Rivka Jacobson

With that deceptively simple observation, Christine Lahti opens one of the most compelling evenings of theatre currently on the London stage. The recipient of an Academy Award, Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award, Lahti strips away every trace of celebrity to present something far more courageous: herself. At first glance, The Smile of Her appears to be an autobiographical solo play. It is, but it is also much more.

Some productions never quite leave you. I first saw Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia in Trevor Nunn’s celebrated 1993 National Theatre production. Although I was new to English theatre and missed much of Stoppard’s dazzling wordplay, I left utterly enthralled by the experience. More than thirty years later, I can still picture scenes from that production with extraordinary clarity. It inevitably shaped my expectations of Carrie Cracknell’s new staging.

Home, heritage and the soul of Swan Lake Ahead of the State Ballet of Georgia’s return to the London Coliseum, its artistic director and former Bolshoi prima ballerina answers questions on belonging, leadership, and the enduring power of ballet’s greatest tragedy. This summer, the London Coliseum opens its doors once again to one of the world’s most compelling ballet companies, as the State Ballet of Georgia returns with a brand-new production of Swan Lake (17–26 July 2026).