The Extreme Staycation

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown The advert below came out this week and sent the internet into meltdown. At a time when us artistic folk are feeling a bit taken advantage of and undervalued, this was the cherry on top. The advert was ostensibly to encourage young people to think about applying for jobs in cyber but all it did was to underline the idea that jobs in the arts are frivolous and not "proper" jobs.  This came the week after we were advised by the government to consider re-training. Without the arts, we would all be poorer - culturally, emotionally and as a country, financially.  The arts are what has kept us all going during this unending pandemic and anyone who claims otherwise is a liar.  If you have watched TV, a film, listened to music, read a book, looked at any art - you've enjoyed the fruits of someone's labour, often many years of study and hard work. The arts should never be seen as "not a viable job". I w...

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown If you have watched the TV show  Succession , then I think you may enjoy a three part documentary on BBC iPlayer about the Murdoch family called "The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty". It's a fascinating documentary about the family and the terrifying number of political connections and power wielded by the family. And if you  haven't  seen Succession - well, I think it was one of the best dramas of the last couple of years. Superbly acted, filmed and a great story full of pretty despicable people.  Great stuff!

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown On TV on the 17th August, there was a 20 year celebration of Derren Brown's work called "Derren Brown: 20 Years of Mind Control". I've been a fan of Derren Brown since he first started on TV and so I was beyond excited when I got to work with him on his series "Trick of Treat" in 2007.  It was all very secretive and I had to sign non-disclosures so that it was all a surprise when it was broadcast. The episode I'm in can be seen here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghW595-zsbg I played the "dead girl in the car" which involved prosthetics and playing dead!  It was a genuinely thrilling experience and I was so delighted to be a part of the show.

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak September - how is it already September? September was the month when everyone really tried to "go back to normal" Started off the month with a cast screening of Love & Information which we decided to really go for big style - everyone dusted off their black ties and ballgowns and we had a fabulous evening! It was my birthday - celebrated with a family walk and  Papa John's vegan pizza  which was great!  Lockdown birthdays kinda suck but also I feel like people make more of an effort to reach out as the circumstances are so strange. I went back to weekly ballet classes, first since March.  It has been lovely to stretch my muscles and my dance brain. Went to the cinema for the first time - my cinema of choice is the BFI, partly because I'm a member and partly because I like the way they do things.  Saw two excellent films (in a socially distanced cinema where masks were required through...

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak So I kind of lost steam with the blog. I'm not sure how but suddenly a day, a month had passed since I'd written anything. The end of August came and went.   Some highlights for me:  Attending a socially distanced vegan supper club (great food, great wine, great company).   I took part in an unrehearsed reading of The Effect by Lucy Prebble which was really fun, very interesting play and one I missed seeing a few years ago, so I was pleased to have the chance to perform it. Decided to "Eat Out to Help Out" and went on a 33,400 step vegan food journey across London which was great fun! Mildred's for breakfast, Eat Chay for lunch, sweet treat cookies from Humbledough and Neat Burger for dinner - good thing we walked as far as we did! Visited Eltham Palace in South East London - one of the English Heritage properties which has re-opened the house and not just the gardens.  Fascinating house...