The latest news and comment on director Nicholas Hytner
June 2026
Trafalgar Entertainment acquires Nicholas Hytner’s Bridge theatre
From Bloomsbury to Whitehall: new play reimagines life of John Maynard Keynes
January 2026
A new Henry V is a barometer of our times – what can Shakespeare’s war play tell us amid global chaos?
Michael Billington
Revivals of this history play usually reflect the politics of the moment. Now a fresh RSC retelling arrives in a world of instability and fractured alliances
November 2025
From fiasco to feted: the story of the Dream of Gerontius, the revolutionary music of The Choral
The Choral review – Ralph Fiennes leads the choir in impressively unsentimental Alan Bennett fable
September 2025
First look review
The Choral review – Ralph Fiennes makes pleasant music in low-volume drama
The actor is a reliably committed presence in this gentle Alan Bennett-scripted first world war tale which might have worked better on stage
July 2025
The play that changed my life
The play that changed my life: ‘Michael Gambon’s offstage anarchy as Falstaff made the show better’
When Elliot Levey was cast in Henry IV, Parts One and Two, he didn’t expect water-bombing, corpsing and a character redefined by new teeth
June 2025
A Midsummer Night’s Dream review – Nicholas Hytner’s revels return with bawdy, uninhibited mischief
The immersive setup brings the audience into the midst of the play’s shapeshifting unreality among a comedy-gold cast of magical characters
February 2025
The week in theatre: Hamlet; Much Ado About Nothing; Richard II – review
Richard II review – Jonathan Bailey exudes charisma as a cocaine-snorting king of misrule
October 2024
The week in theatre: Giant; Roots; Look Back in Anger – review
John Lithgow as Roald Dahl towers over Nicholas Hytner’s production of an extraordinary debut play; Morfydd Clark finds her voice in a Wesker revival; and a John Osborne staging is a step backward
June 2024
Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey to play Richard II on London stage
‘Absolute outrage’: arts in state schools must be a priority for next government, say theatre leaders
May 2024
TV tonight
TV tonight: the adaptation of bestselling book The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Jonah Hauer-King , Harvey Keitel and Melanie Lynskey star in the chilling drama. Plus, Taskmaster on top form. Here’s what to watch this evening
April 2024
2024’s Olivier awards remain too white, too male – and too safe
Arifa Akbar
A string of seven awards for Sunset Boulevard was hardly radical, and many more daring theatrical successes went unrewarded
February 2024
Sunset Boulevard wins big at the WhatsOnStage awards
Nicole Scherzinger-led musical bags seven prizes at awards show voted for by theatregoers
October 2023
‘Delicate, dangerous, anarchic’: Daniel Craig, Michael Mann, Matthew Macfadyen and more remember Michael Gambon
He wasn’t just a magnificent actor – he was also a raconteur, mentor, joker, engineer and pilot. Friends including Tom Hollander, Penelope Wilton, Simon Callow, Nicholas Hytner, Matthew Warchus and Rupert Goold pay tribute to the star
September 2023
Michael Gambon: an actor who let his heart and soul crack open
A star with incredible presence, Gambon brought heft and delicacy, mischief and feeling, to the stage and screen
July 2023
Twelve culture secretaries in 13 years: what does that say about the Tories’ attitude to the arts?
Don Carlo review – Lise Davidsen doesn’t disappoint in Verdi’s sprawling masterpiece
