Mark Monahan

Our critics share their top picks for this coming year, including films, TV, art, books, theatre dance and music

BRB’s Covid-safe Nutcracker is a tragically reduced affair – but parents watching it at home may nevertheless find a magical silver lining

Our arts critics look back those who made our lives just a little bit brighter, from a lockdown disco DJ to a virtual pub gig landlady

The Royal Ballet’s first full-evening show since March is a ‘Covid-safe’ version of its festive staple - but does it really work?

Arguably the biggest dance event of 2020 so far saw BRB return under Carlos Acosta, Sadler’s reopen, and ballet tackle the Covid crisis

Star choreographer Will Tuckett reveals the secrets behind Lazuli Sky, the first new dance work since lockdown

Live ballet is back - but, as this beautifully danced, season-launching gala revealed, the experience isn’t what it used to be

The ITV drama led by David Tennant and Jason Watkins was, according to Nilsen’s biographer, a troubling and uncanny work

Rambert is the first UK dance troupe fully off the post-lockdown blocks with an ambitious and eminently topical new live-streamed piece

Some of Britain’s top ballet stars explain how they’re keeping in shape while stuck at home, and offer tips for the locked-down everywhere

A new work at Covent Garden about the great English cellist has a particularly personal resonance for its creator. Mark Monahan reports

The Nutcracker has long been so familiar, such a sparkling, snow-dusted cornerstone of the festive season, that it is all too easy to take it for granted.

The 11th annual edition of Rock for Public Service has grown considerably in size and scope.

Hard as it is to believe, it was 25 years ago that Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge first aired on Radio 4.

Sylvia is a ballet that might never have made it into the modern age.

Rambert’s new mixed bill is a reminder of two things above all about Britain’s oldest (and yet resolutely contemporary) dance company.

Arthur Pita’s The Wind is a valiant dance-theatrical stab at a well-chosen story, but one that, in its current form at least, doesn’t come close to blowing you away.

A “national celebration” this certainly is.

Always the most forward-looking and scientifically minded of choreographers, Wayne McGregor has now turned for inspiration not only to his own history, but also to his genetic make-up.

The Royal Ballet could hardly have chosen a more eye-popping or enjoyable production with which to launch its autumn season.