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Exclusive: The principal at Andrew Lloyd Webber-supported drama school ArtsEd branded students “snakes” and appeared to threaten them with legal action after being accused of favoritism, according to a leaked recording.

Julie Spencer has been at the eye of a bullying storm after a Deadline investigation revealed concerns over student and staff safety at the prestigious London drama school, which counts Lloyd Webber as president and donor.

ArtsEd said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the audio obtained by Deadline (listen to an edited version below) and on Monday formally launched an independent inquiry into the misconduct allegations. Spencer has not commented. She is on medical leave and will not return to work while the investigation is ongoing.

This is an edited version of the full audio. Click Cc icon for subtitles.

The leaked recording reveals how Spencer scolded a group of students for more than 30 minutes during a...

Jane Seymour has opened up about a near-death experience she had in 1988.

The actor, 72, who rose to fame as Bond girl Solitaire in the 007 film Live and Let Die, nearly died after she contracted bronchitis during filming and an antibiotic was injected into a vein rather than a muscle.

Asked in a new interview in The Times Magazine about whether she believes anything happens after we die, she said: “I have no idea. I do know that I left my body [after the near-lethal antibiotics]. I did see the white light and I did look down and quite clearly see and hear everyone screaming and trying to resuscitate me, which they were able to do.

“But when you’re out of your body, everything goes very calm.”

Seymour added that, looking back on her life, she doesn’t have any regrets. “I really don’t,” she said. “I’ve probably made millions of...

Exclusive: Rachel Weisz is set star in and produce Legendary’s adaptation of acclaimed suspense novel Seance on a Wet Afternoon with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy helmer Tomas Alfredson to direct.

Alfredson comes aboard the project replacing Harry Bradbeer, who will remain on as an executive producer as he recently returned to direct Legendary’s Enola Holmes sequel after the success of the first film. BAFTA and Tony-winner Jack Thorne wrote the draft, from a story by himself and Bradbeer.

Based on Mark McShane’s acclaimed 1961 suspense novel of the same name, the story follows a self-proclaimed psychic medium who convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. When her true intentions come to light, however, her husband realizes the plan threatens to consume them both. The novel was previously adapted as a film in 1964 starring Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley.

Exclusive: British actor Danny Dyer is to star in a Sky documentary about Harold Pinter as he prepares to tread the boards in the legendary British playwright’s The Dumb Waiter.

Dyer, a charismatic figure in the UK who recently made headlines for his own take on David Cameron’s role in Brexit, is to feature in Dyer on Pinter for Sky Arts, the Comcast-owned pay-tv service’s culture channel. The film will explore the life and works of Pinter and tell the story of their unlikely friendship.

The single doc is produced by BBC Studios – the company’s first commission from the pay-tv broadcaster since it became able to produce for third-party broadcaster. It will air later this year as part of Sky Arts’ Passions season.

This comes as Dyer, who currently stars on BBC primetime soap EastEnders, prepares to star alongside Sherlock’s Martin Freeman in The Dumb Waiter,...

Richard Attenborough was a lord, an Oscar-winning director for the much-lauded Gandhi and an unflagging pillar to British cinema. But Attenborough, who died Sunday at 90, was best known as Dickie.

Baby-faced as a young actor and whitely bearded in his older age, Attenborough - warmly known as "Dickie Darling" - presided over six decades of British moviemaking as both an actor and filmmaker with a genial warmth that endeared him to his fans and fellow actors.

"I have no great interest in being remembered as a great creative filmmaker," he told The New York Times when Gandhi was released in 1982. "I want to be remembered as a storyteller."

The actor's son, Michael Attenborough told the BBC that his father died Sunday. He had been in poor health for some time.

Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90. The actor's son, Michael Attenborough, told the BBC that his father died Sunday. He had been in poor health for some time. Prime Minister David Cameron issued a statement calling Attenborough "one of the greats of cinema." "His acting in Brighton Rock was brilliant, his directing of Gandhi was stunning," Cameron said. Attenborough won an Academy Award for Best Director with Gandhi in 1982, only one of many highlights of a distinguished career as actor and director. With his abundant snow-white hair and beard,...

