With shortened business cycles, increased competition, and rapidly changing technologies, companies need to be more nimble than ever. They must narrow the gap between strategy formulation and operation execution to guarantee success. The Strategy Gap will provide a framework that senior financial managers can use to ensure that their strategies are implemented successfully and that their corporations remain competitive. Filled with informative case studies and best practices for optimum financial processes, this valuable resource will help managers leverage information technology to successfully implement corporate strategies. This book also shows managers how to eliminate surprises in poorly managed or unforeseen activities, while applying new approaches to financial management for faster and more accurate business modeling. Expert advice from those who have used these strategies clearly explains how to integrate planning, budgeting, consolidation, and reporting into one cohesive management system.

This fully revised and updated edition of the hugely successful London Theatres features ten additional theatres, including the Victoria Palace Theatre, the Sondheim Theatre, the Bridge Theatre and the Noël Coward Theatre.  London is the undisputed theatre capital of the world. From world-famous musicals to West End shows, from cutting-edge plays to Shakespeare in its original staging, from outdoor performance to intimate fringe theatre, the range and quality are unsurpassed.  Leading drama critic Michael Coveney invites you on a tour of more than 50 theatres that make the London stage what it is. With stories of the architecture, the people and the productions which have defined each one, alongside sumptuous photographs by Peter Dazeley of the auditoriums, public and backstage areas, this illustrated overview of London's theatres is a book like no other. A must for fans of the stage!  Praise for the first edition:‘This coffee table whopper ... dazzles’ Spectator‘London Theatres ... will surely feature on any theatre buff's present list’ SightlinesNew chapters included in the second edition:Victoria Palace Theatre; The Bridge Theatre; Menier Chocolate Factory; Hampstead Theatre; Sondheim Theatre (formerly Queen's Theatre); Harold Pinter Theatre, Noël Coward Theatre; Aldwych Theatre; Garrick Theatre; Vaudeville Theatre; Phoenix Theatre

This fully revised and updated edition of the hugely successful London Theatres features ten additional theatres, including the Victoria Palace Theatre, the Sondheim Theatre, the Bridge Theatre and the Noël Coward Theatre.  London is the undisputed theatre capital of the world. From world-famous musicals to West End shows, from cutting-edge plays to Shakespeare in its original staging, from outdoor performance to intimate fringe theatre, the range and quality are unsurpassed.  Leading drama critic Michael Coveney invites you on a tour of more than 50 theatres that make the London stage what it is. With stories of the architecture, the people and the productions which have defined each one, alongside sumptuous photographs by Peter Dazeley of the auditoriums, public and backstage areas, this illustrated overview of London's theatres is a book like no other. A must for fans of the stage!  Praise for the first edition:‘This coffee table whopper ... dazzles’ Spectator‘London Theatres ... will surely feature on any theatre buff's present list’ Sightlines

With shortened business cycles, increased competition, and rapidly changing technologies, companies need to be more nimble than ever. They must narrow the gap between strategy formulation and operation execution to guarantee success. The Strategy Gap will provide a framework that senior financial managers can use to ensure that their strategies are implemented successfully and that their corporations remain competitive. Filled with informative case studies and best practices for optimum financial processes, this valuable resource will help managers leverage information technology to successfully implement corporate strategies. This book also shows managers how to eliminate surprises in poorly managed or unforeseen activities, while applying new approaches to financial management for faster and more accurate business modeling. Expert advice from those who have used these strategies clearly explains how to integrate planning, budgeting, consolidation, and reporting into one cohesive management system.

Shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize 2021This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney – a former member of Ilford''s Renegades - tells this tale with a charm and wit that will have you shouting out for an encore. This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and product of the times in which we live.Some of the companies Coveney delves into – all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birmingham''s Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; Lincolnshire''s Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent''s father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; and Cornwall''s stunning cliff-top Minack.

Shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize 2021This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney – a former member of Ilford''s Renegades - tells this tale with a charm and wit that will have you shouting out for an encore. This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and product of the times in which we live.Some of the companies Coveney delves into – all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birmingham''s Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; Lincolnshire''s Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent''s father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; and Cornwall''s stunning cliff-top Minack.

This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney – a former member of Ilford's Renegades - tells this tale with a charm and wit that will have you shouting out for an encore. Between the two world wars, amateur theatre thrived across the UK, from Newcastle to Norwich, from Bolton to Birmingham and Bangor, championed by the likes of George Bernard Shaw, Sybil Thorndike, and J B Priestley. Often born out of a particular political cause or predicament, many of these theatres and companies continue to evolve, survive and even prosper today. This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and product of the times in which we live.Some of the companies Coveney delves into – all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birmingham's Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; the Halifax Thespians; Lincolnshire's Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent's father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; Crayford's Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, where the careers of Michael Gambon and Diana Quick were launched; Anglesey's Theatr Fach, a crucible of Welsh language theatre; and Cornwall's stunning cliff-top Minack.

