From shouts of “he’s behind you” at a Christmas pantomime to truly “immersive” productions in which audience members shape the action, audience participation is rife. The radical Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed – known for shows that test theatrical as well as moral boundaries – are now staging their latest play, Audience, at London’s Soho Theatre. Sarah Hemming, FT theatre critic, talks to Matthieu Sys, an actor in Audience, Neville Hawcock, the FT’s deputy arts editor, and the critic Suzi Feay about the changing role of the audience. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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From Dickens’ London to Wordsworth’s Lakes via the painter George Shaw’s suburban “edgelands”, the British landscape has long permeated writing and visual art. On the opening of the British Library’s exhibition Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands, Jan Dalley talks to the poet Owen Sheers; the exhibition’s curator Jamie Andrews; and FT art critic Jackie Wullschlager. The travel writer Robert Macfarlane is on the line. Plus, Faber's 1998 recording of Harold Pinter reading his poem “Joseph Brearley 1909-1977” © Faber & Faber Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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The Olivier award-winning playwright Simon Stephens is often drawn to dark subjects. “Pornography” tackled the 2005 London bombings; “Punk Rock” depicted violence at an English private school; and his controversial recent play “Three Kingdoms” shed light on the European sex trade. Now, Stephens’ adaptations of two classics – one old, one new – are about to open in London: a rewriting of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and a dramatisation of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He talks to Jan Dalley and Sarah Hemming. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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Thinking differently is what makes Bowie stand out in the noisy world that killed off HMV. And it will be the key skill in the disembodied cultural universe of the future, says FT arts writer Peter Aspden.  

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Based on a novel by Peter Stephan Jungk, 'The Perfect American' is the story of one of the 20th century's biggest entertainment moguls. The FT's arts writer gives his verdict on the work's premiere at the Teatro Real, Madrid.  

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With "The Rite of Spring" in Paris and the Armory Show in New York, 1913 was a key moment for modernism. But it also marked a turning point in Britain's attitude to its past, says the FT's culture columnist  

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The FT's arts writer reports on Mat Collishaw's transition from conceptual shock artist to ‘proper’ draughtsman - and why, unlike revolution or virgin birth, an economic recession makes a poor subject for art  

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The German band’s shows at Tate Modern were wildly oversubscribed. But hot tickets and artistic pleasure don’t necessarily go hand in hand, says the FT’s arts writer  

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With his brother Jake, the British artist has tackled some of modernity’s grisliest themes. The FT’s arts writer finds out why he’s now trying his hand at music  

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Like it or not, the vibrancy of London’s art scene is due in part to the efforts of marketeers, public relations teams and great coffee shops, says the FT’s arts writer,  

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‘Robot and Frank’ paints a benign picture of silicon-based life-forms. But the film’s ‘near-future’ setting is one that often wrong-foots screenwriters  

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As a stage version of the classic BBC sitcom comes to London, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the series’ pioneering mix of comedy and drama  

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The emirate’s contemporary arts event considers some thorny regional issues in a deceptively laid-back way, says the FT’s arts writer  

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We love French culture, yet according to a recent study there’s something in it that makes the French miserable. But every nation’s artistic mindset has its drawbacks, argues the FT’s arts writer  

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Doha’s aspiration to become a global centre for culture is admirable – its squeamishness over ancient Greek sculptures less so, says the FT’s arts writer  

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As a new documentary profiles the soft rock megastars, the FT’s arts writer reflects on their dramatic fall from grace – and their enduring appeal  

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Europe’s film-makers want protection from the might of Hollywood. That’s understandable, argues the FT’s arts writer, but also wrong-headed: the two traditions are deeply intertwined  

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As Margate’s Turner Contemporary gallery celebrates curiosity, the FT’s arts writer does his best to concentrate on the mind’s ability to wander  

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The praise lavished on football’s retiring greats has been wildly overblown, says the FT’s arts writer. Other cultural pursuits are far worthier of grown-ups’ attention  

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Where there is a public clamour for explanation, writers and artists should be unafraid to step in, says the FT's arts writer  

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Countries are vying to project their worth through art, sport and broadcasting. But ‘soft power’ is not always easy to control, says the FT’s arts writer  

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Visa problems and nervousness on the part of potential sponsors have made life hard for London’s festival of contemporary Arab culture. But as the Arab Spring gives way to harsher realities, such forums are needed more than ever, says the FT’s arts writer  

