Dot. Dot. Dot. review – Daniel Kitson’s unkempt everyman charts the strangest of years

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh/onlineThe comedian – on a solo tour of UK theatres – finds warm and funny layers of humanity in the small details of everyday livesDaniel Kitson doesn’t strike you as an everyman. With his unkempt beard, his pyrotechnic turn of …

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Rock on, Bobby: Bobby Ball – a life in pictures

Entertainer Bobby Ball has died aged 76 after testing positive for Covid. One half of TV’s hugely successful comedy act Cannon and Ball, he was a mainstay on British televisions for much of the 1980s. He went on to act in comedies including Not Going O…

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Choirs and comedians among recipients of £76m Covid arts aid

Almost 600 cultural groups across England to benefit from latest funding roundComedy clubs, circuses, choirs and theatres across England are in line to receive a share of £76m of government funding for the cultural sector.The Military Wives Choirs, Som…

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‘We have £52 left’: the dire future for England’s small arts organisations

This week, the UK government announced £257m in emergency arts funding – we hear from some of those who missed out, complaining of baffling applications and a lack of guidanceOf course it was disappointing not to be successful in this round of the cult…

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Rage, white supremacy and roses: the art that sums up the Trump era

CocoRosie’s call to arms, a mauling from Michelle Wolf, Arthur Jafa’s white supremacy montage and Melania Trump’s gardening … Guardian writers pick the moments that encapsulate Trump’s reign Since he’s a former real-estate tycoon, it seems fitting that…

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Nimax to reopen six West End venues with social distancing

Adam Kay to launch series as theatres plan to host smaller audiences and run at a lossCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageNimax Theatres will reopen all six of its West End venues from October for a season of socially distanced …

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Jokes, guffaws and hardy perennials: Shedinburgh mows down the fringe

With the Edinburgh festival shelved by Covid, standups have turned a garden shed into a stage for an online extravaganza. Our writer enjoys flashes of brilliance amid a dislocating experienceThere are precedents when it comes to memorable Edinburgh fri…

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Parks, pubs and pitches: where to watch UK theatre in September

Shakespeare at a cricket ground, a festival in a bombed-out church and park-bench drama – plus more socially distanced shows to enjoy this monthAugust is over but there’s still time to enjoy open-air theatre season. Presented in York’s Rowntree Park, M…

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‘Canary in the coalmine’: Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph theatre reopens for autumn

John Godber’s B&B drama – performed by the playwright, with his family – launches programme that includes one-woman Christmas showA play written by John Godber during lockdown is to be performed by the playwright, his wife and their daughter at the…

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Kim Noble: Futile Attempts (At Surviving Tomorrow) review – twisted and tender

Podcast There are secret recordings, spoof calls and cringing reflections in the performance artist’s attempts to find meaning in life‘I used to be a comedian,” says Kim Noble in part three of his new podcast. Comedy barely describes what he’s up to in…

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