one of the most memorable and enjoyable theatre nights in my life was seeing the original production of Arcadia at the National in 1993with a stellar cast of Bill Nighy, Felicity Kendal, Harriet Water, Rufus Sewell, Emma Fielding and Samuel West. Stoppard’s best play. Amazing. RIP.

For a long time art found it difficult to find a voice for talking about climate change that isn’t just journalism. Clever drama Beautiful Future is Coming and musical Hot Mess at Edinburgh showed two different ways of combining the bleak need for action with motivating stories and emotion too

provocative Thanks for Being Here “by” @ontroerendgoed.bsky.social at Edinburgh where the audience is the show (what do we show?) -are we really self-directed - so who gives us our motivation- Director is such an interesting word - democracy in art? the paradox of democracy relying on shared rules

Conclave, great film. Power, politics, ambition seen from a different perspective

Greenwich at night

After Assad's regime fell, thousands of Syrians are returning home. This is the road to Damascus. Also, on the border with Turkey, thousands are in line to enter Syria.

Great letter in this morning's @financialtimes.com

Of all the great organisations i’ve been involved with, the one i’m proudest of is Alzheimer’s Research UK - for the importance of its objective, for its ambition, for its care

Greenwich at Christmas

Shogun is a masterly stand-alone drama and adaptation of Clavell’s book. By focusing on Toranaga more than (not to the exclusion of) John Blackthorne/Anjin’s eye view it gives a richer satisfying picture of the japanese perspective of the time, the politics, and the psychology of leadership

Luke Jerram’s “Mars” at the Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

David Tennant’s Macbeth is best Macbeth i’ve seen for ages (great cast). Admirably lean dynamic production focusing on the bare bones of Macbeth - corrupted or revealed by the witches? Macbeth as an anti-Hamlet who acts - but it ends no happier than H’s inaction. Headphones add an extra dimension

Chicago is such a great city to visit (and The Bear, esp season 2 but you need a 1 as context) is a great piece of TV story telling)

dates me but the little trucks going about their business at airports (here O’Hare) still remind me of Thunderbirds - one of the things that hasn’t changed in 60 years

as a Londoner escaping rather damp cool weather delighted to find warm sunny weather in Chicago - going to be a good weekend

at Tate… Blaue Reiter expressionism exhibition interesting but unpersuasive that it was a great movement - but makes you wonder where the energy in European art and culture would have got to without the 1WW - European development and confidence never really recovered