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Got it! Finally, the penny drops!

21d usual 3 letter abbrev for person who's getting (S) on reversed around National Theatre......defn a xmas production

Thanks Kirky, even though I had the 's' and the answer the parsing defeated me. My brain is definitely addled at the moment. Similar problem with 1d. I know the answer and the extra letter but...
I think I'll leave the grid modification for tomorrow. Hopefully the flu jab effect will have worn off. It did this to me last year too. Still, two days of befuddlement is better than flu!

1d '[t]ends' to leave (w)AR CHES(t)

Thanks Kirky. I kept getting tangled up with the ends to leave. Ie l&e which just didn't fit with the answer.

I’m b
Nearly there on this but Just stuck on 23d and 28a which intersect.
Grateful for hints. Also last letter of 4d, I have MOOR? but why!

Sorry. Should start I’m nearly there, of course.

23 Beat is the definition. The five-letter 'criticsim' is fairly common, lose the first letter (axing ....).

Thanks Malone, I see beat in Chambers for the word you suggest, but I can’t reconcile it with what it leaves me for 28?

Lumen, 28 A was totally new to me. It's a word meaning Scandinavian bard. The usual 'college' and 'lecturer' goes inside a word, with an extra letter in it, in the clue.

In 4 D, the modification would go in after the first O. The 'writer's' gives a two-letter word, with a 'speaker' inside...