Nick Smurthwaite

The little-known Club for Acts and Actors has a rich history supporting actors and putting on events in its West End home. As it celebrates its 75th anniversary, it’s seeking to broaden its reach

This year marks 100 years since Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution was first published. Nick Smurthwaite talks to director Lucy Bailey about staging the courtroom drama

As we step into the 250th year since Jane Austen’s birth, two adaptations, Clueless the Musical and Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) are a reminder of the author’s rich, diverse legacy. Nick Smurthwaite looks at some of the most memorable stage spin-offs of her work

Published in 1945, George Orwell’s powerful allegory has been adapted many times – often acclaimed, often controversial. Nick Smurthwaite looks at previous shows and talks to the creatives behind a new production opening in London this month

Calamity Jane has seen many incarnations both on stage and screen, and a new revival headed up by Carrie Hope Fletcher is now heading out on a UK touring production. Nick Smurthwaite takes us through the years and the various leading ladies

Since its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1994, the award-winning clowning show has toured all over the world, enchanting audiences of all ages. As it blows back into the UK after a seven-year absence, creator Slava Polunin and producer Gwenael Allan talk to Nick Smurthwaite about the key to the longevity and success of a company of “fools” that has become a global phenomenon

‘I’ve interviewed so many charmers – people you’d like to get to know properly,’ says Nick Smurthwaite of his career writing for The Stage, as he reflects on the publication, the people, the pandemic – and the passion that has driven him on

The director has loved Hanif Kureishi’s 1970s-set novel about a Pakistani teenager growing up in south London since first reading it in her 20s. She tells Nick Smurthwaite why the book remains relevant and how she set about adapting the work of one of her heroes

A century after Bram Stoker’s iconic character broke through on stage, Blackeyed Theatre is sending him back out on tour. Given the many audience preconceptions about Dracula, fashioning a show that avoids parody is key, its creators tells Nick Smurthwaite

As a fresh production of US writer and activist Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking first play A Raisin in the Sun prepares for a UK tour, the director of the revival tells Nick Smurthwaite of the lasting impact of both the show and its writer