Producer Cameron Mackintosh and director Richard Eyre have taken a huge risk on Betty Blue Eyes, especially, they admit, as the star of the show is an animatronic swine... more
I was talking to a group of 12-year-olds about their life at school. One of them gazed at me with a puzzled demeanour and asked: "Why do teachers call thick children gifted?" The entire group looked at me knowingly... more
Football: Brentford skipper Alan Bennett led his team to the League Two championship title at Darlington - and then admitted his own future is in doubt... more
No sooner have we trundled onto the internet superhighway than we realise that there is always something revving up in the fast lane waiting to overtake us... more
Four seasons after its National Theatre premiere, The History Boys makes a stronger, more emotional impact in Paul Miller's capable production than ever.... more
Alan Bennett's The History Boys returns to London making a far stronger emotional impact than in 2004, leaving Nicholas de Jongh moved, disturbed and exhilarated.... more
Alan Bennett's The History Boys has made theatrical history and happily there's another chance to see the play as a new cast settles into school life.... more
Dominic Cooper must have known he was on to a good thing when he landed the role of Dakin in The History Boys but he can't have predicted just quite what a stroke of luck the casting would prove to be.... more
There are plenty of laughs in Nicholas Hytner's and Alan Bennett's film of their stage hit about a group of sixth-formers. But it still worked better as a play.... more
The monologues in Gerturde's Secret speak of rich private lives - so it's a shame they each have less than 10 minutes to develop, says Fiona Mountford.... more
The History Boys is a stage hit that took director Nicholas Hytner by surprise. Now he's turned it into a rollicking film, with the aim, he says, of getting closer to the characters.... more
Sound check: German industrial metal band Rammstein literally play with fire in their live performances - and now they are about to unleash their singeing spectacle on London. Watch out for your eyebrows