Eugene O'Neill's remarkable play Strange Interlude opened at the National Theatre today to some strong reviews. Michael Billington for the Guardian praises the 'excellent' production (directed by Simon Godwin) and awards the evening 4 stars. Even at more
Yesterday, I thoroughly enjoyed the full seven hours of the BBC's 1953 Coronation coverage which BBC Parliament re-ran in (almost) its entirety. You can read the blog that I wrote here as well as see the numerous screengrabs more
17:00 So that was great, and truly interesting in so many ways, some of which I'll try to note down in a further post. A thousand thanks to the BBC for the restoration and to BBC Parliament for the re-run, although more
To Richmond Theatre for Headlong's smart and stimulating adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull (until Saturday, then Bath and Derby). As directed by Blanche McIntyre, a fine cast including Abigail Cruttenden, Alexander more
By making available in perpetuity programmes without too many rights issues, the online BBC archive collections are proving to be invaluable resources for researching television history. A parallel archive release from BBC Four (oddly unlisted on the more
Back in 2009 we ran a blog post that was based on an article in the New York Times which claimed that the 'latest digital fad a chain-letter-cum-literary exercise called "25 Random Things About Me".' For a while it more
Recently I sat in a viewing theatre with half a dozen other researchers and watched a truly remarkable 1965 television documentary called Walk Down Any Street. Directed for Associated-Rediffusion by Charlie Squires, the film is a clear-eyed and sympathetic verité more
Yesterday was Karl Marx's birthday and today is a holiday that more or less coincides with one on 1 May that in some eighty countries celebrates International Workers' Day. On Friday last Illuminations said farewell, after more than a more
Upstage there is a set with an enclosed room and other smaller spaces, including two booths like those used for sound recording. The room is dressed as a kitchen, with walls which have extensive glass panelling allowing the audience to more
We are coming to the end of the Screen Plays season at BFI Southbank of television adaptations of Jacobean tragedy. In the final two screenings, tomorrow night (it's sold-out but there may be tickets on the more