Into the Woods, Paddington, More Win U.K. Critics' Circle Theatre Awards; Read the Full List of Winners

Playbill: Winners of the 2026 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards were revealed March 26 at an afternoon ceremony at London's National Theatre, with the current West End revival of All My Sons and Bridge Theatre's Into the Woods emerging as the most-honored productions. The coveted Best New Musical Award went to Paddington The Musical, while Best New Play went to James Graham's Punch.

UK Theatremakers Petition for New Video Design Category at the Olivier Awards

www.broadwayworld.com: UK desigers have come together to call for a new category at the Olivier Awards acknowledging Video Design. A petition has been signed by over 100 artsist in the UK theatre community.

Clint Dyer to Direct Three American Plays Featuring All-Black Casts in the UK

www.broadwayworld.com: Deadline has reported that Clint Dyer, deputy artistic director of the UK’s National Theatre, will direct three American plays in the UK, featuring all-black casts. The three plays are One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Story and American Buffalo.

Tour Backstage at the Old Vic - a new kind of back-of-house

Wallpaper*: Backstage at the Old Vic – the theatre's new building – may seem a relatively modest project on paper; a slim structure including space for some social and back-of-house spaces, around the back from the main, 1816-built theatre. By another metric, though, it is huge. 'It is the first addition to the Old Vic in some 200 years,' says Laura Stevenson, executive director of The Old Vic.

‘The heat is on’: top theatres act to root out ‘system failure’ of racism

Theatre | The Guardian: The Young Vic and Royal Court theatres have entered into a pioneering consultation process that aims to identify and root out systemic racism from their venues. The artistic directors of both London institutions have signed up to a two-year partnership with the social enterprise Sour Lemons that will interrogate the internal structures that uphold institutional racism, raise awareness and accountability, and listen to staff’s experiences of racism inside the buildings.

No Longer Able to Easily Work in Europe, UK Artists Are Urging Boris Johnson to Renegotiate Brexit Terms to Allow for Visa-Free Travel

news.artnet.com: Artists are lobbying for the UK government to renegotiate the terms of Brexit to make it easier for them to travel to work in the European Union.

National Theatre to halt Europe tours over Brexit rules

Stage | The Guardian: The National Theatre is shelving plans to tour productions to mainland Europe due to uncertainty over work permits because of Brexit. Before travelling to work in a number of EU countries, many working in the arts will now need to apply for short-term work permits.

Redesigned Her Majesty's Theatre Will 'Blur the Boundary Between Stage and Auditorium' for West End's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

www.broadwayworld.com: As BroadwayWorld previously reported, work is underway on Her Majesty's Theatre in London, for a newly renovated venue upon the reopening of The Phantom of the Opera in the West End. Details are emerging on what audiences can expect when the show returns, as per a planning application submitted last month.

#WeMakeEvents gives evidence at DCMS hearing on UK festivals

LightSoundJournal.com: On Tuesday 2 February, #WeMakeEvents gave evidence during a DCMS Select Committee inquiry into the future of UK festivals, represented by the leader of the campaign’s political group Duncan Bell who detailed the ongoing challenges faced by the live events and entertainment industry.

Review: ‘Tom Stoppard: A Life,’ by Hermione Lee

The Atlantic: In a short book about biography, Hermione Lee, literary life-writer par excellence, offered two metaphors for the art at which she excels. One was an autopsy. The other was a portrait. “Whereas autopsy suggests clinical investigation and, even, violation,” she wrote, “portrait suggests empathy, bringing to life, capturing the character.” She argued that these contrasting approaches had something in common. They “both make an investigation of the subject which will shape how posterity views them.”

Rishi Sunak's UK furlough extension 'major step forward' for theatres, says Nica Burns

Theatre | The Guardian: Leading theatre producer Nica Burns has praised chancellor Rishi Sunak’s extension of the furlough scheme until March as a “major step forward” for England’s theatres. Her venues have “been given their mojo back”, she said, despite a lockdown that will keep them dark until at least the first week of December.

BFC Clarifies Film and TV Production Guidelines as England Locks Down

Variety: England may be going into a month-long second lockdown from Thursday, but it’s largely business as usual where film and TV production is concerned. The British Film Commission (BFC) has updated its COVID-safe rules for filming, which were first published June 1. While England residents are advised not to travel overseas or within the U.K., production is exempt.

BRIT Awards donates £54,000 to Stagehand COVID-19 Crew Relief Fund

Audio Media International: The BPI, music industry trade body and organiser of the BRIT Awards, has donated £54,000 to the Stagehand COVID-19 Crew Relief Fund. The donation will go towards supporting live music and events professionals whose livelihoods have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the fund has received approximately £240,000 in contributions.

Black British Theatre Awards 2020: Winners include Miriam-Teak Lee, Rakie Ayola and Arinzé Kene

London Evening Standard: The winners of this year’s Black British Theatre Awards were announced last night, with Death of a Salesman winning the prize for best production of a play. The annual celebration of Black British theatre talent was hosted by actor Eddie Nestor in a socially distanced event at the Young Vic, and televised for the first time on Sky Arts.

West End Shows Announce a Return, Even as U.K. Coronavirus Cases Rise

The New York Times: “Six,” the hit show about the ill-fated wives of King Henry VIII, is set to become the first musical to reopen on London’s West End since Britain went into lockdown in March.

The musical, which was meant to debut on Broadway the day New York’s theaters were shuttered, will start an 11-week run at the Lyric Theater on Nov. 14, the show’s producers said in a news release on Monday. But a resurgence of coronavirus cases in Britain puts some of the show’s plans in doubt.

Caveats and conditions: what to expect this autumn as UK theatres reopen

Theatre | The Guardian: It is late July, and Beverley Knight is about to sing her heart out on the London Palladium stage. Everyone in the audience wears masks and, around them, rows of empty seats are marked with an X. This is the first time a London theatre has opened its doors since March and it’s all a little surreal.

#WeMakeEvents: Manchester March Implements TPG COVID-19 Working Guidance

TPi: On August 11, as part of PLASA’s first UK-wide #WeMakeEvents campaign, the live events and production community in Manchester organised a silent and socially distanced flight case march across the city which culminated in a dramatic red flare exhibit.

Over 1,000 freelancers and supply companies attended the regional protest which collectively asked the Government to extend its furlough scheme – due to end in October – and allow access to grants in order to help save an estimated 114,000 jobs.

‘Government Has Consistently Failed’ Finds UK Government COVID Report

Pollstar: In an analysis of the UK government's response to the Covid-19 crisis, the country's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS) finds that the needs of the sectors it represents haven't been met.

After establishing that the "Covid-19 crisis presents biggest threat to UK's cultural infrastructure, institutions and workforce in a generation," the DCMS concludes that "Government has consistently failed to recognize scale of challenge facing culture, sport and tourism."

We Experienced the First West End Show Staged With Social Distancing. Here's What It Was Like.

TheaterMania: Four months on and, though social distancing measures have been altered, the circumstances are still desperate for the arts sector – even with a £1.57 billion package announced by UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, questions still remain about whether or not any shows will be possible this side of 2021. The countdown is on to see if the annual holiday season pantomime shows are a no-go.

Coronavirus: Theatres Are Already Closing – The UK Government Needs To Act Now

The Theatre Times: The executive director of Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, Steve Freeman, could have been speaking for the whole performing arts industry when he said recently: “The current economic landscape is desperate for theatres up and down the country.”