Beg, borrow or steal

I have seen in my lifetime six productions of Twelfth Night, but never one as good as Michael Grandage's Twelfth Night at Wyndhams. That grand old man of the theatre, Derek Jacobi, is masterful as Malvolio, but the strength of the production is that he's backed up by such an able cast. Guy Henry as Sir Andrew Aguacheek and Victoria Hamilton as Viola, are among several talented performers. For those who go to the theatre regularly, there is a piece of business at the end - the last scene in fact, which I have never seen done by any other director, and is totally memorable. I now consider Michael Grandage, along with Greg Doran, to be in a class of their own. Don't miss it.

I rushed off to Joan Collins' christmas party, which was full of luminaries all grumbling about the credit crunch. Michael Caine has taken a year off acting but will be doing two new films next year, while Theo Fennell entertained us all by explaining why he's a Liberal; Tim Bell wasn't convinced. Tim Rice on the other hand, was only interested in the cricket, and hoped that we would try our second spinner for Friday's Test. Mary and I were among the last to leave, but then we had been among the last to arrive.