Samantha Gilmartin

Theatre censorship was abolished 40 years ago this month. Here's a look back at the playwrights and the people that overturned centuries of artistic stuffiness, and how their rather fruity new productions managed to pave the way for the liberated theatre we enjoy today

The Edinburgh Fringe has become a staple part of one of the most iconic and popular arts festivals in the world. But with many criticising the modern shape and content of the event, has the Fringe cut itself off from tradition and lost its distinctive look?

When Sir Jonathan Miller's critically acclaimed version of Hamlet wasn't picked up by any West End producers, he became the latest in a long line of high profile detractors from the recent penchant for star-studded casts. Is he right to hit back at an industry bloated by its own self importance? Or is this possibly the archetypal classic case of sour grapes?

From a distance you could be forgiven for mistaking some of Margate's most distinctive visitors for lonely brides standing sentinel on the seafront, their large white dresses and slightly achronistic bonnets creating a stark contrast with the grey, crumbling prom of the almost forgotten Kent seaside town.

Since the BBC announced that over 7.2 million users have logged on to its iplayer service in only its first two months and the relentless rise of 'less than legal' content streamers sky-rockets, we may ask ourselves: does the dawn of the digital age mean the death sentence for live theatre?

In the last five years the stream of phone-in talent shows on television has tripled into a raging torrent. Are these programmes a new way of giving the viewer what they want, or just a new way of repackaging what they've got?

Barely a day goes by without either Andrew Lloyd Webber or Cameron Mackintosh announcing further proof that their recent string of television shows have bumped up theatre audience figures all over the country. In the wake of inflation and the credit crunch however, we may have to ask: just how long will our love affair with the West End last?