'Coveney is the only writer who could get under Smith's skin, capturing her steeliness and vulnerability' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYFrom West End comedy to Alan Bennett, Harry Potter to Downton Abbey, Academy Award-winning actor Dame Maggie Smith cemented herself as one of Britain's best-loved figures over a career spanning seven decades.But despite her public stature, Smith was an enigmatic figure for much of her life, rarely appearing in public and carefully guarding her considerable talent. Drawing on personal archives, interviews and encounters with the actress, as well as conversations with immediate family and dear friends, Michael Coveney's biography is a captivating portrait of the real Maggie Smith: the closest biography ever written of one of acting's greats.

London is the theatre capital of the world. From world-famous musicals to West End shows, from cutting-edge plays to Shakespeare in its original staging, from outdoor performance to intimate fringe theatre, the range and quality is unsurpassed.Leading theatre critic Michael Coveney invites you on a tour of the forty-five theatres which make the London stage what it is, with stories of the architecture, the people and the productions which have defined each one. Sumptuous photographs by Peter Dazeley of the public areas, auditorium and backstage complete the picture.Contents include:1. Grandes Dames: The Grade I listed Haymarket, Drury Lane, and Covent Garden Opera House2. Palaces of Pleasure: The London Palladium, the Coliseum, Lyceum, and Prince of Wales3. Popular landmarks: The National Theatre, Old Vic, Shakespeare’s Globe, Roundhouse, and Royal Court4. Informal delights: The Young Vic, Almeida, Donmar, and The Other Palace, opening 20175. Legends Alive: Richmond Theatre, The Playhouse, Adelphi, and the New Ambassadors6. Hidden Gems: Alexandra Palace, The BBC Radio Theatre, Normansfield and Charing Cross theatres7. Eastward Ho!: Barbican, Hackney Empire, Stratford East, and Wilton’s Music Hall8. West End jewels: The Savoy, Novello, Duke of York's, St Martin's, and Criterion

Michael Coveney has been writing theatrical obituaries alongside reviews for several decades and makes a telling, sometimes surprising, selection of the best performers of our time, from Laurence Olivier to Alan Rickman, Peggy Ashcroft to Helen McCrory, Richard Briers to Ken Dodd. Most of these obits appeared in the Guardian, several in the Observer, the Financial Times and the Evening Standard. The fifty articles are arranged in chronological order of each actor’s demise and constitute a vivid history of postwar theatre through the lives of the actors, ‘the abstract and brief chronicles of the time’ as Hamlet called them. There are happy/sad juxtapositions of shooting stars Robert Stephens and Alan Bates; tragic niece and aunt, Natasha Richardson and Lynn Redgrave; classical queens Diana Rigg and Barbara Jefford; and versatile showtime hoofers Una Stubbs and Lionel Blair.

With shortened business cycles, increased competition, and rapidly changing technologies, companies need to be more nimble than ever. They must narrow the gap between strategy formulation and operation execution to guarantee success. The Strategy Gap will provide a framework that senior financial managers can use to ensure that their strategies are implemented successfully and that their corporations remain competitive. Filled with informative case studies and best practices for optimum financial processes, this valuable resource will help managers leverage information technology to successfully implement corporate strategies. This book also shows managers how to eliminate surprises in poorly managed or unforeseen activities, while applying new approaches to financial management for faster and more accurate business modeling. Expert advice from those who have used these strategies clearly explains how to integrate planning, budgeting, consolidation, and reporting into one cohesive management system.

This fully revised and updated edition of the hugely successful London Theatres features ten additional theatres, including the Victoria Palace Theatre, the Sondheim Theatre, the Bridge Theatre and the Noël Coward Theatre.  London is the undisputed theatre capital of the world. From world-famous musicals to West End shows, from cutting-edge plays to Shakespeare in its original staging, from outdoor performance to intimate fringe theatre, the range and quality are unsurpassed.  Leading drama critic Michael Coveney invites you on a tour of more than 50 theatres that make the London stage what it is. With stories of the architecture, the people and the productions which have defined each one, alongside sumptuous photographs by Peter Dazeley of the auditoriums, public and backstage areas, this illustrated overview of London's theatres is a book like no other. A must for fans of the stage!  Praise for the first edition:‘This coffee table whopper ... dazzles’ Spectator‘London Theatres ... will surely feature on any theatre buff's present list’ SightlinesNew chapters included in the second edition:Victoria Palace Theatre; The Bridge Theatre; Menier Chocolate Factory; Hampstead Theatre; Sondheim Theatre (formerly Queen's Theatre); Harold Pinter Theatre, Noël Coward Theatre; Aldwych Theatre; Garrick Theatre; Vaudeville Theatre; Phoenix Theatre

This fully revised and updated edition of the hugely successful London Theatres features ten additional theatres, including the Victoria Palace Theatre, the Sondheim Theatre, the Bridge Theatre and the Noël Coward Theatre.  London is the undisputed theatre capital of the world. From world-famous musicals to West End shows, from cutting-edge plays to Shakespeare in its original staging, from outdoor performance to intimate fringe theatre, the range and quality are unsurpassed.  Leading drama critic Michael Coveney invites you on a tour of more than 50 theatres that make the London stage what it is. With stories of the architecture, the people and the productions which have defined each one, alongside sumptuous photographs by Peter Dazeley of the auditoriums, public and backstage areas, this illustrated overview of London's theatres is a book like no other. A must for fans of the stage!  Praise for the first edition:‘This coffee table whopper ... dazzles’ Spectator‘London Theatres ... will surely feature on any theatre buff's present list’ Sightlines

