Music & Drama

Think you're not interested in church music? Think again. Read this interview and you'll soon find yourself ordering some books about it too. And a Happy Christmas from your editors at Five Books.

New Yorker music critic, Alex Ross, explains why writing about music is, really, nothing like "dancing about architecture."

Film legend Woody Allen talks us through his favourite books, from JD Salinger to Elia Kazan.

The author of Groove Interrupted transports us to the world of Fats Domino and Professor Longhair, and tells us how (and where) to sample the city’s unique music culture

Time to get out your old CDs and LPs. The music journalist picks five books from Bob Dylan’s hinterland to confessions of a rock ’n roll groupie, and explains why good criticism is like writing fiction

The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter took an unusual route to becoming a performer. She tells us how she got started, how to get what you want in the music business and how an extraordinary range of influences continue to inspire her

What divides a hit from a flop, artistically speaking? The New York Times theatre critic takes us behind the scenes to assess the art of writing for Broadway and the rules for avoiding musical disaster

Darren Aronofsky, the Oscar-nominated director, recommends five amazing books about making movies—and talks about the filmmakers who inspired him.

The journalist and author tells us what happens when protest meets pop music, which book inspired Springsteen and where hip-hop is most potent today

Britain’s most experienced theatre critic, Michael Billington, selects five essential books for understanding 20th-century drama, from the birth of method acting to the stresses of running a national theatre.