Jonathan Wakeham
@jonathanwakeham.bsky.social
Screenwriter at Independent Talent (UK) & Lit Entertainment (US). Mentor at Arts Emergency. Coming soon: Hollywood noir, polar science and wolves. WGGB.
The new films that I've loved the most this year: The Ice Tower (Lucile Hadžihalilović), Good One (Lily Donaldson), The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt) and Peter Hujar's Day (Ira Sachs).
December 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
The new films that I've loved the most this year: The Ice Tower (Lucile Hadžihalilović), Good One (Lily Donaldson), The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt) and Peter Hujar's Day (Ira Sachs).
RIP Ena Collymore-Woodstock, the first woman of colour to study law at Gray's Inn and the oldest British veteran of WW2. Posted to the ATS, she wrote to the War Office to say that she had not come all that way to type and asked to be moved closer to the fighting.
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
Ena Collymore-Woodstock, oldest surviving British Army veteran of the Second World War
She wrote to the War Office to say that she had not come all that way to type – and was posted to an AA gun battery and then a radar truck
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 21, 2025 at 11:21 AM
RIP Ena Collymore-Woodstock, the first woman of colour to study law at Gray's Inn and the oldest British veteran of WW2. Posted to the ATS, she wrote to the War Office to say that she had not come all that way to type and asked to be moved closer to the fighting.
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
Every Christmas show needs spectacular songs, sensational jokes, unforgettable characters & your husband's late wife embalmed in the dining room. So don't miss @shittheatre.bsky.social EVITA TOO at Southbank Centre, the misteremembered story of Isabel Perón. www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/sht...
Sh!t Theatre: EVITA TOO | Southbank Centre
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
December 17, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Every Christmas show needs spectacular songs, sensational jokes, unforgettable characters & your husband's late wife embalmed in the dining room. So don't miss @shittheatre.bsky.social EVITA TOO at Southbank Centre, the misteremembered story of Isabel Perón. www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/sht...
The new SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) restoration is dazzling: sharper, darker & more unsettling than ever. I was struck by DeMille & von Stroheim's performances: they both have such empathy for Norma's trauma, while struggling to help her. And Betty's realisation of Joe's corruption is heartbreaking.
December 9, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The new SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) restoration is dazzling: sharper, darker & more unsettling than ever. I was struck by DeMille & von Stroheim's performances: they both have such empathy for Norma's trauma, while struggling to help her. And Betty's realisation of Joe's corruption is heartbreaking.
PETER HUJAR'S DAY is enchanting: a wonderfully warm, wry and intimate look at the art life in 1970s New York. Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall are spellbinding company in Ira Sachs' film, which hums with truth and glows with sadness: part portrait, part premonition, lit by the autumnal Manhattan sun.
December 8, 2025 at 3:09 PM
PETER HUJAR'S DAY is enchanting: a wonderfully warm, wry and intimate look at the art life in 1970s New York. Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall are spellbinding company in Ira Sachs' film, which hums with truth and glows with sadness: part portrait, part premonition, lit by the autumnal Manhattan sun.
Celebrate 30 glorious, groundbreaking years of @camdenpt.bsky.social this Christmas with two smash hit Edinburgh shows, House of Life and The Green Knight (But It's Gay) cptheatre.co.uk. Or you can support them for the Big Give, which will double your donation: donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
Building Community with Emerging Artists – Big Give
For 30+ years, we have championed emerging artists, amplified diverse voices, and built community through bold new theatre. In 2026, we’ll commission and programme powerful new work exploring urgent s...
donate.biggive.org
December 2, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Celebrate 30 glorious, groundbreaking years of @camdenpt.bsky.social this Christmas with two smash hit Edinburgh shows, House of Life and The Green Knight (But It's Gay) cptheatre.co.uk. Or you can support them for the Big Give, which will double your donation: donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
Patrick Marber's beautiful, intimate tribute to Stoppard is so vivid that you feel he's there in the room with you.
www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/d...
‘There was rage and pain and iron in him’: Patrick Marber on the great hits – and fond smokes – he had with Tom Stoppard
The director worked with theatre colossus Tom Stoppard on two smash hits. Here, he remembers their heated rehearsals, the night they stayed up watching Jaws – and the last four cigarettes they smoked ...
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Patrick Marber's beautiful, intimate tribute to Stoppard is so vivid that you feel he's there in the room with you.
www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/d...
“If there is to be hope we must all betray our country. We have to save each other because all victims are equal, and none is more equal than others. It's everyone's duty to start the avalanche.”
Tom Stoppard’s screenplay for The Russia House (Fred Schepisi, 1990) from the novel by John le Carré.
Tom Stoppard’s screenplay for The Russia House (Fred Schepisi, 1990) from the novel by John le Carré.
November 30, 2025 at 6:54 PM
“If there is to be hope we must all betray our country. We have to save each other because all victims are equal, and none is more equal than others. It's everyone's duty to start the avalanche.”
Tom Stoppard’s screenplay for The Russia House (Fred Schepisi, 1990) from the novel by John le Carré.
Tom Stoppard’s screenplay for The Russia House (Fred Schepisi, 1990) from the novel by John le Carré.
@ArtsEmergency.bsky.social helps young people without connections into arts education & careers. Our programme graduates are already making their industries more open, representative and accessible, but there’s so much more still to do: can you help? Thank you ❤️🚨
🌟 This winter, we have a chance to make something extraordinary happen - and we’re looking for 27 people to help us do it. 🌟
Join our Bursar Club 👉 bit.ly/4p6Xqrw
Join our Bursar Club 👉 bit.ly/4p6Xqrw
November 27, 2025 at 11:43 AM
@ArtsEmergency.bsky.social helps young people without connections into arts education & careers. Our programme graduates are already making their industries more open, representative and accessible, but there’s so much more still to do: can you help? Thank you ❤️🚨
Ambika Mod is phenomenal in Sophia Chetin-Leuner's Porn Play at the Royal Court: funny, smart, tough & achingly vulnerable across its multiple scenes. Josie Rourke's direction brings a confident swing & a lovely transparency to the acting, particularly in a sleepover scene. A bold, beautiful play.
November 18, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Ambika Mod is phenomenal in Sophia Chetin-Leuner's Porn Play at the Royal Court: funny, smart, tough & achingly vulnerable across its multiple scenes. Josie Rourke's direction brings a confident swing & a lovely transparency to the acting, particularly in a sleepover scene. A bold, beautiful play.
Louise Hémon's THE GIRL IN THE SNOW stars Galatéa Bellugi as a young teacher sent to a remote Alpine village in 1899. Modernity meets superstition with dangerous consequences in a spellbinding, sensual fable shot on location with a largely nonprofessional cast. At @frenchinstituteuk.bsky.social.
November 17, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Louise Hémon's THE GIRL IN THE SNOW stars Galatéa Bellugi as a young teacher sent to a remote Alpine village in 1899. Modernity meets superstition with dangerous consequences in a spellbinding, sensual fable shot on location with a largely nonprofessional cast. At @frenchinstituteuk.bsky.social.
Valéry Carnoy's WILD FOXES is a remarkable debut: a taut, tender teen boxing movie that's also a deep reflection on male friendship, sexuality and vulnerability, set at an elite sports academy. Playing at the @frenchinstituteuk.bsky.social French Film Festival. www.institut-francais.org.uk/cinema/#/
November 17, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Valéry Carnoy's WILD FOXES is a remarkable debut: a taut, tender teen boxing movie that's also a deep reflection on male friendship, sexuality and vulnerability, set at an elite sports academy. Playing at the @frenchinstituteuk.bsky.social French Film Festival. www.institut-francais.org.uk/cinema/#/
“I think those of us who live with great fame have to say that it is a trick of survival, and that a lot of us don’t like it.”
A powerful, poignant obituary for Maria Riva, Marlene Dietrich's daughter, whose childhood reads like a Hollywood horror story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/a...
A powerful, poignant obituary for Maria Riva, Marlene Dietrich's daughter, whose childhood reads like a Hollywood horror story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/a...
November 4, 2025 at 11:59 AM
“I think those of us who live with great fame have to say that it is a trick of survival, and that a lot of us don’t like it.”
A powerful, poignant obituary for Maria Riva, Marlene Dietrich's daughter, whose childhood reads like a Hollywood horror story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/a...
A powerful, poignant obituary for Maria Riva, Marlene Dietrich's daughter, whose childhood reads like a Hollywood horror story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/a...
Sydney Sweeney is terrific in David Michôd's CHRISTY, which kept me on the edge of my seat for 2 hours. It's a powerful, visceral, sometimes harrowing film that's as much about gender, class & relationships as it is about boxing, with fearless support from Ben Foster & an incandescent Katy O’Brian.
October 28, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Sydney Sweeney is terrific in David Michôd's CHRISTY, which kept me on the edge of my seat for 2 hours. It's a powerful, visceral, sometimes harrowing film that's as much about gender, class & relationships as it is about boxing, with fearless support from Ben Foster & an incandescent Katy O’Brian.
Congratulations @mrdavebyrne.bsky.social & his team at the Royal Court for a barnstorming 70th Anniversary season. I'm particularly excited to see The Shitheads, The Afronauts & John Proctor Is The Villain; do check out the brilliant new playwriting opportunities too: royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/
October 28, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Congratulations @mrdavebyrne.bsky.social & his team at the Royal Court for a barnstorming 70th Anniversary season. I'm particularly excited to see The Shitheads, The Afronauts & John Proctor Is The Villain; do check out the brilliant new playwriting opportunities too: royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/
Lucile Hadžihalilović is one of the great directors of coming-of age stories. Her new film THE ICE TOWER is a sparkling, sinister fairy tale about the power of film, the seduction of stardom & the deceptions of desire, starring Marion Cotillard & Clara Pacini. Coming to BFI & UK cinemas next month.
