My first gut response to yesterday’s news that Emma Rice was leaving Shakespeare’s Globe, announced after less than a year – and only one summer season in post – was simply “Oh my God!”. In my years of commenting on theatre, I have never been as shocked by the news of someone’s leaving a job.
NEWS: Users launch independent TheatreBoard after closure of WhatsOnStage forum
The UK now has a new independent online forum to discuss theatre – TheatreBoard. Following the recent decision by its American parent company to discontinue support for the discussion forums originally established by WhatsOnStage.com, a group of dedicated fans have taken on the challenge to create a brand new home for lively and informed discussion about the UK theatre scene and beyond.
Tribunal ruling: I was “unfairly dismissed” by WhatsOnStage
It’s been 455 days since I was walked out of the offices of WhatsOnStage, the company that I co-founded. And today I can finally, officially and publicly say: I did nothing wrong and should not have been dismissed. To say that the past 15 months have been extremely long and difficult for me is an understatement, and […]
Charles Spencer, Mark Shenton, Tim Walker and the “strange world of theatre critics”
When the Daily Telegraph announced yesterday that Charles Spencer is retiring after 25 years as the newspaper’s theatre critic, there was an outpouring of appreciation for Charlie on Twitter: his long service, his astute opinions, his coins of phrase (Nicole Kidman = “pure theatrical Viagra”) and his public battles with his personal demons (alcoholism and […]
The long and winding road to Employment Tribunal
When Mark Shenton was dismissed as critic from the Sunday Express last December, it was the talking point of the theatre industry, particularly after he blogged for The Stage about the sensational reason for and the manner of the dismissal. Next week, his case against his former employer will be heard in a five-day employment […]