The Latest Breaking News from Rada

The actor on his early years acting in caves, being with his mum at the end of her life, and a lasting regret

Acclaimed theatre director admired for his productions of Kiss Me Kate and Copenhagen

A rare video aired on Ukrainian television on Sunday allegedly showing a Russian pilot who had defected and encouraging other Russian soldiers to do the same. His dramatic escape allegedly took six months to plan, and was carried out in cooperation with Ukraine’s intelligence services. Whether the video is authentic…

Following a year of relative calm in Libya, fighting erupted again this week in the capital Tripoli. The UN-backed government remains powerless in more than a third of the country, whose people have not seen an election in almost a decade.

It’s going to get messy

The Chewing Gum star on returning to the stage, discovering a different side of herself on Taskmaster and why she likes to be called handsome

She cancelled her honeymoon to star in A Streetcar Named Desire with four days’ notice – then won the 2023 Critics’ Circle best actress award. She talks to the Observer’s theatre critic, an early champion, about her next move

Joe Biden, “together with a band of his closest thugs, misfits and Marxists, tried to destroy American democracy.”

Other lives: Theatrical designer who created sets for theatres in the West End and on Broadway