Anne McElvoy
The Art of the Well-made Play
Amid the fad for immersive drama, a Rattigan/Hare double-bill shows you just can’t beat good writing
Provincial Life and its Discontents
Revivals from three countries explore the anxieties of superfluous men and women
Yes, We Must Talk About This
A brave new play at the National challenges liberal received wisdom on multiculturalism
Farce at Full Tilt
She Stoops to Conquer at the NT is so unsubtle as to be OTT—like many of the National’s comedies
Survivor of Stasiland
The death of Christa Wolf has left Germany bereft of a powerful bridge of literary consciousness, whose universal work could talk to a once-divided nation
Ladykillers and Overkill
Peter Capaldi at the Gielgud is a scream but Lenny Henry at the National gets out of hand
Geordies and Churchillians
The wonderful story of The Pitmen Painters is spoiled by Lee Hall’s insistent left-wing moralising
Slap-happy Stand-up
The West Yorkshire Playhouse’s production of King Lear is a pacy triumph
Power Redressing
A new revival of Top Girls shows that Caryl Churchill’s Thatcherite satire retains its dramatic vigour
Fishing For Consonants
The Donmar’s new production of Anna Christie benefits from Jude Law’s muscular energy
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal