stage
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'Sell everything you have to get a ticket'UK critics give their verdict as the politically charged hip-hop musical makes its West End debut
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A Christmas Carol review – dreamlike Dickens at Windsor CastleMarley’s ghost narrates a nightmarish account of Scrooge’s transformation in the castle’s sumptuous state apartments -
Huppert and Irons are theatrical dynamite in Pinter's power gamesHonoured at a ceremony in Rome, the stars gave a supreme version of Ashes to Ashes – after a rather frosty reading of Albert Camus’s love letters to María Casares -
Ugly Duckling review – feathers fly in a plucky take on Andersen classicThe set is captivating and the standout moments are performed with swagger by Tutti Frutti, yet the heart of Hans Christian Andersen’s story feels lost
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John Kearns: ‘Every family home should have a copy of Roger’s Profanisaurus’The double Edinburgh comedy award winner on the things that make him laugh the most, from Barry Humphries to Monkey Trousers
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Puss in Boots at the Manchester Palace Theatre – archive, 194621 December 1946 The pantomime ritual should fulfil all the formalities and then blow them out into a balloon of nonsense with slapstick, gagging, and topical jokes
brexit shorts
talking points
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Royal Court reverses decision to cancel Rita, Sue and Bob TooAccusations of censorship prompt the theatre to go back on its cancellation and invite the production to return for its run
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From Calais to London and Paris: UK writers give new life to refugees’ theatreThe venue that entertained the razed camp’s migrants will reopen in France – as its playwright founders find acclaim at the Young Vic
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The top 10 dance shows of 2017Sgt Pepper strutted, Boris Charmatz gave us a buttock-scratching beauty and three men became Lady Macbeth – our critic picks the best dance of the year
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The top 10 comedy shows of 2017A virgin dominatrix whipped Edinburgh, Tim Key looked for love and Hannah Gadsby quit then won two awards. But only the snide, brutal brilliance of Frankie Boyle could triumph over the year’s horrors
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Sara Pascoe: ‘All my ex-boyfriends become vegan, and it’s really annoying’The comedian on food ethics, dieting – and running away to see Take That
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'Chinese burn? We just say burn': comics on joking about race and immigrationPhil Wang has a messy relationship with the British empire. Evelyn Mok felt dirty joking about her family. Kae Kurd riffs on being a refugee. Aisha Alfa was shocked to find she had a ‘black perspective’. They talk patriotism, stereotypes and stigmas
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Raw, urgent and confessional … but is it comedy?Having explored her depression and anxiety, the Danish comic is tackling childhood trauma. How do standups amuse an audience if even they don’t find their subject funny?
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Michael Billington's top 10 theatre of 2017Imelda Staunton simmered, Sondheim’s showgirls sizzled, Bryan Cranston gave us a cathode-ray Lear, and Jez Butterworth found love in the time of hunger-strikes
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Lyn Gardner's top 10 theatre of 2017Sarah Frankcom made Thorton Wilder’s small-town hymn Our Town sing in Manchester, a new British musical was full of feeling and Andrew Scott’s mercurial prince let us see Hamlet anew
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David Johnston, director of Theatre CentreDirector of Theatre Centre, a company for young people in north London
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Little Mermaid's feminist fairytale knocks the spots off Cruella and coA sophisticated Hans Christian Andersen adaptation in Bath leaves Birmingham Rep’s 101 Dalmatians and the New Vic’s Treasure Island in its wake as a trio of festive family shows open around the UK
from the archive
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Puss in Boots at the Manchester Palace Theatre – archive, 194621 December 1946 The pantomime ritual should fulfil all the formalities and then blow them out into a balloon of nonsense with slapstick, gagging, and topical jokes
pictures & video
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'I became a black man when I arrived in England'
Inua Ellams speaks about black masculinity, his story as an immigrant and how he channels anger into his art
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Addiction v art: the radical theatre in the heart of Crackland
As police yesterday yet again applied brute force to the residents of São Paulo's 1,000-strong encampment of addicts, a group of artists is trying something wildly different
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The poster art of the National TheatreAfter 54 years of enticing audiences into the stalls, the National Theatre’s posters are getting their own moment in the spotlight with an exhibition
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National Youth Dance Company performs in Hull
Forty of the UK's top young dancers take sequences from their latest Sadler's Wells production to various locations around Hull, this year's UK city of culture
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Will Young and Louise Redknapp in CabaretIn Rufus Norris’s revival of Kander and Ebb’s classic musical, Will Young reprises his role as the Emcee and Louise Redknapp stars as Sally Bowles
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The world of Bunny ChristieFrom mapping the journey of The Curious Incident’s teen hero to putting Shakespeare in prison and erecting a towering newsroom for Ink, Bunny Christie talks through five of her creations
you may have missed
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My childhood Christmas by Conchita Wurst, Carlos Acosta, Oti Mabuse and moreForget turkey, crackers and carols. Oti Mabuse has a barbecue on the beach, Alma hits the sauna, Sofie Hagen hunts for a marzipan pig and Conchita Wurst hides from Krampus the horned monster
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US president nukes the worldAntonia Fraser, the playwright’s wife, is always being asked what he would have made of Trump. Now we know – thanks to her discovery of a sketch about a gung-ho ‘Pres’ unleashing a nuclear attack
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Quiz: Which Christmas show are you?Should you book a trad Messiah or sing along with Mariah? Take our festive personality test to help you decide
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Soldier, financial guru, hip-hop legendLin-Manuel Miranda’s musical about the founding father is set to storm London. Often mistaken for a president, its hero engineered America and Britain’s special relationship, was rocked by a harassment scandal and got his face on the $10 bill
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How actors use perfumes to get into characterPlaying Thatcher? Dab on Bluebell. Got a part in Hairspray? Reach for the Madame Rochas. We lift the lid on how actors use smells to nail a role
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On fighting with Kenneth Williams and bouncing back after bankruptcyShe survived a violent upbringing to become the 60s’ favourite comedy vamp. As she turns 90, the star remembers fending off Norman Wisdom, attempting suicide – and having two lovers for 20 years
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Joanna Vanderham as Juliet: ‘The mask of night is on my face’Joanna Vanderham performs Juliet’s speech from the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet
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Riz Ahmed as Edmund: 'Now, gods, stand up for bastards'Riz Ahmed speaks Edmund’s soliloquy from King Lear, in which Edmund reflects upon being an illegitimate son and plots against his half-brother, Edgar
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Paterson Joseph as Shylock: 'You call me misbeliever'Paterson Joseph speaks Shylock’s lines from The Merchant of Venice, in which the moneylender reminds Antonio of the times he has insulted him
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Eileen Atkins as Emilia: ‘If wives do fall’Eileen Atkins speaks Emilia’s lines from Othello, act IV scene 3. Emilia, Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s maid, counsels Desdemona on marital fidelity
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Damian Lewis as Antony: 'Friends, Romans, countrymen'Damian Lewis performs Antony’s funeral oration for Julius Caesar from act III, scene 2 of Shakespeare’s tragedy
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Samuel West as Henry V: 'Upon the king'Samuel West speaks Henry V’s soliloquy on the night before battle, in which he reflects upon the public’s expectations of the king
Hamilton review – revolutionary musical a thrilling salute to America's immigrants