John Gielgud
‘An irresistible mix of art and genitals’: Caligula finally comes to Cannes
Described by its screenwriter, Gore Vidal, as ‘easily one of the worst films ever made’, Caligula has been re-edited by Thomas Negovan and received its premiere this week. Here, he explains his decision to revisit the swords-and-sandals shockfest
Catherine Bray
19, May, 2023 @7:00 AM
The Motive and the Cue review – Gielgud and Burton battle it out
Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn star in Jack Thorne’s play about the prickly pair’s 1960s Broadway production of Hamlet
Arifa Akbar
03, May, 2023 @8:42 AM
‘What if Johnny has norovirus?’: Tuppence Middleton reveals how OCD affects her work
The actor, who is preparing to play Elizabeth Taylor in The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre, said the condition made rehearsals difficult
Catherine Shoard
13, Apr, 2023 @9:13 AM
‘We get inside their shame, their ego, their destruction’: Jack Thorne brings Burton and Gielgud back to the stage
The Motive and the Cue depicts John Gielgud’s struggle to direct Richard Burton in Hamlet on Broadway. Its writer describes the task of putting his words into such celebrated mouths
Jack Thorne
07, Apr, 2023 @1:00 PM
Mark Gatiss: ‘I’m terrified that we are losing the caff for ever’
The actor and director on his fears for a British institution, the day he stopped being vegetarian and why he’s a fast eater
Tim Lewis
21, Jan, 2023 @4:00 PM
Heavenly powers or something rotten? When Richard Burton played Hamlet
It was a box-office hit directed by John Gielgud and created turmoil on stage and off. Now, the 1964 Broadway staging has inspired The Motive and the Cue, a new play by Jack Thorne
Michael Billington
09, Jan, 2023 @8:00 PM
Johnny Flynn and Mark Gatiss to play Richard Burton and John Gielgud in new play
Written by Jack Thorne and directed by Sam Mendes, The Motive and the Cue is about the famous 1964 production of Hamlet and will open at the National Theatre
Chris Wiegand
22, Nov, 2022 @1:46 PM
Peter Brook, influential theatre visionary, dies aged 97
The director’s landmark achievements include a nine-hour Mahabharata, putting Shakespeare on trapezes and directing Olivier, Gielgud and Scofield at the RSC
Chris Wiegand Stage editor
03, Jul, 2022 @9:45 AM
My favourite film aged 12: The Charge of the Light Brigade
Tony Richardson’s epic was a razor-sharp skewering of Britishness that gave me a thrilling first taste of big-screen trauma
Anne Billson
21, Apr, 2020 @2:00 PM
The Michael Billington archive: highlights from five decades of reviews
Ken Dodd’s laugh riot, Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman, Lucy Prebble’s dazzling debut and ‘off-with-your kit Harington’ … revisit the hits and flops assessed by our outgoing theatre critic
20, Dec, 2019 @7:49 AM
Guardian theatre critic Michael Billington to step down
Editor-in-chief Katharine Viner hails the ‘extraordinary’ career of the celebrated critic who started at the newspaper in 1971
Chris Wiegand Stage editor
05, Nov, 2019 @2:00 PM
The best Shakespeare films – ranked!
Kenneth Branagh graduates from player to playwright this week for All is True, in which he plays an ailing Bard. But which big-screen Shakey is the greatest?
Andrew Dickson
08, Feb, 2019 @6:00 AM
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