Philippe Gaulier had a huge impact on theatre – but his ‘embrace the ridiculous’ lesson is one for us all

The master clown helped generations of performers be more alive in the moment – and not take themselves too seriously. His teachings were for life as well as the stage• Philippe Gaulier, clown guru and mentor to theatre and comedy greats, dies aged 82W…

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Philippe Gaulier had a huge impact on theatre – but his ‘embrace the ridiculous’ lesson is one for us all

The master clown helped generations of performers be more alive in the moment – and not take themselves too seriously. His teachings were for life as well as the stage• Philippe Gaulier, clown guru and mentor to theatre and comedy greats, dies aged 82W…

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Philippe Gaulier, clown guru and mentor to theatre and comedy greats, dies aged 82

Teacher who ran school outside Paris was a formative influence on generations of comedians and actors including Helena Bonham Carter and Emma ThompsonMaster clown Philippe Gaulier, the influential founder of France’s École Philippe Gaulier, has died ag…

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Philippe Gaulier, clown guru and mentor to theatre and comedy greats, dies aged 82

Teacher who ran school outside Paris was a formative influence on generations of comedians and actors including Helena Bonham Carter and Emma ThompsonMaster clown Philippe Gaulier, the influential founder of France’s École Philippe Gaulier, has died ag…

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Four decades after we wrote Yes Minister, politics is still reduced to the pleasure of power | Jonathan Lynn

Our sitcom character Jim Hacker continues to cling on – as he takes to the West End stage, nothing has really changedWhen people praised Tony Jay and me for Yes Minister’s prescience, we accepted the compliments graciously. But the reason the TV series…

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Men Behaving Badly: The Play review – boorish flatmates prattle like it’s 1999

Barn theatre, CirencesterSimon Nye brings back the characters from his hit TV series for a misconceived comedy set on millennium eveIn a nervy theatre economy, with familiar material most likely to sell tickets, nights out often feel nostalgic for nigh…

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The Rat Trap review – teenage Noël Coward’s jaundiced marital portrait

Park theatre, LondonBill Rosenfield reimagines the playwright’s early work about the souring relationship between newlywed artistsHell is other people – especially if you’re married to them. Noël Coward’s characters often struggle to fit their romantic…

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Rotus: Receptionist of the United States review – spiky Maga satire with a seriously funny star

Park theatre, LondonLeigh Douglas plays a sorority girl turned White House receptionist – as well as lecherous side characters – in a timely showThis show arrives in London in a week that US politics couldn’t be more inescapable. While on one hand, aud…

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‘I love that there’s this big gay thing in the middle of Scotland’: Ian McKellen and Graham Norton join Alan Cumming for Out in the Hills

New LGBTQ+ festival included McKellen in a fiery monologue and Norton in conversation, as well as a queer ceilidh and ‘kilted yoga’Sir Ian McKellen is on stage blowing up a red balloon. For a man of 86, he has impressive lung capacity. He lets it go an…

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Gerry & Sewell review – tragicomic search for a Newcastle United season ticket

Aldwych theatre, LondonJamie Eastlake’s play about two football fans mixes together song, dance, comedy and dark family drama, with incohesive resultsThis tale of two hard-up reprobates in Gateshead, who dream of getting a Newcastle United season ticke…

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