Mark Ludmon
@markludmon.bsky.social
Freelance journalist, editor & ghostwriter, writing on theatre, drinks, bars etc. Theatre studies MA from Central School of Speech & Drama. Early modern literature & history postgrad. Včasih slovensko. 🌈 he/him
I can’t resist a spooky tale so jumped right in with Australian series Playing Gracie Darling on Netflix and it turns out to co-star Dame Harriet Walter!
February 16, 2026 at 7:26 PM
I can’t resist a spooky tale so jumped right in with Australian series Playing Gracie Darling on Netflix and it turns out to co-star Dame Harriet Walter!
Mackenzie Crook’s new BBC Two comedy, Small Prophets, on BBC iPlayer is utterly enchanting. A wonderful and strange story with an excellent cast led by the brilliant Pearce Quigley.
February 11, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Mackenzie Crook’s new BBC Two comedy, Small Prophets, on BBC iPlayer is utterly enchanting. A wonderful and strange story with an excellent cast led by the brilliant Pearce Quigley.
An interesting investigation by Press Gazette. I can’t believe anyone would think that AI slop is “progress” or useful, especially as it’s stealing from the work of real-life writers.
pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-o...
pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-o...
Faces of fakery: More fake and AI generated experts con their way into media
New research from Press Gazette has uncovered a fresh tranche of likely fake and AI-generated experts making their way into UK publications.
pressgazette.co.uk
February 10, 2026 at 12:45 PM
An interesting investigation by Press Gazette. I can’t believe anyone would think that AI slop is “progress” or useful, especially as it’s stealing from the work of real-life writers.
pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-o...
pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-o...
I am finding this trend very strange. Pubs and bars were not designed to accommodate queues of people snaking back from the bar — and I say this as someone who notoriously finds it difficult to get served.
‘It’s ridiculous’: publicans bemused by rise of single-file queues to get served
‘It’s ridiculous’: publicans bemused by rise of single-file queues to get served
Bar owners say they struggle to dissuade people from forming a line as behavioural experts point to post-pandemic ‘new norms’
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:22 PM
I am finding this trend very strange. Pubs and bars were not designed to accommodate queues of people snaking back from the bar — and I say this as someone who notoriously finds it difficult to get served.
Finn Anderson’s new musical, Ballad Lines, at Southwark Playhouse Elephant is glorious. Beautiful & heartfelt, with haunting, spirited folksy tunes and stunning performances including Frances McNamee, Kirsty Findlay & Rebecca Trehearn. Now listening to the cast recording!
January 31, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Finn Anderson’s new musical, Ballad Lines, at Southwark Playhouse Elephant is glorious. Beautiful & heartfelt, with haunting, spirited folksy tunes and stunning performances including Frances McNamee, Kirsty Findlay & Rebecca Trehearn. Now listening to the cast recording!
Did I need to see yet another production of Sondheim’s Into the Woods? Probably not but I enjoyed Jordan Fein’s at Bridge Theatre, with some great performances including Jo Foster as Jack, Jamie Parker as the Baker and Chumisa Dornford-May as Cinderella.
📸 Johan Persson
#Sondheim
📸 Johan Persson
#Sondheim
January 20, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Did I need to see yet another production of Sondheim’s Into the Woods? Probably not but I enjoyed Jordan Fein’s at Bridge Theatre, with some great performances including Jo Foster as Jack, Jamie Parker as the Baker and Chumisa Dornford-May as Cinderella.
📸 Johan Persson
#Sondheim
📸 Johan Persson
#Sondheim
Into the Woods and through the trees…
January 19, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Into the Woods and through the trees…
Looking forward to seeing the Gesualdo Six & Bill Barclay’s new show, Death of Gesualdo, at St Martin-in-the-Fields tonight — about the early-modern composer, Carlo Gesualdo, who wrote incredible music but also got away with murdering his wife. Music, dance, theatre and puppets are promised.
January 17, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Looking forward to seeing the Gesualdo Six & Bill Barclay’s new show, Death of Gesualdo, at St Martin-in-the-Fields tonight — about the early-modern composer, Carlo Gesualdo, who wrote incredible music but also got away with murdering his wife. Music, dance, theatre and puppets are promised.
A reminder from physicist and science communicator Abigail James that despite all the chat about “AI”, we don’t actually have AI (yet).
www.instagram.com/reel/DTgEbPd...
www.instagram.com/reel/DTgEbPd...
