In brief: CS Lewis’s Oxford; True Love; Loosely Based on a Made-Up Story – review
A fascinating study of CS Lewis’s years in his adopted city; an excellent gritty romance by Paddy Crewe; and James Blunt enters the music memoir hall of fame
December 2023
Brigit Forsyth obituary
Actor who played Thelma, Bob’s prim girlfriend, in the 1970s sitcom Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
June 2023
Gays on Broadway by Ethan Mordden review – stage whispers
A gossipy, insightful survey of the (often closeted) gay contribution to American theatre
March 2023
Keith Johnstone obituary
In brief: The English Actor; Cursed Bread; The Restless Republic – reviews
February 2023
Don’t Think, Dear by Alice Robb review – the beauty and cruelty of ballet
A former student at the School of American Ballet dissects an art form that too often plays host to obsession and bullying
August 2022
Books interview
David Hare: ‘There is an awful lot of pious theatre at the moment’
The playwright on branching out into poetry, contemporaries he admires and his need to challenge audiences’ beliefs
July 2022
Rare original copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio sells for £2m
400-year-old edition of playwright’s first collected book of plays including Macbeth and Twelfth Night auctioned at Sotheby’s
February 2022
In brief: The Last Emperor of Mexico; Iron Curtain; Questors, Jesters and Renegades – reviews
A gripping Habsburg history, a tense, witty Soviet romance and an affectionate account of amateur dramatics
October 2021
Top 10s
Michael Billington’s top 10 books about theatre
From Anne Enright’s novel about an actor’s daughter to the diaries of former National Theatre director Peter Hall, the theatre critic chooses his favourite titles about the stage
June 2021
The room where it happened: Giles Terera’s backstage Hamilton diary
Terera kept a rehearsal diary while learning the part of Aaron Burr for the London launch of Hamilton in 2017. These extracts reveal the thoughts racing through his mind as he rose to the challenge
May 2021
Top 10s
Top 10 books about ballet
From Noel Streatfeild to David Hallberg, this is a literature of passion and madness, ambition and addiction
April 2021
Trader Faulkner obituary
Versatile actor, flamenco dancer and biographer of his friend and fellow Australian Peter Finch
September 2020
Eric Bentley obituary
Writer on drama and champion of Brecht who shared Shaw’s view that theatre should add to people’s lives
August 2020
For ever and a day: why we turn to Shakespeare at times of crisis
Four hundred years after his death, the dramatist remains a uniquely powerful touchstone. In this extract from his new book, Robert McCrum considers his evergreen appeal
March 2020
As If by Chance by David Lan review – a glowing memoir
Stars in the wings: theatre's massive debt to am-dram
September 2019
Autumn arts preview 2019
The Observer guide to the best autumn culture
Long-awaited albums, audacious political theatre and TV fit to follow Game of Thrones, plus film, dance, classical and more…
August 2019
Observer book of the week
Tastes of Honey by Selina Todd review – illuminating life of Shelagh Delaney
Historian Selina Todd makes an unassailable case for the Salford writer’s place in British theatre history
May 2019
Book of the week
What Blest Genius? by Andrew McConnell Stott and This Is Shakespeare by Emma Smith – review
Different Shakespeares down the ages ... which version of the national playwright does our era prefer, romantic wordsmith or streetwise experimenter?