Acctor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90. The actor's son, Michael Attenborough, told the BBC that his father died Sunday. He had been in poor health for some time. Prime Minister David Cameron issued a statement calling Attenborough "one of the greats of cinema." "His acting in Brighton Rock was brilliant, his directing of Gandhi was stunning," Cameron said. Attenborough won an Academy Award for Best Director with Gandhi in 1982, only one of many highlights of a distinguished career as actor and director. With his abundant snow-white hair and beard,...

Natalia Kaliada, co-founder of the Belarus company, explains how Jude Law and the London theatre helped her underground group find a home after the ill-fated presidential elections of 2010

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Losing a home is always sudden, always a shock and always a tragedy. An aircraft that can't find an airport for landing, a doe searching in vain for a watering place in the desert or a man who has lost his memory in the middle of the metropolis – an endless stream of literary cliches could not reflect one hundredth of the horror and confusion that you feel after being left far from home without friends and family, without comfort and security.

We lost our home in Belarus involuntarily, without imagining that it could happen to us. The presidential elections in Belarus in 2010 resulted in thousands of arrests, long-term jail sentences, and hundreds of socially-active people...

Sir Ben Kingsley and Lord Puttnam among those to honour the veteran British actor-director at the launch of a young filmmakers fund created in his name.

The Lord Attenborough Nfts Charitable fund aims to raise £1m ($1.55m) over two years to “enable talented young people to achieve their ambition as successful filmmakers through world class educational experiences”.

It will go towards offering more film-making scholarships to young people from different backgrounds and improving teaching facilities at the Nfts.

The gala dinner, which was hosted by Stephen Fry at Old Billingsgate in London last night (June 11), was introduced by Lord Attenborough’s son, theatre director Michael Attenborough, in place of his father, who was unable to attend.

Michael Attenborough said: “It was thanks to a Leverhulme scholarship to Rada at the age of 17, that my father was able to go on to enjoy a career that included acting in, producing and directing more than 70 Oscar and BAFTA winning...

Et confirms that Jane Seymour and her husband of 20 years, James Keach, have split. Read on for details...

Pics: Top 10 Biggest Divorce Payouts

In a statement, a rep for the couple says, "Jane Seymour and James Keach confirm that they are separated and have been for several months. At this time they are negotiating the terms of their divorce. They will continue their relationship as devoted parents to their children, as business associates and partners, and in their joint dedication to preserving and furthering the charitable endeavors that they've worked on throughout their marriage."

Video: Fashion Time Warp -- Jane Seymour

Seymour, 62, and Keach, 65, were married in 1993 (he directed her in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) and have 17-year-old twin sons, John and Kristopher. This was Seymour's fourth marriage; she was previously wed to Michael Attenborough, Victor Planer and David Flynn, who shares two children with the actress: Katherine, now 31, and Sean, now 28.

Jane Seymour has called it quits with her fourth husband, James Keach, to whom she's been married for the last 20 years. The couple has twin sons together.

A spokesperson for the 62-year-old actress confirmed the news and said Seymour and Keach, an award-winnng director and producer, "are separated and have been for several months. At this time they are negotiating the terms of their divorce."

"They will continue their relationship as devoted parents to their children, as business associates and partners, and in their joint dedication to preserving and furthering the charitable endeavors that they've worked on throughout their marriage," the spokesperson said.

According to RadarOnline, Seymour suspected Keach, 65, had been unfaithful and had kicked him out of their Malibu, Calif., home. "Jane heard that her husband was getting close to a woman that she knows –- that's when she lost it," a source allegedly told RadarOnline.

This will be Seymour's fourth divorce.

Michael Attenborough will direct Jonathan Pryce as William Shakespeares King Lear running at the Almeida Theatre from the 31 August 3 November 2012, with press night 11 September. Designs are by Tom Scutt with lighting by Jon Clark and sound and music by Dan Jones. The Almeidas production of King Lear is part of the World Shakespeare Festival. The festival, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company for London 2012, will showcase the best of the UK and international creative talents, exploring the contemporary relevance of Shakespeare. Check out photos of Pryce and the rest of the cast in rehearsal below...

