Offenbach famously created the can-can music, but one of his lesser-known works, Fantasio, will be premiered in Garsington Opera’s 30th-anniversary season. Claire Jackson reports.
Potential faux pas abound in a British summer, but is it possible to find your way through to September unscathed? The answer is yes, says Rupert Uloth, so long as you always carry a brolly, know how to share a carriage with The Queen and own at least seven hats. Here are his tips.
Our theatre critic Michael Billington applauds the efforts made to freshen up Tartuffe and Equus in ways which bring new meaning and relevance to even the most familiar pieces.
Hours of intricate work are needed to craft a set of bagpipes. Kate Lovell spoke to bagpipe-maker Dave Shaw to find out how it's done.
Burns Night has been celebrated for well over 200 years – here's everything you need to know about celebrating Scotland's national poet.
In the wake of Strictly Come Dancing, Alexandra Fraser convinced her partner to join her on a seven-week ballroom dancing course in London to discover how hard it really is to pick up what is fast becoming a dying art.
Our theatre critic Michael Billington hands out his annual awards. Some recipients will be delighted; others might wish to hide behind the sofa...
The Twelve Days of Christmas land you with 12 days of enforced revelry. That’s 12 sub-sets of step-relations, 12 afternoons and evenings, 12 tailbacks on the M25. Kit Hesketh-Harvey suggests 12 games to keep you sane.
Whether they invoke fond or fearful memories in real life, the nannies of fiction are kind – even magical – creatures, says Annunciata Elwes, who rounds up her favourites.
A railway arch in the East End is the home of a new set in a 1930s railway dining car - accompanied by a meal which transforms the experience. Emily Anderson went along.
The composer and tenor Andrew Gant reveals the curious truth about some of our most beloved carols.
Katy Birchall takes a look at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge, and picks out some more of the best Christmas choir services across the country.
Every year, millions of people across Britain will chuckle their way through a pantomime featuring a man playing the main female role, and usually a girl playing the lead male role. How it came to be so is a fascinating tale.
The men who spent years in the trenches of France and Belgium found all manner of ways to bring a touch of joy and culture into their lives – not least with the portable, collapsible cello which 2nd lieutenant Harold Triggs of the Royal Sussex took into battle in 1914. The instrument works beautifully today, as Claire Jackson reports.
Whether you're performing a play or about to go on television, the waiting room is called the Green Room – but why is that? Martin Fone, author of 'Fifty Curious Questions', investigates.
Tom Sands brought the lessons he learnt from the California king of guitar-making back to Britain, where he makes stunning, personalised instruments for his clients. Tessa Waugh reports, photographs by Richard Cannon.
Annunciata Elwes is captivated by this quintessential production of a classic Russian ballet.
