Dinner With Groucho review – table for two mismatched geniuses
Frank McGuinness conjures the bizarre but real encounter between TS Eliot and the Marx brother in a leaden piece a talented cast can’t save
Pinocchio review – a truly bold take on Carlo Collodi’s classic
Mosquitos, cats and smartly defined morals feature in a complex and well-crafted reimagining of the beloved tale
‘An acutely difficult time’: companies respond to Arts Council funding decisions
In our third set of case studies exploring the impact of Arts Council England’s new funding round, we hear from Eclipse theatre in Leeds, Oldham Coliseum and Bloodaxe Books
‘It’s relatable’ … The Crown’s Emma Corrin on playing gender-swapping, time-travelling Orlando
The actor and the director Michael Grandage talk about how relevant their staging of Virginia Woolf’s classic work of gender fluidity feels – and remember their own queer battles
‘It has added political resonance this year’: why Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol still strikes a chord
Audiences can choose from a glut of Ebenezers this festive season, with the infamous miser a more pointed character than ever in these hard times
A Little Life: four-hour adaptation of divisive queer novel heading to Adelaide festival
Ivo van Hove’s play will make its Australian debut in Adelaide in 2023, and be performed in Dutch with subtitles
A Christmas Carol review – Adrian Edmondson stars in a biting tale for our times
David Edgar’s sharp script feels close to home in this exuberant, illusion-filled version of Dickens’ seasonal but socially conscious story
Anthony Burgess translation of Molière’s The Miser comes to light for first time
The A Clockwork Orange author’s translation – complete with recording – hailed as significant literary discovery
Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear review – an elegant last adventure
Effectively filmed for streaming audiences in a sharply told adaptation, this adventure stars Luke Barton as the bumptious master detective
The Sleeping Sword review – Morpurgo fable transformed into scrapbook of wonder
Michael Morpurgo’s novel about a boy’s Arthurian adventure is inventively brought to life in an inclusive production
The best theatre to stream this month: The Book of Dust, Four Quartets and the start of panto season
Our roundup of drama to watch at home includes Alan Ayckbourn’s 87th play, live performance from Ukraine and a concert of lost showtunes
Playing Under the Piano by Hugh Bonneville – note-perfect self-deprecation
The Downton star is happy to be the butt of his own jokes in this tremendously entertaining account of the ups and downs of his career
John Miller obituary
Other lives: Author and broadcaster who wrote authorised biographies of Judi Dench, Peter Ustinov and Ralph Richardson
A Single Man review – Isherwood’s melancholy mourner falls apart in 60s California
This adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s novel about a gay man grieving the loss of his lover lacks the depth of Tom Ford’s movie version
Mud, murder and homemade schnapps: eco-thriller Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead roars back
As Complicité’s Simon McBurney brings Olga Tokarczuk’s feminist detective story to the stage, the pair discuss its eccentric sleuth, isolated landscape and climate alarm