This week, novelist Damon Galgut remembers the ground-breaking South African playwright Athol Fugard; and Michael Caines on two very different approaches to the Danish prince.

'Grand Theft Hamlet', on Mubi

'Hamlet', by William Shakespeare, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon- Avon, until March 29 

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Larry Wolff immerses himself in a bold operatic vision of Melville's classic; and Travis Elborough on a boosterish attempt to rescue Croydon from its knockers.

'Moby-Dick', composed by Jake Heggie, Metropolitan Opera House, New York, until March 29

'Croydonopolis: A Journey to the Greatest City that Never Was', by Will Noble

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Toby Lichtig chats to Sam Leith about formative literature at Jewish Book Week; and David Horspool meets Sue Prideaux, winner of this year's Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize.

'The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading', by Sam Leith

'Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin', by Sue Prideaux

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Michael Caines interviews the men behind the Royal Shakespeare Company's thrilling new production of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II; and Nat Segnit finds Pico Iyer's journeys to a Californian monastery a welcome retreat from the world.

'Edward II', by Christopher Marlowe, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until April 5 2025

'Learning from Silence: Lessons from More Than 100 Retreats', by Pico Iyer

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Edith Hall finds herself mesmerised, entranced and perplexed by Sophocles; and Barnaby Phillips on a bizarre imperial incursion in 19th-century Africa.

'Oedipus', by Sophocles, Old Vic until March 29

'Electra', by Sophocles, Duke of York's Theatre until April 12

'A Training School for Elephants', by Sophy Roberts

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This week, we're joined by Eimear McBride as she publishes a compelling new novel; and Anne Fuchs celebrates WG Sebald's illuminating and idiosyncratic essays.

'The City Changes Its Face', by Eimear McBride

'Silent Catastrophes: Essays in Austrian Literature', by WG Sebald, translated by Jo Catling

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Kevin Brazil on the revealing tour d'horizontal of a great writer; and Keith Miller goes down a rabbit-hole in search of Richard Ayoade.

'The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir', by Edmund White

'The Unfinished Harauld Hughes', 'Plays, Prose, Pieces, Poetry', 'The Models Trilogy', 'Four Films', by Harauld Hughes/Richard Ayoade

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Toby Lichtig assesses the latest recreation of Bob Dylan, man and myth; and David Gallagher on an academic and spy who inspired the work of Javier Marias.

'A Complete Unknown', a film by James Mangold

'Scholar-Spy: The Worlds of Professor Sir Peter Russell', by Bruce Taylor

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Boris Dralyuk on a compelling portrait of the Black Sea port of Odesa, past and present; and Russell Williams is put in mind of the rumpled TV detective Columbo by a pacy French novel.

'Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War', by Julian Evans

'Bristol', by Jean Echenoz

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Vanessa Curtis is entranced by the candour of the Bloomsbury set's photograph albums; and Emma Greensmith on the mythical creatures that fascinated the ancient world.

'The Bloomsbury Photographs", by Maggie Humm

'Centaurs and Snake-Kings: Hybrids and the Greek Imagination', by Jeremy McInerney

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, JS Barnes trembles in his boots before the latest incarnation of a classic vampire tale; and Mary C Flannery on the practical magic of the medieval kitchen.

'Nosferatu', various cinemas

'Recipes and Book Culture in England, 1350-1600', Carrie Griffin and Hannah Ryley, editors

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Alex Clark and Lucy Dallas look forward to 2025's most tempting reading, plan a Jane Austen road trip and resolve to sit up straight.

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Simone Gubler ponders the contents of a dog's mind; and Tristram Fane Saunders praises the poet Wendy Cope's strengths and subtleties.

'The Happiness of Dogs: Why the Unexamined Life is Most Worth Living', by Mark Rowlands

'Collared: How We Made the Modern Dog', by Chris Pearson

'Collected Poems', by Wendy Cope

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This week, Catriona Seth goes in search of the mysterious last queen of France; and Maria Margaronis is entranced by the stage adaptation of a children's classic.

'Marie-Antoinette', by Charles-Éloi Vial

'Ballet Shoes', adapted by Kendall Feaver from Noel Streatfeild's novel, National Theatre, London, until February 22

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This week, novelist and playwright Caryl Phillips remembers his friendship with the magnificent James Baldwin; and Robert Potts on the ingenious return of George Smiley.

The works of James Baldwin

'Karla's Choice', a John le Carré novel, by Nick Harkaway

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Mary Beard squares up to the gorefest of Gladiator II; and Alan Hollinghurst in conversation at the Cambridge Literary Festival.

'Gladiator II', various cinemas

'Our Evenings', by Alan Hollinghurst

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Lauren Elkin on a Nobel Prize-winner's obsession with images; and Judith Flanders assesses bold claims about the origins of contemporary English.

'The Use of Photography', by Annie Ernaux and Marc Marie, translated by Alison L. Strayer

'La Langue Anglaise N'existe Pas: C’est du français mal prononcé', by Bernard Cerquiglini

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Toby Lichtig talks to the new Booker Prize-winner Samantha Harvey about her voyage to the stars; and TLS contributors choose their books of the year.

‘Orbital’, by Samantha Harvey

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Norma Clarke explores the world of 18th-century chameleon Mary Robinson; and Devoney Looser on a soccer player's passion for Virginia Woolf.

'Mary Robinson: Actress, mistress, writer, radical',  Chawton House, Chawton, Hampshire, until April 21, 2025 

'The Striker and the Clock: On Being in the Game', by Georgia Cloepfil

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Mary Beard reports on the American election from her billet on Pennysylvania Avenue; plus Regina Rini opens a can of temporal worms in a quest to cure worry.

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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