October 24, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Lucile Hadžihalilović is one of the great directors of coming-of age stories. Her new film THE ICE TOWER is a sparkling, sinister fairy tale about the power of film, the seduction of stardom & the deceptions of desire, starring Marion Cotillard & Clara Pacini. Coming to BFI & UK cinemas next month.
Kelly Reichardt is my favourite director so it's no surprise that I loved THE MASTERMIND, a tragicomic 1970s heist movie with Josh O'Connor as (perhaps) the US cousin of his British tomb raider in LA CHIMERA. In our era of triumphant male mediocrity it's a timely story told with style, wit & warmth.
October 24, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Kelly Reichardt is my favourite director so it's no surprise that I loved THE MASTERMIND, a tragicomic 1970s heist movie with Josh O'Connor as (perhaps) the US cousin of his British tomb raider in LA CHIMERA. In our era of triumphant male mediocrity it's a timely story told with style, wit & warmth.
I loved Nia DaCosta's sly, sensual, serpentine HEDDA, starring Tessa Thompson as the brittle, beautiful Hedda & the magnificent Nina Hoss as her ex-lover & potential nemesis. Set over one night at an English country house in the 1950s, it's a witty, decadent treat, beautifully shot by Sean Bobbitt.
October 24, 2025 at 12:10 PM
I loved Nia DaCosta's sly, sensual, serpentine HEDDA, starring Tessa Thompson as the brittle, beautiful Hedda & the magnificent Nina Hoss as her ex-lover & potential nemesis. Set over one night at an English country house in the 1950s, it's a witty, decadent treat, beautifully shot by Sean Bobbitt.
Movie jewel thieves: "We need to get your pulse down to 30, your temperature to zero and your fingerprints lasered off. Also a cryptographer, an acrobat, a hacker, two HALO suits and a mini submarine."
French jewel thieves: "Get me 2 mopeds, a chainsaw and a ladder. See you at lunch."
French jewel thieves: "Get me 2 mopeds, a chainsaw and a ladder. See you at lunch."
October 19, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Movie jewel thieves: "We need to get your pulse down to 30, your temperature to zero and your fingerprints lasered off. Also a cryptographer, an acrobat, a hacker, two HALO suits and a mini submarine."
French jewel thieves: "Get me 2 mopeds, a chainsaw and a ladder. See you at lunch."
French jewel thieves: "Get me 2 mopeds, a chainsaw and a ladder. See you at lunch."
Cord Jefferson's terrific AMERICAN FICTION, starring a deservedly Oscar-nominated Jeffrey Wright, is on BBC2 on Sunday night. Based on Percival Everett's novel Erasure, it's bleakly ironic that it's currently unavailable either on streaming or disc in the UK, so don't miss this chance to catch it.
September 26, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Cord Jefferson's terrific AMERICAN FICTION, starring a deservedly Oscar-nominated Jeffrey Wright, is on BBC2 on Sunday night. Based on Percival Everett's novel Erasure, it's bleakly ironic that it's currently unavailable either on streaming or disc in the UK, so don't miss this chance to catch it.
Condraculations to @mogster.bsky.social & Emma Baggott for their ferocious, funny & frightening Dracula at @lyrichammersmith.bsky.social. Umi Myers is a captivating Mina, re-enacting her own story as a timely warning to all of us to question who's trying to scare us & why. lyric.co.uk/shows/dracula/
September 24, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Condraculations to @mogster.bsky.social & Emma Baggott for their ferocious, funny & frightening Dracula at @lyrichammersmith.bsky.social. Umi Myers is a captivating Mina, re-enacting her own story as a timely warning to all of us to question who's trying to scare us & why. lyric.co.uk/shows/dracula/
The tiny but mighty @camdenpt.bsky.social has supported 1000s of theatre careers, challenging every convention to create new adventures for artists & audiences. In a perilous time for artistic freedom & funding CPT needs your help! Please support them if you can: www.justgiving.com/campaign/lon...
Long Live CPT!
We're facing a funding emergency: help us raise £80,000 by December 2025 to protect the next generation of artists and audiences.
www.justgiving.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
The tiny but mighty @camdenpt.bsky.social has supported 1000s of theatre careers, challenging every convention to create new adventures for artists & audiences. In a perilous time for artistic freedom & funding CPT needs your help! Please support them if you can: www.justgiving.com/campaign/lon...
MELANCHOLIA (Lars von Trier, 2011)
September 18, 2025 at 2:37 PM
MELANCHOLIA (Lars von Trier, 2011)
Cow | Deer at the Royal Court is a powerful, beautiful work of collective attention, imagination and empathy by Katie Mitchell, Nina Segal and Melanie Wilson. I found its dual reality of sound story + live foley spellbinding. royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/cow...
Cow | Deer - Royal Court
royalcourttheatre.com
September 15, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Cow | Deer at the Royal Court is a powerful, beautiful work of collective attention, imagination and empathy by Katie Mitchell, Nina Segal and Melanie Wilson. I found its dual reality of sound story + live foley spellbinding. royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/cow...