Acting
Notes from a national treasure
I’ve started rehearsals for the pantomime Beauty and the Beast at Richmond Theatre: two shows a day and just 13…
Fortitude, emotional intelligence and wit – the defining qualities of Simon Russell Beale
The Shakespearean actor has taken on 18 of the great roles since his first gig at the RSC in 1985 and recalls them with insight, sensitivity and a sharp passion for language
The night I was turned away from the Ivy
How the mighty can fall. I was overwhelmed by the approbation I had received for my one-woman show, Behind the…
From street urchin to superstar: the unlikely career of Al Pacino
Ellen Barkin, Al Pacino’s lover-cum-prime- suspect in his comeback movie Sea of Love (1989), once dismissed the artifice of the…
Familiar scenarios: Our Evenings, by Alan Hollinghurst, reviewed
There’s a certain pattern to an Alan Hollinghurst novel. A young gay man goes to Oxford. He’s middle class and…
What prompted Vivien Leigh’s dark journey into madness?
Did her many miscarriages so unhinge the beautiful actress that she ended up a sex-crazed harridan, screaming obscenities at those she loved?
Should beautiful actors be allowed to play those with plain faces?
Sometimes I Think About Dying is one of those titles you want to shout back at – what? Only sometimes?…
The tumultuous story behind Caravaggio’s last painting
For centuries no one knew who it was by or even what it was of. The picture that had hung…
The bald truth about Patrick Stewart
The actor best known for his role as Star Trek’s Captain Picard comes across as pompous, chippy and point-scoring as he reminisces about directors and fellow stars
A cherry orchard, three sisters and a summer romance: Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett, reviewed
Alex Clark enjoys a poignant story centring on a cherry orchard, three sisters and their mother’s past love affair
In praise of character actors
If you want real acting in films, forget the leads – it’s in the supporting roles that you’ll find true talent, says Tanya Gold
An actor’s recipe for insanity
I’m on the road, a very proper place for an actor to be. Never mind all those jokes about some…
Jonathan Bate weaves a memoir around madness in English literature
There is a trend for books in which academics write personally about their engagement with literature. Examples include Lara Feigel’s…
Could today’s Hollywood stars have made it in ancient Greece?
The Oscar frenzy spent, it is worth reflecting on how easy writers and actors have it these days. The ancient…
Lasting infamy: Booth, by Karen Joy Fowler, reviewed
Were it not for an event on the night of 14 April 1865, John Wilkes Booth would be remembered, if…
My thoughts on Helen Mirren’s casting
On Monday, I had a whinge-walk with Lizzie, my friend of 47 years. We met at breathing classes for our…
All successful spies need to be good actors
On 2 October last year, when he became chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6, if you prefer), Richard…
'You should see some of the other scripts that come through': Robert Carlyle interviewed
Robert Jackman talks to Robert Carlyle about Begbie, playing a Tory prime minister and the merits of keeping your head down
Fascinatingly weird – but not satisfyingly weird: Herzog’s Family Romance LLC reviewed
In the past Werner Herzog has given us a man pushing a ship up a mountain, a 16th-century conquistador going…
The revenge of the oldies
Entering my 54th day of quarantine, I recall how much I was looking forward to this spring in England. There…
Welder, banjo player, comedian, actor, and now artist – Billy Connolly interviewed
William Cook talks to Billy Connolly – welder, banjo player, comedian, actor, and now artist – about growing up in Glasgow, ditching the mike stand and living with Parkinson’s
‘I feel compelled to be disgraceful’: Miriam Margolyes interviewed
Miriam Margolyes chews the fat with Tanya Gold about mother love, anti-Zionism and too much shagging
‘It could be a disaster’: Jim Broadbent talks to Stuart Jeffries about his latest role
‘I live completely anonymously,’ whispers Jim Broadbent down the phone from Lincolnshire. Nonsense, I counter. You’re one of the most…
Police raids and chanting intruders: The strange things that happen to me in the early hours
Our upstairs neighbours are not the sort of people you want to have run-ins with. They have regular moped deliveries…
