath's Ustinov Studio until 9 March.

From mathematics professor Lewis's insomnia and amnesia plagued night emerges a poetic, fragmented and poignant reflection on race, forgetfulness, and legacy enlightened by two fine performances in a thoughtfully directed production from Eleanor Rhode as part of the Ustinov Studio's UK premieres from the Americas.

Timon of Athens, at times a clunky collaboration and a clunkier mix of verse and prose, has much to say about how money corrupts and how spoiling adults is about as advisable as spoiling children. There's something of King Lear about it - but probably not enough.

Theatre Royal Bath Productions today releases production images for the UK premiere of Donald Margulies' award-winning black comedy The Model Apartment. The opening production in the Ustinov Studio's new Season of UK Premieres from the Americas is directed by Laurence Boswell and will run until 22 December with opening night for press on 28 November, starring Emily Bruni, Ian Gelder, Enyi Okoronkwo and Diana Quick.

Kathryn Hunter returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company to take on the titular role in Timon of Athens. Simon Godwin's production marks the first time this play has been staged with a female lead at the RSC. Kathryn, however, is no stranger to taking on such parts.

Theatre for a New Audience kicks off its 2018-2019 season with the U.S. premiere of The Emperor, featuring virtuosic shape-shifting actor Kathryn Hunter and Ethiopian musician Temesgen Zeleke, founder of Krar Collective. Walter Meierjohann directs this parable about power in decline-an adaptation by Colin Teevan of Ryszard Kapuscinski's celebrated and controversial 1978 book of the same title, about the downfall of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie.

Michelle Terry's first season at the Globe continues apace, with what some will have marked out as a highlight since its announcement back in January. Mark Rylance returns to the Globe stage, once again directed by Claire van Kampen, starring as Iago alongside American actor Andre Holland in the title role. This is another strand in Terry's Emilia arc, which will culminate in Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's new play about Shakespeare's 'Dark Lady', Emilia Bassano.

Shakespeare's Globe has announced full casting for Othello, directed by Claire van Kampen, opening in The Globe on Friday 20 July.

Somewhere in Europe the kingdom is disintegrating. It's the last day of King Berenger's life. Queen Marguerite is preparing for the end and Queen Marie is in denial. The King is 400 years old and dying, but he's clinging on for dear life...

Exit the King at the National Theatre has a beautiful design and wonderful performances from some of the cast, but it ultimately falls flat. While Patrick Marber's new version of Eugene Ionesco's absurdist drama about a dying king has its good moments, it seems to drag on for a play that is only an hour and forty minutes long.

Somewhere in Europe the kingdom is disintegrating. It's the last day of King Berenger's life. Queen Marguerite is preparing for the end and Queen Marie is in denial. The King is 400 years old and dying, but he's clinging on for dear life...