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The Nevada resort, a byword for pleasure-seeking in the here and now, is starting to take its history seriously, says the FT’s arts writer  

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Braving Daleks and Cybermen at the Royal Albert Hall, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the unlikely synergy between classical music and a children’s sci-fi series  

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The late pop singer, whose work has just gone on show at London’s Royal College of Art, was a far more nuanced figure than his punk image would suggest, argues the FT’s arts writer  

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It’s loud, insistent, adolescent and playing now at a Mediterranean resort near you. And as the FT’s arts writer finds, there’s no way you’ll ever get the volume turned down  

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Citing pressure of visitor numbers, the museum banned sketching at its recent “David Bowie Is” exhibition – a move that shows how hard it is for curators to reconcile accessibility and academic values, the FT’s arts writer says  

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Culture is becoming a refuge for the digitally brutalised: an evening at the opera, or cinema, or theatre, is where we go to escape technological overload, the FT’s arts writer argues  

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Spicing up traditional settings with a dash of contemporary style has become a cultural commonplace. But let’s not pretend it’s anything more than an aesthetic compromise, the FT’s arts writer says  

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A forthcoming season on Channel 4 aims to demystify our sexual behaviour – to be ‘open’ and ‘honest’ about a 'normal part of all our lives'. Good luck with that, says the FT’s arts writer  

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The Futurists’ fervent belief in progress heralded disaster; now we worry about what the future will bring. But the FT’s arts writer finds grounds for optimism – and an unexpectedly hippy vibe – at a London ideas festival  

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A new film portrait of the Italian director reveals a man unafraid to confront difficult questions. It’s a kind of artistic responsibility that now feels old-fashioned, the FT’s arts writer says  

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Neglected in his lifetime, the singer-songwriter is now revered, as an event devoted to his album ‘Bryter Later’ demonstrates. But it’s doubtful his genius would have flourished any better in today’s impatient world, the FT’s arts writer says  

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The market for Orthodox icons has been revivified by Russian money in recent years – yet the genre’s spiritual charge and innate conservatism make it a challenging field for collectors  

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A concert sponsored by insurance company Direct Line aims to help time-challenged audiences snatch some shut-eye – but a wakeful FT arts writer finds that the relationship between art and sleep is not a straightforward one  

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They seem always to be on, but ‘Rules of Engagement’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and their ilk shouldn’t be taken for granted: these immaculately crafted, relentlessly inoffensive series open a window on American society  

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The French conceptualist’s exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo is a sense-scrambling rethink of the relationship between art and the environment in which it appears  

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Efforts to restore historic buildings to their original splendour tell us as much about today’s tastes as they do about yesterday’s  

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The FT’s arts writer finds that, for all the acquisitive buzz around art fairs, they still richly cater for people’s inquisitive side too  

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An exhibition of Soviet-era sporting paintings shows how, even in a repressive political climate, artists still made work with real human insight  

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As Miami’s sparkling new Perez Art Museum hosts a big retrospective of the Chinese artist’s work, the FT’s arts writer reflects on culture’s role in challenging oppression  

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In a persuasive new book, the trend forecaster James Wallman says that our appetite for material possessions is giving way to a hunger for experiences. How will that shift be reflected in the arts?  

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Businesses like buying contemporary art to show off their forward-thinking and investment savvy. Fair enough – but it still sits oddly with artists’ desire to provoke and subvert  

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Christian Bale’s hairpiece in the Oscar-nominated movie caper epitomises the preposterousness of the 1970s – but the decade’s unabashed lack of polish looks increasingly appealing in our technology-dependent age  

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As King’s College, London, devotes an exhibition to its charismatic alumnus, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the artist and film-maker’s earliest inspirations  

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The death of the veteran folk singer prompted numerous tributes to his integrity and idealism. But it was his mythical spat with Bob Dylan that really defined his era’s cultural politics  

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Forget Sartre. The Royal Opera’s new ‘Don Giovanni’ suggests that, in a hyper-connected world, hell is the absence of other people  

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A militarist matchbox, a spoof banknote, a Lennon album. . . the FT’s arts writer presents a very personal history of the past half-century in 10 objects  

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Tate Britain’s new show explores our fascination with ruins. But where yesterday’s aficionados looked to the remains of ancient civilisations, today’s ruinous visions are of the future  

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Art and Mammon are uneasy bedfellows: witness the recent furore over the Sydney Biennale. The solution, says the FT’s arts writer, is for institutions to embrace debates over their funding, not run from them  

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