John Betjeman News

Gary Naylor sees a musical that captures the charm of its inspiration, A Midsummer Night's Dream, but is slightly let down by inconsistent singing.

The London-based Shakespeare's Globe will bring their global touring production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet to Folger Theatre for three performances only this weekend, July 25 and 26, 2014, making it the only east coast stop for the company in the United States. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst, the production is a fresh, pared-down version of the classic tragedy of deferred revenge.

The windows in St Mary's Church, Fairford, represent the most complete set of medieval stained glass windows in any parish church in England. They were described by the Chair of the National Trust Sir Simon Jenkins as: "One of England's out-standing galleries of Church art" and the late Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman, chose the lower half of the Great West Window as the luxury he wished to take to his desert island when he appeared on BBC radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

The London-based Shakespeare's Globe will bring their global touring production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet to Folger Theatre for three performances only on July 25 and 26, 2014, making it the only east coast stop for the company in the United States. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst, the production is a fresh, pared-down version of the classic tragedy of deferred revenge.

Gary Naylor sees a play about a flawed poet and one of the women he loved.

The world's last surviving Grand Music Hall - Wilton's Music Hall in London's East End - has been awarded a grant of £1.85 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to secure the five Georgian houses that make up the front of Wilton's. This will complete the full preservation of the building, following the re-opening of the fabulously repaired Grand Hall in February 2013, finally saving fully this Grade II* listed internationally significant building from ruin.

In 2005 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatres sold his four playhouses, the Lyric, Apollo, Garrick and Duchess theatres to Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer who formed Nimax Theatres Limited, adding the Vaudeville Theatre in 2008. Today Burns and Weitzenhoffer are also the proud owners of the spectacular Palace Theatre with its prime location on Shaftesbury Avenue, currently home to Stage Entertainment's hit revival of Chichester Festival Theatre's Singin' in the Rain.

The Stage reports exclusively today that Andrew Lloyd Webber is close to inking a deal with a group headed by Michael Grade, the former BBC and ITV chairman. According to the report: 'The Stage understands that a deal was agreed earlier this week- believed to be in the region of £50 million - for a consortium led by Grade and theatrical agent Michael Linnit to purchase the New London, Palace, Cambridge and Her Majesty's theatres in London....Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group will retain ownership of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London Palladium and its 50% stake in the Adelphi Theatre, which is co-owned with US company Nederlander.'

As part of the Wilton Music Hall's 150 Anniversary celebration, internationally celebrated actress Fiona Shaw will reprise her acclaimed performance in TS Eliot's The Waste Land in a limited engagement performance at the venue from December 30, 2009 to January 10, 2010 at the venue.

As part of the Wilton Music Hall's 150 Anniversary celebration, internationally celebrated actress Fiona Shaw will reprise her acclaimed performance in TS Eliot's The Waste Land in a limited engagement performance at the venue from December 30, 2009 to January 10, 2010 at the venue.

Nigel Harman stars alongside Robert Daws and Steven Webb in Public Property, the darkly comic tale of a newsreader engaged in a fierce powerplay with his publicist as the paparazzi bay at the door.