Hilary Mantel story imagining Margaret Thatcher’s assassination to be staged in Liverpool

Short story set in 1983, and published a year after the former prime minister’s death, considers ‘what happens when people feel they don’t have a voice’ says director John Young

The Hunger Games: On Stage review – thundering fight to the death in a dazzling dystopia

Eye-popping visuals and a strong lead performance energise Matthew Dunster’s production – but the emotion gets lost amid the action

Love The Traitors and Only Murders in the Building? Visit The Mousetrap, says bold new director of West End perennial

Ola Ince, who has refreshed Agatha Christie’s record-breaking mystery, suggests ‘we all fancy ourselves as detectives’

Big belly, wavy fur and a nose for trouble: we exclusively reveal the new-look Paddington

It’s been the biggest secret in theatre: what will the marmalade-loving, hyper-polite Peruvian look like in Paddington the Musical? As the curtain rises, we speak to the new bear’s creator, a veteran of Star Wars and PG Tips ads

The Line of Beauty review – Hollinghurst’s Gatsby-esque social satire is a class act

Jack Holden has elegantly adapted Alan Hollinghurst’s Booker winner about class envy, gay culture and political scandal in 80s Britain

‘Epic with a capital E’: inside Elmet, a tale of violence and greed on haunted Yorkshire heath

Elmet, a novel that was shortlisted for the Booker, is a lyrical, richly written tale of a woodland family on a collision course with an avaricious landowner. Can it work on stage in Bradford?

Don’t Look Now review – Du Maurier’s Venetian chiller has its dread shredded

A couple mourn the loss of their daughter in an adaptation that is far better at conveying sadness than suspense

‘Almost 30m plays on Spotify!’ When fake bands hit the real-life big time, from Spinal Tap to the Flaming Dildos

How do you invent a convincing fictional band for your play, film or novel? And what happens if they actually top the charts? The creators of Scott Pilgrim, the Commitments, Stereophonic and more reveal all

Mischa Barton to make UK stage debut in Double Indemnity

The OC star will take the role made famous by Barbara Stanwyck in James M Cain’s classic noir tale of murder and deceit, touring the UK in early 2026

Les Misérables: a musical full of heart and hope that continues to defy its critics

When it opened in 1985, the mighty Les Mis got some rotten reviews. Forty years on, our writer sees it afresh and producer Cameron Mackintosh reflects on the show’s spectacular success

Rebecca review – Nikki Shiels is magnificent in confused Daphne du Maurier adaptation

Melbourne Theatre CompanyThe performances are rich and compelling in Anne-Louise Sarks’ take on the famed and haunting 1938 novel, but some aspects fail to land

Night Waking review – sleepy take on Sarah Moss’s novel about parenthood

The 2011 book about a mother’s struggle to pursue a career while looking after her children becomes a very routine drama

‘A venue like this doesn’t exist elsewhere’: inside the colossal arena built for The Hunger Games

London’s Canary Wharf is being turned into the Capitol, with a bespoke £26m theatre made for the stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ bestseller. Our writer goes on a hard-hat tour

Tony Harrison’s poem V to be performed in the Leeds cemetery that inspired it

The site-specific performance of the once controversial poem was planned for its 40th anniversary in October, but will now double as a tribute to the writer who died last week

Tony Harrison obituary

Outspoken poet and dramatist admired for his stage adaptations, including The Mysteries