There are more theatre openings in London this week than decent sunny spells, many of them featuring some familiar (read: off telly) faces... Under the Blue Sky, a story of three intertwined love stories with Catherine Tate, a couple of girls you'll recognise from Cranford, and him from the IT Crowd starts previews at the Duke of York today. Over at the Vaudeville, more Cranfordians tread the boards in The Female of the Species......

Some new faces will be taking on the West End, for better or worse. Fresh out of Doctor Who, Catherine Tate is in Under The Blue Sky, where she'll be playing a nymphomaniac (yes, you read that correctly). Tate has also mentioned her desire to take on Shakespeare in the future. Hey, if Sienna can hack it, why not Catherine? You can see her, as well at The IT Crowd's Chris O'Dowd, at the......

Merry Christmas! (Or, if you’re not so much into the whole Christmas thing, Happy Tuesday!) We hope you’re having a very lovely Christmas day. If you need a break from the family madness, here are a few things you might want to take a peek at. On TV, Londonist likes: Top of the Pops Christmas Special (BBC1, 13:30-4:30)) Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates present this look at the year’s most popular acts – and......

Just out the Van: Next Monday's From Jane Austen to Catherine Tate: The Rise of the Female Comic Writer brings together a panel, including Shazia Mirza, Marina Lewycka and Stella Duffy, to unpick the funny bone of women's writing - how does it differ from men's writing? Is it funnier, gentler or crueller? Are there universal jokes that women laugh at worldwide? And does it ultimately change anything? Monday 4th June, 7.45pm, £8.50, Purcell......

When you woke up this morning, your first thought was most likely “It’s St. George’s Day!” You undoubtedly leapt out of bed, barely able to contain your excitement, ready to kick up your heels and start celebrating in style. However, you might find yourself stumped as to what you can do to commemorate this special occasion, seeing as you most likely have to work (unless you happen to be employed by this guy). But......

Fed up of being forced to listen to tinny Akon played through a mobile phone loudspeaker by a loud and frankly intimidating group of school children, more than likely packing knives, high on drugs or, simply, astonishingly mouthy on the bus? Well fear no more. Ken has stumped up cash to provide nearly 400 extra Police Community Support Officers to patrol public transport, particularly in the post school rush. He says, "They will form......

Mama Mouse: [To her eight happy children] My darling children, how happy you all look at our Monday morning breakfast table in our beautiful home in the Cheesegrater. Did you have a good weekend? Mouslings: We had a wonderful weekend! We went to all our favourite night clubs such as Movida, Pangea, Crystal and Chinawhite which we can now frequent because we are rich nd privileged due to the dubious "family business" you and......

Hollywood hunk Vince Vaughn will grace the stage at The Old Vic this Sunday, 8th October, as part of The 24 Hour Plays Benefit. "In collaboration with six writers and six directors, the actors will create and stage new works in just one day". Starting out in 1995 as "an opportunity to bring together a community of creative people in a time-limited experiment", The 24 Hour Plays "recently teamed with Planet Impact, a philanthropic......