Theatre review: As You Like It (National Theatre)

With Rufus Norris, by his own admission, nowhere near as strong on the classics as his predecessor and relying heavily on advice from his associates, the choice of As You Like It as the first Shakespeare play of his tenure was greeted as something of a predictably safe choice. Happily this isn't something that extends to Polly Findlay's production which, though far from the funniest version of the play I've ever seen, may be one of the most charming and visually inventive. The setting is the court of a usurping duke - here a modern-day stock trading office - whose daughter Celia (Patsy Ferran) has been allowed to keep her cousin Rosalind (Rosalie Craig) as a companion. But Duke Frederick's (Leo Wringer) moods are unpredictable, and he decides to banish Rosalind. She and Celia escape to the forest, taking with them the clown Touchstone (Mark Benton.)

Theatre review: Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare's Globe & tour)

The small-scale touring productions of Shakespeare, where a cast of eight musically-talented actors take on all the characters in a slightly edited version of one of the plays, are becoming as much of a Globe trademark as the jig. Last year's Lear will be returning later this summer, but for my first trip of 2014 to the outdoor theatre we have a new production: A take on probably the best-loved Shakespeare comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, that proves the most confident take yet on making a little go a long way. A regiment led by Don Pedro (Jim Kitson) rests after a battle, at the house of the wealthy Leonato (Robert Pickavance.) Soon the much-decorated young soldier Claudio (Sam Phillips) falls for Leonato's daughter - and sole heir - Hero (Gemma Lawrence.) A hasty marriage is arranged, but Don Pedro's brother Don John (Chris Starkie) has a number of plots in mind to spoil their nuptials, and which could even put their lives in danger.

Theatre review: Lee Harvey Oswald: A Far Mean Streak of Independence Brought on by Negleck

Judging by the amount of anniversaries being celebrated at the moment it was all kicking off fifty years ago. The National Theatre has just marked its half-century and Doctor Who is about to do the same. But the latter had an inauspicious start when its premiere episode was overshadowed by John F Kennedy's assassination. The events of Dallas have of course gone on to become the bread and butter of conspiracy theorists to this day, but with the assassin only outliving the President by 48 hours, doubts were cast over Lee Harvey Oswald's guilt from the start. By 1966 playwright Michael Hastings had attempted to shed light on the situation with Lee Harvey Oswald: A Far Mean Streak of Independence Brought on by Negleck. The subtitle is a quote from Oswald's own diaries, and gives a clue about the kind of chaotic personality we're going to be looking at.