Brief letters: Image manipulation | Honest company names | Waste water services | Fluid intake advice | Frozen’s fairytale origins
November 2023
The Snow Queen review – bold, imaginative and richly musical
The Snow Queen review – flurry of fun needs more sense of adventure
March 2023
Little Mermaid in Denmark vandalised with colours of Russian flag
Copenhagen police open investigation into statue’s defacement seen as support for Moscow in war in Ukraine
December 2022
The Fir Tree review – a must-see festive family fairy tale
Hannah Khalil’s lo-fi retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 story cleverly weaves in humour, carols and a contemporary lesson on woodland conservation
October 2022
‘They want to dream a little longer’: the deep appeal of mermaids
Wherever you look – in cinemas, theatres, sculpture or down at your local lido – these magical creatures are bewitching an ever growing audience
August 2022
The Not So Ugly Duckling: A Play for Grown-Ups review – learning to fly
Maria MacDonell and Jo Clifford consider the classic Hans Christian Andersen story and don’t shy away from nature’s cruelty
September 2021
Top 10s
Top 10 magical short stories
From Oscar Wilde to Dorothy Parker and Sherman Alexie, these stories capture enchantments that are often camouflaged in ordinary life
January 2021
Lockdown culture
The Snow Queen review – whirl through Scarborough's winter wonderland
Polly Lister plays umpteen parts in this spirited Hans Christian Andersen adaptation filmed at Stephen Joseph theatre
December 2020
Top 10s
Top 10 books about mermaids
Away from Disney’s candied revisions, these stories – from Hans Christian Andersen to Helen Dunmore – tell archetypal truths about women’s experience
March 2020
#Notmymermaid: the Disney row is ridiculous – who knows what mermaids look like?
The backlash against a black Little Mermaid was instantaneous and ugly. But dark-skinned water goddesses swam in our imaginations long before Ariel
December 2019
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes review – an enchanted evening
The Snow Queen; Nutcracker review – cold comfort
November 2019
Frozen II review – a charming return but the thaw's setting in
Beloved heroine Elsa has a great new song as she heads into the enchanted forest in this funny, likable but underpowered sequel. Is it time to let her go?
October 2019
Snedronningen (The Snow Queen) review – Abrahamsen's opera fails to melt hearts
The fairytale is patchily told and a drab staging means Hans Abrahamsen’s long-awaited opera debut doesn’t get the production its music deserves
October 2018
Did Hans Christian Andersen keep a woman in cage? A Very Very Very Dark Matter review
Bridge theatre, London Jim Broadbent is brilliantly buffoonish and sadistic in Martin McDonagh’s wildly inventive dismantling of the great Danish storyteller
January 2018
Waking the Feminists: the campaign that revolutionised Irish theatre
At Dublin’s Abbey and Gate theatres and beyond, a grassroots movement has put the spotlight on a new wave of female playwrights, directors and other creatives
December 2017
Play time
Ugly Duckling review – feathers fly in a plucky take on Andersen classic
The set is captivating and the standout moments are performed with swagger by Tutti Frutti, yet the heart of Hans Christian Andersen’s story feels lost
The Little Match Girl review – a Christmas cracker
Corey Claire Annand bewitches as a freezing waif in Arthur Pita’s quirky, imaginative update of the Hans Christian Andersen classic
Little Mermaid's feminist fairytale knocks the spots off Cruella and co
A sophisticated Hans Christian Andersen adaptation in Bath leaves Birmingham Rep’s 101 Dalmatians and the New Vic’s Treasure Island in its wake as a trio of festive family shows open around the UK
