Veteran theatre critic visits
THE country’s longestserving theatre critic is coming to talk in Bollington.
Michael Billington, who has been theatre critic for the Guardian for 45 years, comes to Bollington Arts Centre on Friday, September 30, to talk about his 101 favourite plays. The plays are listed in his latest book The 101 Greatest Plays from Antiquity to the Present, which was widely praised when first published earlier this year.
Billington, 76, estimates that he has sat in the dark and made notes on 9,000 productions so far. That includes around 50 Hamlets and 40 Twelfth Nights, plus quite a few Alan Ayckborns and Alan Bennetts.
David Ward, literary consultant who has helped organise the visit, said; “All those nights in the stalls have given him time to select a list that ranges across 2,500 years of drama.
Shakespeare is strongly represented and there are many other familiar names but some names are less familiar. We are very lucky to have Michael Billington coming to talk in Bollington. He’s widely respected for his wise assessments and deep knowledge and in the course of a couple of hours at the Arts Centre, will defend some of the plays he included and explain why he left out others.”
Michael’s talk will begin at 7pm, his book will be on sale on the night and he will sign copies.
Tickets are £7.50 (£4 for students) from bollingtonartscentre. co.uk.