January 17, 2026 at 8:45 AM
A reminder from physicist and science communicator Abigail James that despite all the chat about “AI”, we don’t actually have AI (yet).
www.instagram.com/reel/DTgEbPd...
www.instagram.com/reel/DTgEbPd...
Chris Chibnall’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s thriller, The Seven Dials Mystery, on Netflix is a proper ripping yarn, with some lovely performances. I’m not sure what Christie would think but I’d be up for a new adventure with Mia McKenna-Bruce’s plucky Lady Eileen.
#SevenDials
#SevenDials
January 16, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Chris Chibnall’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s thriller, The Seven Dials Mystery, on Netflix is a proper ripping yarn, with some lovely performances. I’m not sure what Christie would think but I’d be up for a new adventure with Mia McKenna-Bruce’s plucky Lady Eileen.
#SevenDials
#SevenDials
“To translate is not just to haul stories across languages, but to help them remain when everything else falls away.” #translation
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
A moment that changed me: in the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, I saw a book I’d translated
The sight of my work, torn and singed but still legible, made me realise the importance of translating and protecting stories – so they remain when everything else falls away
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:18 AM
“To translate is not just to haul stories across languages, but to help them remain when everything else falls away.” #translation
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
So it seems I’m now a Sicilian potter turned theatre producer
Well, now I'm an English professor...
December 30, 2025 at 9:09 PM
So it seems I’m now a Sicilian potter turned theatre producer
Reposted by Mark Ludmon
AND ANOTHER THING, WHILE I'M AT IT:
ENOUGH WITH THESE BULLSHIT CLAIMS THAT AI CAN REPLACE HUMAN TRANSLATORS!!!
Translation is *not* the science of finding the perfect definition of a word from a foreign language and putting that definition into the text.
Translators translate, of course. But!
ENOUGH WITH THESE BULLSHIT CLAIMS THAT AI CAN REPLACE HUMAN TRANSLATORS!!!
Translation is *not* the science of finding the perfect definition of a word from a foreign language and putting that definition into the text.
Translators translate, of course. But!
December 28, 2025 at 4:15 PM
AND ANOTHER THING, WHILE I'M AT IT:
ENOUGH WITH THESE BULLSHIT CLAIMS THAT AI CAN REPLACE HUMAN TRANSLATORS!!!
Translation is *not* the science of finding the perfect definition of a word from a foreign language and putting that definition into the text.
Translators translate, of course. But!
ENOUGH WITH THESE BULLSHIT CLAIMS THAT AI CAN REPLACE HUMAN TRANSLATORS!!!
Translation is *not* the science of finding the perfect definition of a word from a foreign language and putting that definition into the text.
Translators translate, of course. But!
Reposted by Mark Ludmon
Just write what you know. If you just write "what you know", you've got three words, and no matter how many times you repeat it, it's still going to be a crappy story.
what is your least favorite piece of writing advice and why? 👀
December 25, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Just write what you know. If you just write "what you know", you've got three words, and no matter how many times you repeat it, it's still going to be a crappy story.
I am left speechless whenever a 29-year-old comes out with things like, “I used to be so afraid of getting old, and now I just think it’s the best thing ever”.
‘Wouldn’t it be lovely if I could shut up?’ Meet Lola Petticrew, TV’s most fearless actor
‘Wouldn’t it be lovely if I could shut up?’ Meet Lola Petticrew, TV’s most fearless actor
The award-winning star of Say Nothing and Trespasses refuses to play the fame game when they can fight government inaction. They open up on making amazing TV … and why morals matter more than nice handbags
www.theguardian.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:06 AM
I am left speechless whenever a 29-year-old comes out with things like, “I used to be so afraid of getting old, and now I just think it’s the best thing ever”.
Like Diane Morgan, I’m not into Christmas but I am into ghost stories at Christmas — but why oh why have I just listened to this while I’m staying in a 300-year-old building on my own!
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... #uncanny
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... #uncanny
Uncanny - Series 5 - Case 9: Christmas Casebook with Diane Morgan - BBC Sounds
Danny Robins unpacks a Christmas hamper of horror with special guest Diane Morgan.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 24, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Like Diane Morgan, I’m not into Christmas but I am into ghost stories at Christmas — but why oh why have I just listened to this while I’m staying in a 300-year-old building on my own!
