The Rose theatre, the open-air Elizabethan playhouse where Shakespeare and Marlowe staged their dramas, could be opened to the public beside the Thames near Southwark Bridge. It is also planned to explore the unexcavated part of the site, unearthed in 1989 and then capped in concrete beneath a new office block. Sir Ian McKellen, Peter O’Toole and Dame Judi Dench are among leading British actors supporting a £5 million appeal for lottery cash to bring the theatre back to life.

Giannini at Gucci

Paris: Gucci, the fashion house, named Frida Giannini as creative director for womenswear, replacing Alessandra Facchinetti, who resigned after a disagreement with management. Giannini will retain her job at Gucci accessories, putting her in charge of all of the brand’s products for women. (AFP)

No sexist insults

Pupils in England and Wales are to be banned from using sexist insults at school because teachers fear that derogatory words can reinforce behaviour that leads to domestic violence. The Government and the National Union of Teachers are campaigning to expunge words such as “slag” from teenage banter.

Orchestra switch

The London Symphony Orchestra has appointed Kathryn McDowell as its new managing director. At present director of the City of London Festival, she was chief executive of the Wales Millennium Centre and music director of the Arts Council England. She takes over in August from Clive Gillinson.

Ferry proposals

Five trade unions told a Holyrood committee yesterday that there was no European requirement for putting Caledonian MacBrayne’s island ferry services out to tender. They urged MSPs to challenge the Transport Minister, Nicol Stephen, on the proposals when he appears next week.

Longest wait

People in the North East have the longest wait in Scotland for heart surgery, according to statistics published in response to a parliamentary question to the Health Minister Andy Kerr. Patients in Grampian typically wait 123 days for cardiac surgery, 38 days more than in Scotland overall. For coronary artery bypass grafts, the typical waiting time in Grampian was 96 days; 21 days longer than the average.

Army sex policy

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