LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) – Helen Mirren was crowned best
actress at Britain’s top theatre awards on Sunday for reprising
her Oscar-winning portrayal of Queen Elizabeth, while a play
about a boy with autism was the night’s top winner, taking home
seven Olivier prizes.

Mirren, 67, has won stellar reviews for starring in “The
Audience”, Peter Morgan’s play about the private weekly meetings
between the queen and the 12 British prime ministers during the
six decades of her reign.

LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) – From hell raisers to family
men, The Eagles have mellowed over the years and are grateful to
have survived the drugs that fuelled the sex and rock ‘n’ roll
of their early years.

In London for the British premiere of their documentary,
“History of the Eagles Part One”, the U.S. band said they looked
back now at the prolific use of drugs, particularly cocaine, in
the 1970s and see it as a snapshot of those times.

LONDON (Reuters) – For a band that thrives on taking risks, moving The Stranglers’ music from the mosh pit to the orchestra pit was an easy decision.

The fact that the punk veterans, more used to fans thrashing around to their songs, are also working on a ballet based on of one their albums just adds to the spirit of adventure.

LONDON (Reuters) – Robert Redford said on Wednesday that the future of London’s Sundance film and music festival was by no means certain, as he launched the British version of an event that aims to boost interest in independent film.

Last year was the first time that the U.S. actor-director had ventured outside the United States with a version of the Sundance Film Festival, the world’s leading independent film festival, that he set up in Park City, Utah, 35 years ago.

LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) – Frankfurt Opera was crowned the
world’s best opera company on Monday at the inaugural
International Opera Awards which were set up to promote opera to
a wider audience as it comes under increasing financial
pressure.

The award was one of 21 prizes announced at a ceremony in
central London to kick off “The Operas”, annual awards set up by
Opera Magazine and British businessman Harry Hyman.

LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) – The price of fame can be high
with an international study on Thursday finding that people who
enjoy successful entertainment or sporting careers tend to die
younger.

Researchers Richard Epstein and Catherine Epstein said the
study, based on analysing 1,000 New York Times obituaries from
2009-2011, found film, music, stage performers and sports people
died at an average age of 77.2 years.

LONDON (Reuters) – Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo returned to the London stage this week for his debut in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Nabucco”, saying he has no plans to slow down with a packed schedule for the year ahead.

Domingo, 72, has spent the past three months performing Verdi in Valencia, Berlin, Vienna and New York and will sing in another six European cities in the next four months.

LONDON (Reuters) – British musician Colin Davis, who led orchestras all over the world but was most closely associated with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) where he was the longest-serving principal conductor, has died aged 85.

Davis, internationally renowned for his interpretations of Mozart, Sibelius and Berlioz, first conducted the LSO in 1959 and became its principal conductor from 1995 to 2006 after a fiery start to his career when he was known for his tantrums.

LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) – Britain’s public broadcaster
came under fire on Friday for compromising over the song “Ding
Dong! The Witch Is Dead” that was sent flying up the UK charts
by a campaign to celebrate former prime minister Margaret
Thatcher’s death.

The song from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” is vying for
the No. 1 slot in the UK’s weekly list of the top 40
best-selling singles that are usually played in full on a BBC
Radio 1 chart show on Sunday.

LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) – Britain’s public broadcaster
has refused to ban the song “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead” after
anti-Margaret Thatcher campaigners sent it soaring into the
charts following the death of the former prime minister.

The BBC said it would only play a clip of the 74-year-old
song as part of a “news item” on its weekly Radio 1 chart show
after the campaign pushed it into the UK top 10 list to
“celebrate” Thatcher’s death.