Cindy Marcolina

Back in 2023, the Royal Shakespeare Company celebrated the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio with a national playwriting competition.

Based on Sarah Ruhl’s eponymous 2018, the stage adaptation of Letters from Max is downright harrowing. It follows her correspondence with a brilliant former student of hers, Max Ritvo, whose sudden cancer recurrence in his early 20s echoes in Ruhl’s life. As the pair discuss illness and artistry, the real power of the poet comes into focus. Director Blanche McIntyre materialises the indescribable grief of living in a moving, unforgettable production. They ponder death, religion, pain, and reincarnation summoning unique poetry, at times morbid and cruel, others candid and tender. Ruhl’s writing is sublime — one could only wish to have such a splendid obituary written about them.

I t was only February when we headed to Stratford-upon-Avon to review Hamlet, so it comes as quite the surprise to head through green fields speckled with sheep for the same play a mere four months later. Elsinore might have been a massive moving ship back then, but it's receiving an astonishing overhaul this time. Now a surveillance state, Radiohead is the soundtrack to a raucous adaptation of Shakespeare's tragic masterpiece. Co-created by Thom Yorke and directed by Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones, the band's album Hail To The Thief acts as the backdrop for the fragmentation of music and self. This is a true reinvention of Shakespeare, who knew that theatre could be so unreasonably cool?!

“We’ll do the raffle in about half an hour, but first we’ll play a few songs if that’s alright?” One foot on stage and the mood is set. What would ensue is over two hours and a half of spitfire banter and fire tunes. It’s rare for performers to be found anywhere on nights when their theatres are dark, but Fraser took over Cadogan Hall for a rare solo concert whilst off from his West End run of The Deep Blue Sea. It was the “delayed launch gig” that he teased when we spoke to him in February. Self-effacing from the get-go, he went on to sing prime choices from all three studio recordings of his, noticing leitmotifs in the themes and delighting the audience with surprise guests.

Days are getting longer, nights are warmer, and we have a brand new musical romantic comedy premiering in East London.

Sarah Kane has become part of the mythology of British theatre. She was a brilliant mind, unbridled in her explorations of existence.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that bisexuals are often underserved when it comes to theatre and media.

The recent statistics surrounding alcohol consumption in the UK are frankly staggering.

Are you a performer in need of inspiration? An actor's life is paved with challenges, so whether you're waiting for your next audition or anxiously

Tale as old as time: boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy writes songs to impress said girl. Except that it's never that easy.