Actors
The Old Vic under siege
The King’s favourite Shakespearean need hardly trouble himself with such dreary details
Going viral
From tumbles off the stage to the anxieties of age
Perfect for the part
Oompa Loompas and a newfound enthusiasm for association football
Coles to Newcastle
Showbiz vicars, lefty luvvies and a brush with death
Counterfeit Cleese
Coates on Cleese, Collins and Cole
Infra digs
Near death experiences, rising stars and cut-throat dopplegangers
Soon to be pulped non-fiction
Quentin Tarantino’s new book is a disappointment
Cross questioning
The travails of ageing actors
Royal blush
Boycotting the Crown and handbags at dusk
Phantom on the Piccadilly Line
See it, say it, haunted
Starmer’s tax will hurt children
It is not just a tax, it is cruel theft
Red lines
Fighting Ulster’s flag downgrade
Merkel the Disaster
The sad dolts in the room are wrong about the former German chancellor
We are missing the important point on procurement
Systemic dysfunction is far more important than individual failures
War, peace and city streets
How English towns survived the Blitz and entered the modern world
Silk Road splendour
The bare plain is now home to a million souls, their mosques, cathedrals and some very exclusive hotels
In defence of the stiff upper lip
Emotional reserve in public does not mean neglecting our interior lives, it means being serious about them
In defence of hereditary peers
Starmer’s spiteful plan for the Lords breaks an important intergenerational contract
South Africa needs better policies, not just better vibes
Political change must lead to economic change as well
The fading fumes of the New Right
None of the Tory candidates offer the chance of an ideological makeover
Shiva Naipaul
The younger brother of a controversial Nobel Prize winner who has been unjustly overlooked
