‘At no time did we believe we couldn’t make it – and so we just carried on’

Surviving school in harrowing Playground

Review: The 47th, at Old Vic Theatre

Review: Persuasion, at Alexandra Palace Theatre

Grooves: Ana Silvera; Arcade Fire; The South; Sea Power; La Linea Festival

Michael White’s classical news: Oleg Kogan; Ferrier Competition; Ralph Vaughan Williams

Take the plunge: thrills and chills of open-water swimming

Breakin’ glad! Festival showcases hip-hop dance as ‘art form’

The Northman: mud and guts in brutal Viking power struggle

‘Men are told to man up and don’t cry’

Review: Dirty Hearts, at Old Red Lion Theatre

Review: Project Dictator, at New Diorama Theatre

An unforgettable wild ride at Lahpet

Michael White’s classical news: Lohengrin; Anyone Can Whistle; Yuja Wang; Messiah

Loch-down: outsider on a remote Scottish island in gripping thriller

How Lyndhurst Hall became a Kentish Town institution

Sculptor: Exhibition breathes new life into pollution protest

‘I want to celebrate a forgotten area of the borough’

Navalny: up close and personal with Putin’s nemesis

Playwright is Willing… and able