The AJ Platform

After my trip earlier this month I couldn't resist the temptation and I went back. The main reason to pick this weekend was the Alex Jennings platform at the National Theatre. The chance to hear Alex talk for an hour on his life and career was too good to resist. I met up with Penny before the platform started, we took a short walk along the river and had some lunch, and then sat and listened to the interview. I enjoyed it and heard some news to put up on the AJ Diaries. Always good to get Alex news firsthand. It seems like he will be working abroad for most of the year, in Japan and Paris, resuming earlier roles. I'm still hoping he's going to do some Sondheim in the not too distant future.

Then there was "The Real Thing" at the Old Vic. Toby Stephens in a Stoppard play. I had forgotten how much I like Stoppard. I think "The Real Thing" was the first Stoppard play I saw quite a few years ago, the original production, but I couldn't remember much of it. This was a lively production with all the layers coming out. Good to see Toby Stephens again after a very long time.

Time for other London pastimes too. After my visit to Manchester earlier this year I wanted to go back to the Tate to see the Pre-Raphaelites. I like the way the Tate is organised and designed, plenty of room for the paintings, and beautiful, warm colours. It is the colours in the paintings that always strike me too. Somehow reproductions in books and on postcards never get the blue quite right, you don't get the real shades unless you are looking at the original paintings. And all the detail that gets lost in reproductions too, especially when it comes to the Pre-Raphaelites, where details are so important.






And talking about details, I couldn't help wondering once or twice whether London is going Dutch....