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... #uncanny
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... #uncanny
Settling down to read what must be the last-ever weekly issue of The Stage before it goes monthly.
End of an era: I remember picking it up from newsagents in the West End when I first starting coming into London to go to the theatre in the 1980s.
#londontheatre #theatre #journalism
End of an era: I remember picking it up from newsagents in the West End when I first starting coming into London to go to the theatre in the 1980s.
#londontheatre #theatre #journalism
December 21, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Settling down to read what must be the last-ever weekly issue of The Stage before it goes monthly.
End of an era: I remember picking it up from newsagents in the West End when I first starting coming into London to go to the theatre in the 1980s.
#londontheatre #theatre #journalism
End of an era: I remember picking it up from newsagents in the West End when I first starting coming into London to go to the theatre in the 1980s.
#londontheatre #theatre #journalism
Reposted by Mark Ludmon
The Angel has been my stomping ground since before I learned to swear so this gives me immense fucking pleasure!
December 15, 2025 at 10:36 AM
The Angel has been my stomping ground since before I learned to swear so this gives me immense fucking pleasure!
Olivier Py’s new production of Jerry Herman’s La Cage aux Folles at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris is magnifique, with a superb cast led by Laurent Lafitte as Albin/Zaza. Go see it if you can. On ne vit qu’une fois…
It’s in French but with English surtitles.
#paris #lacageauxfolles #jerryherman
It’s in French but with English surtitles.
#paris #lacageauxfolles #jerryherman
December 12, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Olivier Py’s new production of Jerry Herman’s La Cage aux Folles at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris is magnifique, with a superb cast led by Laurent Lafitte as Albin/Zaza. Go see it if you can. On ne vit qu’une fois…
It’s in French but with English surtitles.
#paris #lacageauxfolles #jerryherman
It’s in French but with English surtitles.
#paris #lacageauxfolles #jerryherman
I may have forgotten much of my Latin but I can’t help wondering if this plural ending for “alumnus” is deliberately gender-switched or just wrong. It’s about performers with a mix of genders.
(I’m all for anglicising plurals like “stadiums” but “alumnuses” doesn’t work.)
(I’m all for anglicising plurals like “stadiums” but “alumnuses” doesn’t work.)
December 8, 2025 at 10:42 AM
I may have forgotten much of my Latin but I can’t help wondering if this plural ending for “alumnus” is deliberately gender-switched or just wrong. It’s about performers with a mix of genders.
(I’m all for anglicising plurals like “stadiums” but “alumnuses” doesn’t work.)
(I’m all for anglicising plurals like “stadiums” but “alumnuses” doesn’t work.)
A bit of a surprise in my top tracks of 2025 on Spotify but guitarist Alexandra Whittingham’s beautiful recordings are my go-to whenever I need to relax.
#SpotifyWrapped
#SpotifyWrapped
December 4, 2025 at 9:28 AM
A bit of a surprise in my top tracks of 2025 on Spotify but guitarist Alexandra Whittingham’s beautiful recordings are my go-to whenever I need to relax.
#SpotifyWrapped
#SpotifyWrapped
December 4, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Loved funny & touching new film Pillion, exploring relationship dynamics through BDSM. Interesting Q&A afterwards with Alexander Skarsgård & writer/director Harry Lighton.
#pillionmovie
#pillionmovie
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Loved funny & touching new film Pillion, exploring relationship dynamics through BDSM. Interesting Q&A afterwards with Alexander Skarsgård & writer/director Harry Lighton.
#pillionmovie
#pillionmovie
I love how the Slovene word for murder, “umor”, works so well for the punning title of Založba Goga’s collection of classic murder mysteries, “Memento umori”.
Se v naši družini pripravljamo na umor? Sploh ne, je pa res da tak vtis daje naš nakup na knjižnem sejmu.
November 29, 2025 at 12:09 AM
I love how the Slovene word for murder, “umor”, works so well for the punning title of Založba Goga’s collection of classic murder mysteries, “Memento umori”.
A sad day: another trade magazine abandoning its weekly print publication, in this case after nearly 145 years.
From January 2026, The Stage will no longer appear as a weekly newspaper but rather as a monthly magazine designed for deeper reading, says Alistair Smith.
Read more 👉 www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/...
Read more 👉 www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/...
November 27, 2025 at 8:53 AM
A sad day: another trade magazine abandoning its weekly print publication, in this case after nearly 145 years.