From cradle to grave

Charming and witty, but not without teeth, the opening of Alan Bennett's first play in 6 years and his tenth collaboration with director Nicholas Hytner will be for many a source of celebration. Sliding pastel-shaded panels evocatively create careworn National Health Service (NHS) wards and corridors. Granted the play's closing speech, his words are ones of quiet despair with the entreaty to “open your arms before it's too late”.