New plays by Sir Tom Stoppard and Sir David Hare, and the acting skills of Harold Pinter, are to form the highlights of the Royal Court Theatre's 50th anniversary year in 2006. Despite the Court's having been at the forefront of new British play writing for the past half century - in its first year it premiered John Osborne ...

Our local arts festival this summer included a community opera with a large cast of children and teenagers, playing to a capacity audience of their families and friends. The show was so full of joy and energy that I came out with tears in my eyes -- but also a feeling of unease. The problem was ideological: Maggio's Magic -- book ...