SHE’S the heart and soul of every traditional pantomime and one of the best-loved characters of all. Often, she’s the mother of the village idiot, the ship’s chief cook and bottle-washer or the propri

YOUR MONTHLY ENTERTAINMENT ROUND-UP

Our critic looks back at the best, worst, most underrated and most irritating performances of 2025 and recommends the plays to see this Christmas

From her humble beginnings in Tennessee, Dolly Parton has used her creative gifts to chronicle the American experience and make a widespread cultural impact...

As Dame Judi Dench explores a connection to her hero William Shakespeare, she talks love, death, forgiveness and controlling her temper

A stellar Othello in which the narrative takes centre stage puts the spotlight on the theme of the outsider, which threads through many of this month’s productions