stage
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The sold-out hit Broadway musical gets a cast shakeup after three leads leave next month – but an upcoming PBS film will give fans a taste of the original cast
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Jessica Lang’s rippling Wink, inspired by the sonnets, leads a set of pieces paying tribute to the great playwright
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Comedians tend to apologise for making any highbrow references in their material. I wish more felt at ease quoting poetry like Liam Williams
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In getting to parts that other arts don’t reach, outdoor shows attract audiences that genuinely represent the wider population, as a new study finds
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The words of a treasured letter ring in Miranda’s ears as she explores her island home in this re-imagining of The Tempest, written and directed by Teresa Griffiths and narrated by Anne-Marie Duff
talking points
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Shows such as Philip Ridley’s Karagula aim to entice audiences with the promise of a mysterious venue. All too often, this has little relevance to the play itself
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Circus is a celebration of being alive – so what happens when acrobats perform in a graveyard? Yaron Lifschitz of the Australian ensemble talks about the dusk staging of their eerie new piece, Depart
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Lin-Manuel Miranda’s show is the latest daring, original musical to emerge in the US. Britain lags behind – but the roots of a revival are in place
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Lots of ‘successful’ directors need a second source of income. Unless fees improve, it will become a career solely for those who can afford it
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Laura Carmichael speaks Portia’s lines from the courtroom scene in The Merchant of Venice, in which she tells the moneylender Shylock to be merciful
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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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Jaques’s speech about the seven ages of man from As You Like It is performed by Zawe Ashton
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Samuel West speaks Henry V’s soliloquy on the night before battle, in which he reflects upon the public’s expectations of the king
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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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David Threlfall speaks Prospero’s speech in which the sorcerer contemplates the end of life – and the playwright, perhaps, considers the end of his career
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She helped Scott shake his hips like a rock god in Birdland and set Fiennes boogying in A Bigger Splash. For actors, choreographer Ann Yee has all the right moves
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From Bill Murray to The Day Today, the comedian reveals the things he finds funniest
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The Arrested Development star is undoubtedly an adept comic but his political show lacks complexity and suffers from punchlines that strain to shock
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The emphasis is relentlessly below the waist in a frank show ostensibly about the comedian embracing rural life
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The fringe lineup is out: try Robert Newman’s Brain Show, Josie Long’s investigations and Michelle Wolf, one of Chris Rock’s Oscars speechwriters
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Evangelical hedge fund manager Jonathan Ruffer bought Auckland Castle for £15m. Now he’s putting on his first show – with flaming arrows, jousting knights and a 1,000-strong cast
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Still Here recalls real-life journey of Christian refugee in Calais camp who fled Eritrea after being persecuted for his faith
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The Donmar Warehouse chief on directing a darkly witty drama about our destiny as a nation – and why it reminds her of The West Wing
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Twenty years after the Manchester bombing, the immersive theatre show On Corporation Street looks at those caught in the chaos – from the man having a haircut to the couple getting married
polls & quizzes
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As Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet gets an NT Live broadcast, test your knowledge of Shakespeare’s princely tragedy
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Sometimes the description of a character in the stage directions says as much as lines of dialogue. Do you recognise these eight figures as described by the playwrights who created them?
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The hit QI podcast No Such Thing As a Fish separates quite interesting facts from quite impossible ones. But can you tell which of these statements are true or false?
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Broadway sensation, TV detective and three-time Oscar nominee Angela Lansbury turns 90 in October. See if you can detect the correct answers in our quiz
from the archive
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Patrick Marber 'I’ve written a play about sex that people quite like – that doesn’t make me Dr Ruth'
From the archive: In this 1997 article, the Closer playwright talks about his days as a standup and how theatre is just ‘a stab in the dark’
pictures & video
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It’s a glorious summer of Richard IIIs with Ralph Fiennes playing the role at the Almeida in London and Lars Eidinger starring in the Schaubühne’s production at the Edinburgh festival. Here are some of the many actors who have tackled Shakespeare’s villain
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In this archive video, filmed in 2015, Alan Rickman remembers visiting the Royal Court as a teenager and taking Rachel Corrie’s parents to see the play based on their daughter’s diaries
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Battersea Arts Centre commissioned Tom de Freston to create a bedroom for its resident artists – he responded by covering himself in paint to evoke a blend of King Lear and wild storms
you may have missed
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The fringe programme is out today – so here’s a venue-by-venue look at some of this year’s highlights across the Edinburgh festival
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popular
Pas de deux with Veronese in Venice