With shortened business cycles, increased competition, and rapidly changing technologies, companies need to be more nimble than ever. They must narrow the gap between strategy formulation and operation execution to guarantee success. The Strategy Gap will provide a framework that senior financial managers can use to ensure that their strategies are implemented successfully and that their corporations remain competitive. Filled with informative case studies and best practices for optimum financial processes, this valuable resource will help managers leverage information technology to successfully implement corporate strategies. This book also shows managers how to eliminate surprises in poorly managed or unforeseen activities, while applying new approaches to financial management for faster and more accurate business modeling. Expert advice from those who have used these strategies clearly explains how to integrate planning, budgeting, consolidation, and reporting into one cohesive management system.

Shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize 2021This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney – a former member of Ilford''s Renegades - tells this tale with a charm and wit that will have you shouting out for an encore. This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and product of the times in which we live.Some of the companies Coveney delves into – all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birmingham''s Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; Lincolnshire''s Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent''s father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; and Cornwall''s stunning cliff-top Minack.

Shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize 2021This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney – a former member of Ilford''s Renegades - tells this tale with a charm and wit that will have you shouting out for an encore. This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and product of the times in which we live.Some of the companies Coveney delves into – all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birmingham''s Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; Lincolnshire''s Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent''s father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; and Cornwall''s stunning cliff-top Minack.

This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney – a former member of Ilford's Renegades - tells this tale with a charm and wit that will have you shouting out for an encore. Between the two world wars, amateur theatre thrived across the UK, from Newcastle to Norwich, from Bolton to Birmingham and Bangor, championed by the likes of George Bernard Shaw, Sybil Thorndike, and J B Priestley. Often born out of a particular political cause or predicament, many of these theatres and companies continue to evolve, survive and even prosper today. This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and product of the times in which we live.Some of the companies Coveney delves into – all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birmingham's Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; the Halifax Thespians; Lincolnshire's Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent's father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; Crayford's Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, where the careers of Michael Gambon and Diana Quick were launched; Anglesey's Theatr Fach, a crucible of Welsh language theatre; and Cornwall's stunning cliff-top Minack.

'Coveney is the only writer who could get under Smith's skin, capturing her steeliness and vulnerability' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYFrom West End comedy to Alan Bennett, Harry Potter to Downton Abbey, Academy Award-winning actor Dame Maggie Smith cemented herself as one of Britain's best-loved figures over a career spanning seven decades.But despite her public stature, Smith was an enigmatic figure for much of her life, rarely appearing in public and carefully guarding her considerable talent. Drawing on personal archives, interviews and encounters with the actress, as well as conversations with immediate family and dear friends, Michael Coveney's biography is a captivating portrait of the real Maggie Smith: the closest biography ever written of one of acting's greats.

London is the theatre capital of the world. From world-famous musicals to West End shows, from cutting-edge plays to Shakespeare in its original staging, from outdoor performance to intimate fringe theatre, the range and quality is unsurpassed.Leading theatre critic Michael Coveney invites you on a tour of the forty-five theatres which make the London stage what it is, with stories of the architecture, the people and the productions which have defined each one. Sumptuous photographs by Peter Dazeley of the public areas, auditorium and backstage complete the picture.Contents include:1. Grandes Dames: The Grade I listed Haymarket, Drury Lane, and Covent Garden Opera House2. Palaces of Pleasure: The London Palladium, the Coliseum, Lyceum, and Prince of Wales3. Popular landmarks: The National Theatre, Old Vic, Shakespeare’s Globe, Roundhouse, and Royal Court4. Informal delights: The Young Vic, Almeida, Donmar, and The Other Palace, opening 20175. Legends Alive: Richmond Theatre, The Playhouse, Adelphi, and the New Ambassadors6. Hidden Gems: Alexandra Palace, The BBC Radio Theatre, Normansfield and Charing Cross theatres7. Eastward Ho!: Barbican, Hackney Empire, Stratford East, and Wilton’s Music Hall8. West End jewels: The Savoy, Novello, Duke of York's, St Martin's, and Criterion

Michael Coveney has been writing theatrical obituaries alongside reviews for several decades and makes a telling, sometimes surprising, selection of the best performers of our time, from Laurence Olivier to Alan Rickman, Peggy Ashcroft to Helen McCrory, Richard Briers to Ken Dodd. Most of these obits appeared in the Guardian, several in the Observer, the Financial Times and the Evening Standard. The fifty articles are arranged in chronological order of each actor’s demise and constitute a vivid history of postwar theatre through the lives of the actors, ‘the abstract and brief chronicles of the time’ as Hamlet called them. There are happy/sad juxtapositions of shooting stars Robert Stephens and Alan Bates; tragic niece and aunt, Natasha Richardson and Lynn Redgrave; classical queens Diana Rigg and Barbara Jefford; and versatile showtime hoofers Una Stubbs and Lionel Blair.