The Latest Breaking News from Alan Bennett

I’ve been thinking about the word “history” and what it really means to think about the past. People often refer to history as something that they “failed in school”. But really, history is, as Alan Bennett put it so beautifully in his 2004 play The History Boys, “just one f***ing…

It is a testament to the power of the late British actress Dame Maggie Smith that other eminent actors – though only male ones, as far as I can see – accused her of upstaging them.

A distinguished, double Oscar-winning actor whose roles ranged from Shakespeare to Harry Potter

The real-life dame and on-screen dowager countess, who has died aged 89, earned fame in her 70s and 80s for blockbuster roles. But her early work at the National Theatre marked her out as a talent for the ages

Giant of stage and screen was one of Britain’s most successul stars

In a career that began in the 1950s, her roles ranged from Desdemona to Miss Jean Brodie, Virginia Woolf and Minerva McGonagall

Fresh talent shines, though nuance could try harder, in a 20th anniversary revival of Alan Bennett’s glinting schoolroom comedy

Spruced up for its 20th anniversary, Alan Bennett’s beloved play now has 80s musical numbers, but its blase attitude to teachers with wandering hands remains dated

History project tells stories about the lives of women who ran B&Bs in Morecambe

Jonah Hauer-King , Harvey Keitel and Melanie Lynskey star in the chilling drama. Plus, Taskmaster on top form. Here’s what to watch this evening

The Palme d’Or winner takes aim at the fashion world as models have a disastrous time on a luxury yacht, while Anne Hathaway falls for a boyband star in a swoony, steamy romance