From Batman to Spider-Man, Wireless to Green Man and Carousel to Götterdämmerung, the Observer's critics pick the season's highlights. What are you most looking forward to? Post your comments below

Download a pdf of this calendar here

July

1 Pop The Stone Roses

The third resurrection of the Roses has already swung from thrill to farce. Fans gibbered with joy at their surprise Warrington gig in May, but by Amsterdam Ian Brown and Reni were at loggerheads. This last of three homecoming gigs at Manchester's Heaton Park will not be uneventful.

3 Film The Amazing Spider-Man

Marvel Comics' flagship superhero, the red-and-blue clad "web-slinger" Spider-Man, gets a Hollywood reboot not 10 years after the character was last blockbuster-ised. Impressive Brit Andrew Garfield plays Spidey this time; Marc (500 Days of Summer) Webb directs. Early reviews: amazing.

4 Dance Dance Gb

English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet and National Dance Company Wales join forces in a high-velocity...

Jonathan Pryce is a living example of the old adage that work begets work. The acclaimed Welsh actor is in the midst of performing in Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" at Bam in New York City, following its 2009 production in Liverpool and runs in London and some U.S. cities. It is his heralded performance as the mysterious drifter Davies that led to his upcoming stage role-one of Shakespeare's greatest characters, "King Lear," opening August 3 at the Alameida Theatre in London. "When I was doing 'Caretaker' in London, the reviews kept mentioning how Lear-like I was, or how much they would like to see my Lear one day," Pryce explains. "And that inspired a few people to ask me if I did actually want to play Lear. And one of those people was Michael Attenborough, the artistic director at the Almeida." Those who can't cross the pond to see the.

Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now

• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below

Opening this weekTheatre

The Master and Margarita

Bulgakov's poetic maelstrom is transferred from page to stage by Simon McBurney and Complicite. The devil is abroad in a godless Ussr. Barbican, London EC2 (0845 120 7550), to 7 April.

Anne Boleyn

The Globe goes out on tour with Howard Brenton's delightful and intelligent look at English Protestantism and the woman who furthered its cause. New Alexandra, Birmingham (0844 871 3011), 20-24 March, then touring.

Filumena

Samantha Spiro stars as the canny Neapolitan woman who has been a mistress for 25 years but is determined to be a wife. Michael Attenborough directs this new version of Eduardo de Filippo's lively comedy. Almeida, London N1 (012 7359 4404), to 12 May.

Film

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan...

Billie Piper is pregnant with her second child. The Secret Diary of a Call Girl actress and her husband Laurence Fox already have a three-year-old son, Winston, together and the couple will welcome their arrival next year. However, Billie - who is 15 weeks along - was worried the pregnancy would her affect her role in new London play Reasons To Be Pretty and offered to withdraw before its first official night on November 17. However, the show's director, Michael Attenborough and writer Neil Labute wanted her to continue. Michael told the Daily Mail newspaper: 'She was upset and told me she was pregnant.

Billie Piper is expecting her second child with husband Laurence Fox. A spokesperson told Digital Spy that the couple are "delighted" to be expecting another baby. The former Secret Diary of a Call Girl star was reportedly worried that her pregnancy would affect her role in Neil Labute's play Reasons to be Pretty. London's Almeida Theatre's artistic director Michael Attenborough, who also directs the play, revealed news of the new arrival, telling the Daily Mail that Piper was upset at the prospect of disrupting the previews. "She was upset and told me she was pregnant," (more)...

The 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' actress and her husband Laurence Fox already have a three-year-old son, Winston, together and the couple will welcome their arrival next year.

However, Billie – who is 15 weeks along – was worried the pregnancy would her affect her role in new London play 'Reasons To Be Pretty' and offered to withdraw before its first official night on November 17.

However, the show's director, Michael Attenborough and writer Neil Labute wanted her to continue.

