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The Latest Breaking News from Arifa Akbar

‘I’ve stumbled deep into alien territory’: our sportswriters and arts critics swap jobs

What would happen if our arts critics and sports writers swapped roles for a day? How does the English National Opera compare to the Premier League … or the NFL to a West End musical? Our experts found out last week

The Guardian - UK

Theatre can be a force for change – I went looking for it on the Italy/Slovenia border

In a city belonging to two nations, I hoped for art that could heal suspicion and bridge political divides. Instead I found timidity, says the Guardian’s chief theatre critic, Arifa Akbar

The Guardian - UK

If you want to know how free a society is, look at what’s happening in its theatres

Political art helps to debate and confront the challenges in our lives. It is also a record we must return to again and again, says Guardian theatre critic Arifa Akbar

The Guardian - UK

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Sunak’s sabre-rattling is pure cynicism – Black Out nights are a small, vital corrective to theatre’s lack of diversity

No one is banned from these shows – and for Slave Play’s run on the West End, they take up only two nights out of almost 100, says Arifa Akbar, the Guardian’s chief theatre critic

The Guardian - UK

We go to the theatre to feel something – and people do. Trigger warnings don’t stop that

This recurring debate is a pointless skirmish in a culture war, says Arifa Akbar, chief theatre critic for the Guardian

The Guardian - UK

A Shakespeare play slashed to 80 minutes? Bring it on – theatre can be far too stressful

The play’s the thing. But what’s so wrong with the RSC’s plan to also let people have dinner, or catch the last train home? asks Arifa Akbar

The Guardian - UK

Don’t flake, don’t dump friends and don’t hold grudges: experts on what not to do in 2024

Guardian writers including Marina Hyde, John Crace (and a few other successful types) reveal what they won’t be doing in the coming year

The Guardian - UK

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Stranger Things: The First Shadow Premiered In London West End. Critics Are Calling The Stage Adaptation ‘Flawless’ And ‘Visually Spectacular’

Critics have shared their takeaways from the stage production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow. See what they're saying about the prequel.

Cinemablend

After 60 years, when will the biggest job in UK theatre go to a woman? Why not now?

Only male artistic directors have run the National Theatre. It’s time to address that, says the Guardian’s chief theatre critic Arifa Akbar

The Guardian - UK

Music, history and courageous journalism: Baillie Gifford prize shortlist announced

Judges praise the final six ‘exquisite and ambitious’ works in contention for the £50,000 award for nonfiction

The Guardian - UK

What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in November

Authors, critics and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments

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