Last week, ICE arrested and separated a father and son after a routine check-in. Six-year-old Yuanxin had just enrolled in the first grade at an elementary school in Astoria. Now he's in custody, alone. ICE won't say where. This cruelty serves no one. It must end.

Arts Council England (ACE) has unveiled a new £2 million scheme to support the ambitions of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse theatre makers in the North of England.

Audition alert! To work with @paulavarjack.bsky.social on their show Nine Sixteenths which is going on tour next year. Full details are here: paulavarjack.com/9-16ths/cast...

I'm really grateful for the opportunity to talk about how this show has changed, and changed us, too. Thanks @exeuntmagazine.bsky.social

Green party reaches 100,000 members for first time after Polanski becomes leader

In today's least surprising news

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

Some good news. London is meeting legal limits for toxic NO2 pollution for the first time – almost 200 years earlier than predicted – following the Mayor’s "world leading air pollution policies," City Hall announces. The Ultra Low Emissions Zone - and similar policies - really do work.

The Brits have such a way with words. You know. Those things with letter that help you define and say stuff about things.

I'M SORRY I HAD TO GO - A GIRL ON THE CORRIDOR CAME OUT TO ASK ME TO STOP, I TOLD HER TO GO DOWNSTAIRS BUT SHE SAID THERE WERE PEOPLE THERE TOO - WHICH SHE COULDN'T KNOW BECAUSE SHE'D BEEN UPSTAIRS ALL THE TIME SINCE I REVERSED THE CHARGES; BUT SHE KEPT BANGING ON THE GLASS AT ME

landing in Edinburgh necessitates an immediate midnight piemaker trip that's how you know you've arrived, that you are real, alive

Famously, between the first and the second act of Waiting for Godot, the only difference in the stage set is that a previously bare tree ‘has four or five leaves’. So what’s the main note to self I found in this copy which seems to have belonged to a stage manager called Nigel...?

Israeli forces have raided and demolished the Palestinian seed bank in occupied Hebron, West Bank. They used heavy machinery to destroy the seeds and the equipments required to store them. Israel’s war is against Life itself. More here www.instagram.com/p/DMyWONPujY6

New! ⚡ Applications are now open for seven paid commissions at Fresh Ink: Hull Playwriting Festival 2026, for any writer with a meaningful connection to Hull: freshinkhull.co.uk/apply

The 147 other nations that already recognise Palestinian statehood do so because it is the right thing to do, not as a threat or a bargaining chip. God, what a grubby, venal, craven embarrassment of a country this makes us look. www.bbc.com/news/live/cd...

A reminder that it was only 18 days ago that Lisa Nandy met with the Israeli ambassador to talk about Glastonbury.

Migrants at a Miami immigration jail were shackled with their hands tied behind their backs and made to kneel to eat food from styrofoam plates “like dogs”, per a report from Human Rights Watch

The U.K. is a police state

cats out the bag I'm getting publicly bullied on a national scale xxx

Our staff is on the ground supporting families. Many workers-including US citizens, were held by federal authorities at the farm for 8 hours or more. US citizen workers report only being released after they were forced to delete photos and videos of the raid from their phones. 4/

The UFW can confirm farm workers were critically injured yesterday during chaotic raids in Ventura County, CA. Other workers, including US citizens, remain unaccounted for. UFW staff is on the ground supporting impacted families. Our full statement below. ⬇️ 1/

any playwrights/writers have anti-generative AI riders ready that they'd be willing to share? just want to be prepared and make sure I don't miss something that I'd want included.

I would marry potatoes.

thought this was a joke turns out is not a joke is completely true everything is hellish fucking hell free palestine again and again and again

Just received news that 27 people have been arrested in Parliament Square under the Terrorism Act 2000 for holding signs saying "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action". This is real police state behaviour.

Worth putting it on the record here, though you probably already know it: “Alligator Alcatraz” is a concentration camp.

Surprisingly effective things Zohran Mamdani ran on: -free buses -rent freeze -halal cart for $8 instead of $10 -taxing the 1% -no cost childcare -city-owned grocery stores -a Department Of Community Safety for mental health programs and crisis response -building affordable housing -why Cuomo sucks

Sally Rooney nails it here. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is so so great. Titilola is phenomenal.

There is always something.

“Yippee ki-yay…” We are excited to tell everyone that Westminster Council decided on May 1st that the Prince Charles Cinema would be included in the list of Assets of Community Value maintained by the Council under section 87 of the Localism Act 2011.

Megathread of pro-trans petitions on Parliament’s petition website. If Labour suddenly gets hit with debates for a bunch of pro-trans petitions, maybe they’ll realise this issue isn’t going away and they’ve fucked up. I’ll add more as I find them. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

I feel like banging my head against the wall when I say this BUT there is no point worrying about keeping the doors open, the lights on and maintaining some sort of status quo if there’s no new art to put in them! you become custodians of archives not living, breathing, thriving, relevant theatres

that's theatre rly x

No we haven't

one great mystery of our age is how the only way to motivate rich people to work is to give them loads of money for no reason but the only way to motivate poor people to work is to take away loads of their money for no reason

Directors - what's the best training / course/ bit of learning you've done recently? Looking for 1-3 day courses/ teachers/ workshops etc. Doesn't have to be obvious/ directly related stuff. Have a training budget I've not used up! I wanna learn stuff! #theatre #directing

turns out no x

maybe I'm special in the specific way where I actually don't have to do my tax return what about that

is a peanut butter sandwich okay grown up dinner for someone who also hasn't done their tax return yet. please.

Resharing this, anyone got a fab London based rehearsal room for a brilliant young Croydon based actor to shadow on any date from 10th - 14th Feb? Have had some lovely offers. Trying to shape a fab week.

Into a gorgeous Zoo Co R+D this week with a room of legendary women. Feel v lucky. Real coven assembly shit.

My new Feb resolution will be to post on & read Blue Sky more. For now...if anyone wants to know about the 7th to 10th March Essential Producing short London intensive course www.chrisgrady.org/intensive-lo... Do share. I have 2 more places available.

Starting to hear news of human rights NGOs from a bit everywhere losing much if not all of their fundings due to the Trump cuts. I can’t legally share yet but I suspect the news will come out soon if it hasn’t already. This includes groups that investigate crimes against humanity

Back into town today for Opera Labs director training at Royal Opera House - the entire thing (opera) is mad to me still but we! shall! see!

got an excellent, kind, talented 17yo boy in my Young Company who's looking for work experience in Feb in a theatre setting. Does anyone in London have a great rehearsal room he could shadow? even if it's just a day or two. drop me a message! please share!

unhinged play from frankie, incredible game from alexander, charlotte is COOKED #TheTraitors

not sure x

big same, I liked this movie with no shred of irony x