Plyas Grieg/Glazounov/Strauss

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David Tennant is set to return to theatre in October in a West End revival of Good, CP Taylor’s play about nazism. But you can see him ruling the stage, tresses flowing, in this RSC production of Shakespeare’s first history play, told with many heroic couplets and some of his most beautiful lines including the “sceptered isle” speech. Florian Zeller’s plays, translated by Christopher Hampton, have captivated British audiences through their cryptic portrayals of personal crisis. This was his best yet because it explored love, loss, dementia and the difficulty of coming to terms with the death of a lifelong partner. As played by Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins, it moved one to tears but also left one pleasantly perplexed about its ultimate meaning. MB Read the review. 22 The Watsons (2018) The plays dramatise five generations of’ Medieval power struggles. For the most part, they depict the Hundred Years War with France, from Henry V to Joan of Arc, and the Wars of the Roses, between York and Lancaster. Playas are among the flattest known landforms. Their slopes are generally less than 0.2 metre per kilometre. When filled with only a few centimetres of water, many kilometres of surface may be inundated. It is the process of inundation that develops and maintains the near-perfect flatness so characteristic of these arid-region landforms. Just as Shakespeare’s ‘comedies’ have some dark themes and tragic situations while the ‘tragedies’ have some high comic moments, the Shakespeare ‘history’ plays contain comedy, tragedy and everything in between. All Shakespeare’s plays are dramas written for the entertainment of the public and Shakeseare’s intention in writing them was just that – to entertain.

Inside your head … Simon McBurney in the Encounter at the Edinburgh festival in 2015. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian 13 The Encounter (2015) Saline flats are specialized forms located adjacent to large bodies of water, as, for example, along coasts, lakeshores, and deltas. They flood during storms, either with surface runoff or with surges from the nearby body of water. The saline crusts of saline flats are quite similar to those that develop in playas. Physical characteristics If you signed up within a Google Play or Android app, follow the steps here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7018481 Two broad classes of playas may be defined on the basis of past histories. One type develops from the desiccation of a former lake. Sediments in such a playa are primarily lacustrine, rather than derived from modern depositional processes. The second type of playa has no paleolacustrine heritage. Small salt pans in South Africa, called vokils, are of this type. In the 17th century under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (the father of Peter I) the minstrels were persecuted, but the tradition of Russian plyas continued to be passed on from generation to generation.Funnily enough, a lot of the best theatre streaming services are currently run by youth-oriented theatre companies. This is because a great majority of established theatre companies for young people already offer online services, to deploy to educational institutions such as colleges and schools. Who would have thought that a TV interview would be the source of such gripping drama? Peter Morgan skilfully showed how David Frost’s 1977 encounter with Richard Nixon was more than an on-camera combat between a talkshow host and a disgraced president. It implied that the two men, in vastly different ways, needed each other. Frost, having lost his American and Australian programmes, was seeking to restore his dwindling fortunes, while Nixon craved public expiation of his Watergate sins. Morgan also made one nostalgic for a time when current affairs TV had theatrical power. MB Read the review. 44 The Pitmen Painters (2007) Plays are a piece of written literature popularly performed in a theatre setting. Although plays are available in written format, what better way to enjoy them than seeing the characters and story brought to life on stage? From magnificent West End plays to small productions in community and regional theatre, schools, and universities, many consider plays of high importance in art, literature, and entertainment. London is home to a multitude of theatres that put on the best possible productions - comedy, tragedy, and everything in between. Clever and dangerous … Ken Nwosu and Kevin Trainor in An Octoroon at the Orange Tree, London, in 2017. Photograph: Richard Davenport/The Other Richard 11 An Octoroon (2014) The concept behind Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree is simple but brilliant: each night, a new, unrehearsed actor performs the show alongside Crouch, thus exposing the transformation that lies at the heart of all theatre. While it might sound like a cold intellectual exercise, the use of an unprepared and often slightly baffled performer poignantly speaks to the show’s themes of loss and grief, making it one of the century’s best marriages of form and content. CL Read the review. 37 random (2008)

Pleasantly perplexing … The Height of the Storm, with Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins at Wyndham’s theatre, London, in 2018. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian 23 The Height of the Storm (2018) Our top recommendation is the Australian Theatre for Young People‘s platform ATYP On Demand, which streams past productions for ages 10-26 as well as other educational material. The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati offer up a portal called TCT Everywhere, as does the Windmill Theatre’s Windmill at Home (also based in Australia).

West End Plays

Melodrama – A melodrama is full of strong emotions. You will see the struggle of the hero or heroine and their quest to overcome adversity. Don't worry, though; it usually ends on a happy note! If you signed up within an Apple iOS or Apple TV app, follow the steps here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039 Domestic drama – Want to connect immediately? Witness stories of everyday life told brilliantly onstage in a domestic drama. Like all ancient folk dances, Russian plyas had ritual significance, i.e. the ancient Slavs not only danced for pleasure and artistic purposes, but to accomplish some kind of ritual that usually involved connecting with nature or the gods, or entering a metaphysical realm. Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, performed at Melbourne festival in 2017. Photograph: Sarah Walker 5 A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (2016)