The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Noel Coward Theatre review - Aidan Turner makes a magnetic West End debut

★★★★ THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE, NOEL COWARD THEATRE Aidan Turner makes a magnetic West End debut

Martin McDonagh revival brings Poldark to the London stage, guns blazing

Aidan Turner may not reveal those famously bronzed pecs that have made TV's Poldark box office catnip in his West End debut. But what Michael Grandage's funny and fiery revival of The Lieutenant of Inishmore reveals in spades is the irresistible charisma and stage savvy of an actor fully at home in what can only be called Martin McDonagh-land.

Poldark, Series 2 Finale / Planet Earth II, BBC One

POLDARK RECAP Series 3 is upon us. Here's a reminder of what went down in series 2

Cap'n Ross makes his excuses, and David Attenborough tells of loved-up islanders

So, a rough tally. We’ve had a trial, a near suicide, a punch-up, death by drowning, a near bankruptcy, a tin rush, another punch-up, a baby, a probable rape, a riot, another baby, and another one on the way, possibly a product of that probable rape. And more. Poldark (★★★), in the delivery of incident upon full-blooded incident, could be accused of many things, but it will not die wondering.

Poldark, Series 2, BBC One

POLDARK, SERIES 2, BBC ONE Return of Cornish yarn low on pecs appeal as the drama heads for court

Return of Cornish yarn low on pecs appeal as the drama heads for court

Those who frequent Cornwall know that most of its place names begin with one of three prefixes. Indeed, check your copy of Richard Carew’s Survey of Cornwall (1602) for the source of the rhyme: “By Tre, Pol and Pen / Shall ye know all Cornishmen”. (With thanks to Wiki). As to the suffixes, well there it’s open season. The name Poldark was Winston Graham’s invention – and, if we're being pedantic, the stress really should be on the second syllable.

Poldark, BBC One

POLDARK, BBC ONE Winner of the Radio Times Audience Award at the BAFTAs

Can this new version of Winston Graham's novels compete with its 1970s predecessor?

Hooray! The BBC has learned its lesson from the "Mumblegate" furore that erupted around last year's adaptation of Jamaica Inn, and ensured that even the most unwashed and toothless Cornish yokel in this all-new Poldark is almost 90 per cent intelligible. As the central character Ross Poldark, Aidan Turner (of Hobbit fame) is a model of robust actorly diction.