Nicholas Hytner RSS feed

Alan Bennett is back in the habit with brilliant but flawed play

2009-11-18T10:09:58Z

Alan Bennett's The Habit of Art is funny and sometimes brilliantly so, but strangely uninvolving.

The 12 shows you must see in London this Christmas

2009-11-11T09:59:23Z

From posh panto to burlesque, London is full of festive entertainment. Here are a dozen shows that should entice children � and adults � into the theatre.

Opening in London this week

2009-10-12T10:28:44Z

The Hoerengracht exhibition opens at the National Gallery with The Habit of Art at the National Theatre.

War Horse wins battle for full houses at National Theatre

2009-09-22T13:22:34Z

Highest attendance figures for seven years helped the National Theatre to a �456,000 surplus, its annual report revealed

Don Carlo is saved by soaring harmony

2009-09-15T23:00:00Z

The new Don Carlo, Jonas Kaufmann, is not a disappointment: his ringing, ardent tone and rugged good looks win all hearts

The hot tickets are for serious drama

2009-05-11T08:17:37Z

Ours is not the first generation to worry about a degeneration of the culture. Writers have regretted the passing of an Arcadian golden age since the beginnings of Western literature

Thanks to BBC2, I�ve caught negorrhea

2009-03-05T08:53:24Z

London�s melting pot deserves better than this theatre of clich�

2009-02-17T09:08:25Z

A new production at the National Theatre lectures its audience on racism. But pandering to like-minded liberals doesn�t get to the heart of the matter

The Magic Flute unleashes inspiring voice

2009-01-26T00:00:00Z

The Magic Flute, which ends with the dawning of an ill-defined age of sunshine and loveliness, opens in Obama-week.

Josh joins the cast at Evening Standard theatre awards

2008-11-18T09:30:08Z

A glittering cast of West End stars, including Josh Hartnett, Jude Law and Kenneth Branagh are set to attend this year's prestigious Evening Standard Theatre Awards

Theatre

2008-10-02T10:15:37Z

Big musicals may dominate the West End and box office receipts, but straight drama continues to thrive. These are the key people who make this city the global capital of theatre.

Mirren returns to the National in Phèdre title role

2008-09-17T12:53:40Z

Dame Helen Mirren will return to the National Theatre to appear as a woman in love with her stepson

Don Carlo takes opera to the people

2008-07-02T23:00:00Z

Don Carlo at Covent Garden is the hot opera ticket of the summer - an impassioned production, full of starry names.

Passion unlocked in Don Carlo

2008-06-08T23:00:00Z

National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner's staging of Verdi�s Don Carlo at Covent Garden is absorbing and impeccably cast.

Sunday shows at the National

2008-01-17T12:37:57Z

The National Theatre is to stage performances on Sundays in a move that will cost it between £300,000 and £500,000 a year extra in wages.

Irons to make his National debut as former PM

2008-01-16T12:31:24Z

Jeremy Irons is to make his National Theatre debut in a new play on the life of prime minister Harold Macmillan.

Middle-aged lovers make much the biggest waves

2007-12-19T00:00:00Z

Simon Russell Beale and Zoe Wanamaker make big, theatrical waves in Nicholas Hytner's alluring production of Much Ado About Nothing.

Sinews left unstiffened

2007-11-07T00:00:00Z

Geoffrey Streatfeild's performance of Henry V isn't quite strong enough to hold everything together. More square bashing is needed before the London transfer.

Cosi's colourful revival

2007-05-22T23:00:00Z

Nicholas Hytner's production of Cos� fan tutte is back at Glyndebourne in resounding style a year after its first appearance, says Fiona Maddocks.

Theatre wars - the dead white male hits back

2007-05-15T11:32:19Z

The National's director Nicholas Hytner has attacked London's theatre critics for their alleged misogyny. The Standard's man in the stalls could not disagree more.

Now theatre critics are panned

2007-05-14T08:13:27Z

The head of the National Theatre has launched an astonishing attack on critics as "dead white men".

Hytner's back in an epic season at Covent Garden

2007-04-04T10:30:56Z

Nicholas Hytner is to return to the Royal Opera House after a 20 year absence, as the Royal Opera House annouces an epic 2007/08 season.

Tears sharpened by mirth

2007-02-23T00:00:00Z

Last week's death of Steven Pimlott, one of Britain's most versatile directors, tinged ENO's revival of his staging of La Boheme with a mood of elegy.

National to stage classic Niven film

2007-02-15T11:02:22Z

A much-loved war film has been adapted into a play to be staged at the National Theatre.

Immorality � la mode

2007-02-07T00:00:00Z

Nicholas Hytner's production of 1676 comedy The Man of Mode depressed Nicholas de Jongh. "Are classic plays now too boring to attract the young, unless dolled up as plays for tomorrow?" he asks.

Critic's choice: opera

2006-12-05T16:35:49Z

The Glyndebourne on Tour programme features Cosi fan Tutte, Turn of the Screw and Die Fledermaus, and they are all worth catching, says Barry Millington.

Dramatic rise of a theatrical superstar

2006-11-24T15:42:45Z

Acclaimed as 'a genius' by her peers, director Marianne Elliott has been shortlisted for the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Here she talks actors, Ibsen and inspiration.

Boys run riot in the cinema

2006-10-11T23:00:00Z

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.

The Boys are back in town

2006-09-28T11:46:16Z

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.

Thoroughly modern alchemy for the Blair era

2006-09-14T23:00:00Z

It may sound crazy to set about updating a farce like Ben Jonson's The Alchemist, but Nicholas Hytner, with the help of some convincing performances, carries it off successfully.