Across clues don't have a letter count and crossers won't help as the answers don't fit in in the usual way... 8a Bit of theatre role almost went wrong Normal clue: 1d Upshot of state's extremists...
11a Smart monarch nailing the ceremony (6) N??T?R neater? 2d Woman,old, charged with energy ??E?E .....middle E if nEater is correct ? 5d Dated fashion of French fan (not English version) (6) EN?A?T...
2a Extremely cautious having disrobed outside house (5) A???? 17a Course on Gershwin's prime pieces around noon (5) ...starts P/Q/R/S 1d Artist promoting his second rubbish improvs (6) ..starts with...
Stuck in SW corner ...consequently can't fill in the unclued 56a......and the highlighting required.. there is an extra letter in the wordplay... 50d Hang pleb in short uprising (3) LO? "R" possibly...