Local News
Jane Lapotaire was a sensation as Edith Piaf – and a majestic actor you’d never regret seeing on stage
Lapotaire’s portrayal of the French singer transcended impersonation and she revealed her instinctive intelligence in Shakespeare, Chekhov, Ibsen and much moreJane Lapotaire, who has died aged 81, will always be identified with the title role in Pam Gems’s play Piaf. Opening at Stratford’s the...
Local messages
Jane Lapotaire obituary
Stage and screen actor hailed for her work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and for her TV role as Marie CurieThere was a streak of European exoticism in the voice and acting of Jane Lapotaire, who has died aged 81. Her poise and the lustrous sheen of her acting led her to the top of the Royal Sha...
‘It feels like flying!’ Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe on child stardom, passion and the heady rush of Romeo and Juliet
Fresh from Stranger Things and Hamnet, the pair are surprised to find themselves playing Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers in the West End. They talk chemistry, dating apps – and what they’ve taught director Robert IckeNoah Jupe and Sadie Sink are comparing their CVs. “Noah has more Shakespe...
Get Weekly Updates
Get the headlines in your inbox every week.
Quentin Tarantino to bring first ever stage play The Popinjay Cavalier to London’s West End in 2027
The acclaimed film director’s first stage play is billed as a rambunctious comedy set in 1830s Europe
Quentin Tarantino’s ‘swashbuckling’ play The Popinjay Cavalier set for West End premiere
The director’s first play – an 1830s ‘rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise’ – is planned for early 2027 opening in LondonSince Quentin Tarantino announced last year that he had written his first play, it has remained as mysterious as the contents of Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase...
UK theatre ‘under growing pressure’ from rising production costs, report says
The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre found that the costs of running and creating productions continues to pose a threat to the industry.
Irish actress Jessie Buckley reveals battle with eating disorder and depression
The 36-year-old is up for best actress at the Academy Awards for her performance in Hamnet.
Leslie Odom Jr, Broadway’s original Aaron Burr, to join London cast of Hamilton
Actor who won a Tony award in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical will reprise the role for West End debutLeslie Odom Jr, who originated the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway, is to return to the hit musical – this time making his West End debut.The actor will join the London cast at the V...
Paddington and Into the Woods up for 11 Olivier awards each
Two musicals dominate nominations while Tom Hiddleston and Bryan Cranston vie for best actor, with Cate Blanchett and Rosamund Pike up for best actress• Olivier awards 2026: full list of nominationsMichael Bond’s marmalade-loving bear will go up against a band of fairytale characters at the Oliv...
Olivier awards 2026: full list of nominations
Into the Woods and Paddington: The Musical are this year’s most-nominated shows with 11 nods each. See who else is in the running at this year’s awardsNews: Paddington and Into the Woods up for 11 Olivier awards eachBest new musicalHere We Are, book by David Ives, music and lyrics by Stephen Son...
Moment teenager, 19, rammed off his moped by Met Police during crackdown on illegal riders
Combat knife, baton and 52 bikes seized in blitz to tackle crime, phone snatching and anti-social behaviour across London
‘I won’t be on roller skates!’ Nick Mohammed to host Olivier awards in 50th anniversary year
Ted Lasso star and Celebrity Traitors finalist will take the helm at Royal Albert Hall ceremony in London next month as special award recipients are announcedNick Mohammed has been named as the host for this year’s Olivier awards, which take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London next month.The ...
Bloody brilliant or toothless? Cynthia Erivo’s Dracula – reviews roundup
The Wicked star plays all 23 characters in a hi-tech London staging of Bram Stoker’s novel by Kip Williams. Here’s a bite-sized look at the critics’ verdictsDracula, the Ur-vampire and ultimate outsider of the literary canon, is played by Cynthia Erivo, along with every other character, in thi...
Dracula review – Cynthia Erivo’s magnificent modern bloodsucker is defanged in one-woman show
Noël Coward theatre, LondonDeploying accents and wigs, the Wicked star takes on all Bram Stoker’s characters, but the atmosphere lacks the fever or diabolicism requiredBloody brilliant or toothless? Cynthia Erivo’s Dracula – reviews roundupAre people born wicked? asks Ariana Grande’s “goo...
‘I was on stage and she started kicking!’: Lucie Jones on Les Mis, performing pregnant and defying gravity at Glastonbury
After playing Elphaba in Wicked, packing out a tent at Worthy Farm and returning to Les Misérables, the star is headlining the Palladium with songs that sum up her lifeCongratulations on your pregnancy. Have you been singing to your bump? Sort of inadvertently, because I’m back at Les Mis so by ...
Shrinking potion: two-part Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to become single show in London
Olivier award-winning West End production will follow US example and be trimmed to make it ‘more accessible than ever before’For almost a decade it has been the most epic fixture in West End theatre: a two-part play that runs for five hours, including intervals. But later this year Harry Potter ...
‘A split second of sheer terror – and we’re off’: Lucian Msamati on Waiting for Godot’s electrifying first night
The Gangs of London star returned to the stage alongside Ben Whishaw in a 2024 production of Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece. In this diary of the first preview, he describes passing the point of no returnI step into the wings and the state of it all hits me. The hum of a packed, expectant crowd read...
Sheila Bernette obituary
Singer and actor who appeared in theatrical variety and worked on TV light entertainment programmes such as Candid Camera and The Leslie Crowther ShowSheila Bernette, who has died aged 94, had a long acting and singing career that began when she was a child. It embraced the West End, provincial thea...
Gerry & Sewell review – tragicomic search for a Newcastle United season ticket
Aldwych theatre, LondonJamie Eastlake’s play about two football fans mixes together song, dance, comedy and dark family drama, with incohesive resultsThis tale of two hard-up reprobates in Gateshead, who dream of getting a Newcastle United season ticket by hook or by crook, encapsulates hope in th...
Sadiq Khan to increase council tax to help fund Met Police crackdown on phone thefts
If approved, the plans would be the first time City Hall’s share of average bills has exceed £500 a year