Simon Callow on Dickens and Theatre
Mon 6 Feb, Cottesloe
In a new biography to mark the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’ birth, Simon Callow offers an insight into a life driven as much by performance and showmanship as by literary endeavour.

Jamie Lloyd on She Stoops to Conquer
Thu 9 Feb, Olivier
The director discusses his new production of Oliver Goldsmith’s comedy.

Alain de Botton
Mon 13 Feb, Lyttelton BS
What if religions are neither all true nor all nonsense? In Religion for Atheists, the philosopher (a nonbeliever) suggests that rather than mocking religions, agnostics and atheists should steal from them – because they’re packed with good ideas on how we arrange our societies.

Nicholas Hytner and Nicholas Wright on Travelling Light
Fri 17 Feb, Lyttelton
The playwright and director discuss this new production.

Gregory Doran
Mon 20 Feb, Cottesloe
Shakespeare’s Lost Play is the story of RSC associate director Gregory Doran’s quest to discover and stage a missing masterpiece, Cardenio; unseen since its first performance in 1613, it is believed by many to be the work of England’s greatest dramatist.

Antony Sher
Thu 23 Feb, Lyttelton
The actor, author and artist talks about his career, and his latest role in Travelling Light

Sue Johnston
Fri 2 Mar, Lyttelton
The actress best-known for her roles in Brookside, The Royle Family and Waking the Dead, reflects on the most precious and fraught relationship of any woman’s life in her poignant and funny memoir, Things I Couldn’t Tell My Mother.

IN CONVERSATION WITH ...Steve Pemberton & Sophie Thompson
Mon 5 March, Olivier, 3pm (1hr), £5
Afternoon interviews with members of the company, talking to Al Senter about their current role and career, and answering your questions.

DV8: Can We Talk About This?
Mon 19 Mar, Lyttelton
Freedom of speech, multiculturalism and Islam; a discussion on DV8’s new production.

Serving Up a Laugh
Sat 24 Mar, 10.30am (90mins), £6/£5, Lyttelton
Harlequin, Dromio, Figaro, Jeeves, Baldrick, and now One Man, Two Guvnors’ Francis and Alfie: comic servants spring up in a variety of guises and serve a variety of roles, ultimately to expose the pomposity of their master and society’s mores. Discussion, readings and clips celebrate this familiar comic figure.

Julian Clary
Mon 26 Mar, Cottesloe
Briefs Encountered is Julian Clary’s latest novel, a dark and wickedly witty story of love, obsession and Noël Coward, evoking both 1920s England and our own more liberated times...

Michael Buffong on Moon on a Rainbow Shawl
Tue 27 Mar, Cottesloe
The director discusses his production of Errol John’s play.

Michael Grandage
Fri 13 April, Olivier Michael Grandage talks to David Benedict about A Decade at the Donmar, a book of photographs capturing the most memorable productions of his ten years as the Donmar’s Artistic Director.

Enda Walsh on Misterman
Thu 19 April, Lyttelton
Enda Walsh discusses his play, fresh from its New York run.

Travelling Light: The Film Pioneers
Wed 25 April, Lyttelton
Film historian Christopher Frayling looks at real-life early Hollywood film-makers, including the Eastern European influx, as depicted in the new play, Travelling Light.

The Astaires: Fred and Adele with Ava Astaire & Matthew Bourne
Fri 4 May, Lyttelton
The Astaire siblings transformed musical theatre on both sides of the Atlantic at the peak of the Jazz Age. Theatre historian Kathleen Riley celebrates their partnership and its legacy with Fred’s daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie and choreographer Matthew Bourne.

Lisa D’Amour and Austin Pendleton on Detroit
Wed 16 May, Cottesloe The playwright and director talk about the production.

Esther Freud
Mon 21 May, Cottesloe
Esther Freud’s novel, Lucky Break, follows a group of young actors from drama school into the ruthless world of auditions, agents, touring and red-carpet premieres.

Polly Findlay on Antigone
Fri 1 June, Olivier
The director Polly Findlay discusses her production of Sophocles’ play.

Orlando Figes
Thu 7 June, Olivier
In Just Send Me Word, the historian recounts the true love story of two young Muscovites, whose smuggled letters to one another form a detailed and agonizing account of life in Stalin’s Soviet Union.

Janet Suzman
Fri 8 June, Cottesloe
In her new book, Women in Theatre, the actress looks at some of her iconic roles – Phaedra, Cleopatra, Hedda – and questions their impact on today’s audience.