Thea Sharrock was born in London to journalist parents in 1976 and grew up partly in Kenya. Aged just 24, she became artistic director of Southwark Playhouse, later running the Gate in Notting Hill. Her many productions include Equus with Daniel Radcliffe and Terence Rattigan’s After the Dance with Benedict Cumberbatch, which won four Oliviers. She has directed four films – including 2023’s Wicked Little Letters, starring Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley – and is adapting the classic western High Noon for the stage with Billy Crudup and Denise Gough. It runs at the Harold Pinter theatre until 6 March.
Film
One Battle After Another (2025, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
This is an instant classic – honestly one of the best films I’ve ever seen, and exactly what cinema needs to be right now. It’s about parenthood and how very complicated human beings are, and how, even if you try your best for somebody, it doesn’t always lead to an easy path. It’s masterfully balanced with jaw-dropping performances from the whole cast. As a director, I can’t help but focus on the technical side when I go to the cinema, so to get completely lost in this film and come out feeling inspired was wonderful.
Theatre
Inter Alia at the National
I went to see this twice and on both nights there were young people who were visibly shaken by the experience. They were all wanting to go again and bring their friends, which shows just how important the play is. Rosamund Pike, who is outstanding, plays a mother and a judge who has become an expert on rape cases, and you follow the interweaving of a very successful woman’s private life with her professional life. If you missed it at the National, it’s transferring to Wyndham’s in the West End in March.
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Music
Lily Allen: West End Girl
I think Lily Allen did something very brave here. It’s a cleverly curated album driven by a need to share a really painful personal narrative – the breakup of her marriage . The contrast between how the music makes you feel and the unflinching lyrics is brutally brilliant. If you shut yourself off to the words, you find yourself bopping around your room. It’s a joy to listen to. Allen has never compromised in her life, and here she has successfully pushed herself even further.
Sport
Arsenal at Emirates stadium
If I have a religion, it’s Arsenal. My brother took me to Highbury for the first time on 7 December 1996, when Arsenal played Derby County and we drew 2-2. There was no going back after that. Now I go with my son, and that passing down [of the tradition] is such a strong part of the experience. It’s a safe haven for me. Hugging strangers in moments of joy and sharing the pain of losing is a really important part of humanity in what’s become such an individualised world.
TV
Mr Scorsese (Apple TV)
This five-part documentary is a fantastic, candid insight into one of the greatest ever film-makers and an honest exploration of the demons that have driven him to make movies. The footage showing how he came out of the shadows of his childhood is perfectly balanced with interviews from his biggest creative partnerships. They’ve got huge names – De Niro, DiCaprio – but I particularly enjoyed hearing from Isabella Rossellini and the friends he grew up alongside. And it felt like a privilege to have access to Scorsese’s thoughts.
Restaurant
Spring, London WC2
I went to Spring for the first time earlier this year with two women I’d just worked with and it was everything we wanted and needed as a celebratory dinner. We sat in a beautiful private bay window. The service was charming and every single dish was exquisite – it is seasonal cooking using the best possible ingredients. I was so sad to hear of [chef-owner] Skye Gyngell’s passing last month. I never met her but I felt completely drawn to her. The dinner took hours because we didn’t want to leave. I feel very lucky to have gone.
Photographs by Simon Ackerman/WireImage, Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy, Manuel Harlan/National Theatre, Dave Benett/Getty Images, Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images, Apple TV+