Michael told the Daily Mail newspaper: "She was upset and told me she was pregnant. She very generously offered to withdraw from the show.

"However, she was Neil Labute’s and my first choice for the part — and fortunately the character is pregnant — so with a bit of judicious re-writing we’re all delighted she’ll be with us.

"I told her that I’d love her to do it and...

Secret Diary Of A Call Girl star Billie Piper is pregnant with her second child, according to a U.K. report.

The British actress feared she would have to pull out of upcoming London play Reasons To Be Pretty after learning she is expecting again, according to Britain's Daily Mail.

She approached director Michael Attenborough and offered to bow out of the production but he assured her the script would be rewritten to accommodate her.

Attenborough says, "She was upset and told me she was pregnant. However, she was (writer) Neil Labute's and my first choice for the part - and fortunately the character is pregnant - so with a bit of judicious re-writing we're all delighted she'll be with us. I told her that I'd love her to do it and she just wept on my shoulder. She thought that was it. She was thrilled."

Piper has a three-year-old son, Winston, with her actor husband Laurence Fox.

Composer most closely associated with the golden age of James Bond but whose scores ranged from Midnight Cowboy to Dances With Wolves

John Barry, who has died aged 77 following a heart attack, will always be associated with the golden age of James Bond, but though much of his most famous music was written to accompany the outlandish adventures of 007, his work covered a huge variety of moods and styles. Barry wrote epic, sweeping film scores for Zulu (1964), Born Free (1966) and Out of Africa (1985), introduced blues and jazz themes into The Chase (1966) and The Cotton Club (1984), and conceived the shivery, sinister music for The Ipcress File (1965). He even became something of a pop star in his own right.

He was born Jonathan Barry Prender- gast in York, where his father ran a chain of cinemas. His mother was a talented musician, but had abandoned the attempt to establish herself as a concert pianist.

Gemma Arterton has signed on to appear in classic play 'The Master Builder'. The 'Prince of Persia: Sands of Time' actress - who has previously starred in West End comedy 'The Little Dog Laughed' - will play the role of Hilde Wangel in the play, which will run at the Almeida Theatre in Islington, north London. Gemma, 24, will star alongside Stephen Dillane in the show, originally published in 1892 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Michael Attenborough, the artistic director of the theatre, told Daily Mail columnist Baz Bamigboye: ''Hilde is one of the great parts for a young woman in ..

Almeida, London

Films rarely make good plays. But there is something about the claustrophobia of Ingmar Bergman's work, as we know from Scenes From A Marriage, that lends itself to adaptation. And Jenny Worton's version of Bergman's Oscar-winning 1961 movie proves to have a strange, haunting theatrical power.

Bergman's story, originally shot on his dwelling place of Faro, shows us four people on an island. "Everything will be perfect this holiday," blithely announces Karin as they arrive. But she appears to be suffering a bipolar disorder which throws the problems of those around into sharp relief.

Her doctor husband, Martin, is caring but ineffectual; her younger brother, Max, who aims to be a writer, is full of pubescent anguish; and her father, David, who actually is a novelist, is afflicted by the artist's clinical detachment. The focus, however, is on Karin, who is torn between two worlds and drawn to...

London – If all the world's a stage, then it never has been more true than in the British capital right now. The nation's economy is in dire straits, but that hasn't stopped theatergoers from flocking to the West End, where attendance last year topped 14 million and boxoffice revenue hit a record £500 million ($775 million).

"It's been an extraordinary year of hits, with very few misses," says producer Nica Burns, chair of the Society of London Theatre, which represents all 52 of the city's playhouses. "We've just had an outstanding time."

Hits have included classics from Beckett ("Waiting for Godot") and Chekhov ("Ivanov") to Shakespeare ("Hamlet") and Tennessee Williams ("A Streetcar Named Desire"); new plays dealing with a modern English family ("Jerusalem"), U.S. capitalism ("Enron") and World War I ("War Horse"); such long-running musicals as "Les Miserables," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Mamma Mia!"; and new tuners including "Sister Act" and "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.