How can a drama be created out of the fate of a boy who ‘acquired a knowledge of decorative painting and design, and graining and signwriting’ from the fag-end of a remnant of pre-capitalist values, and the sad shadows of that system that followed it. Some personal and otherwise reflection on reading Robert Tressell before seeing the Ensemble ’84 production of ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’: Part One,being ‘My Dad’.

September 30, 2026

What’s the most underrated life skill? View all responses How can a drama be created out of the fate of a boy who ‘acquired a knowledge of decorative painting and design, and graining and signwriting’ from the fag-end of a remnant of pre-capitalist values, and the sad shadows of that system that followed it. Some … More How can a drama be created out of the fate of a boy who ‘acquired a knowledge of decorative painting and design, and graining and signwriting’ from the fag-end of a remnant of pre-capitalist values, and the sad shadows of that system that followed it. Some personal and otherwise reflection on reading Robert Tressell before seeing the Ensemble ’84 production of ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’: Part One,being ‘My Dad’.

‘No settled senses of the world can match / The pleasures of that madness’. The Pygmalion Moment in art. Visiting the Turner prize 2026 exhibition at MIMA today.

September 29, 2026

What’s a moment in your life that made you feel truly alive? View all responses There is a puzzle in this question in this prompt question that makes me ask if I find ‘a moment’ where I might be said to be ‘truly alive’, how should I describe my state in the remant of the … More ‘No settled senses of the world can match / The pleasures of that madness’. The Pygmalion Moment in art. Visiting the Turner prize 2026 exhibition at MIMA today.

At the end of Oedipus Tyrranus Creon says to Oedipus: ‘Seek not to be master more. Did not thy masteries of old forsake thee when the end was near?’ You are not in control of what relationships do or mean to you entirely. if anything relationships set bonds and bounds to you!

September 27, 2026

Which relationship has taught you the most about yourself? View all responses Relationships and their meaning for those who form a part of them are at the heart of dramatic fiction for a reason.  Human culture has always judged itself in terms of how it articulates the worth and value of a person in relationship … More At the end of Oedipus Tyrranus Creon says to Oedipus: ‘Seek not to be master more. Did not thy masteries of old forsake thee when the end was near?’ You are not in control of what relationships do or mean to you entirely. if anything relationships set bonds and bounds to you!

I am reading Tressell’s ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’. I have my idea for my business now!

September 26, 2026

If you could start a new business right now, what would it be? View all responses I am reading Tressell’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists at the moment in preparation for seeing a dramatisation of it at the Horden Playhouse next week by Ensemble 84. In it capitalism is called by Owen, the Socialist hero, as … More I am reading Tressell’s ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’. I have my idea for my business now!

The best way to explore a city is to build it anew.

September 25, 2026

New York was built upon the workers’ graves,London erected from their burnt up bones:To serve the greed of Capital, the wavesOf seas of want were held back by gorgeous homesHousing Amsterdam, city of rich trade,Excess and lucrative hustles, and painOnly for those whose work is only paidShort of enough so capital will gainIt’s weight in … More The best way to explore a city is to build it anew.

I believe in karma, only in as much as we practice in our early life or lives what becomes our practise when we think ourselves grown up. This is really a blog in preparation for seeing Hollie McNish reading from her 2025 collection ‘Virgin’ and talking to Michael Pederson in Durham on Friday 9th October 2026 at 7 p.m. at the Gala Theatre

September 24, 2026

Do you believe in karma? View all responses I believe in karma, only in as much as we practice in our early life or lives what is our practise when we think ourselves grown up. Hollie McNish at the Latitude Festival said to the BBC reporter, Charlie Jones: “My poems are pretty much word for … More I believe in karma, only in as much as we practice in our early life or lives what becomes our practise when we think ourselves grown up. This is really a blog in preparation for seeing Hollie McNish reading from her 2025 collection ‘Virgin’ and talking to Michael Pederson in Durham on Friday 9th October 2026 at 7 p.m. at the Gala Theatre

The Booker shortlist and my plan of possible INACTION

September 23, 2026

The Booker shortlist and my plan of possible INACTION The List came out yesterday and I updated the last of my longlist blogs last night accordingly (see it at this link). As you can see there, my predicted shortlisted included four of the actually shortlisted novels. The other two were novels I had not read, … More The Booker shortlist and my plan of possible INACTION

In Simon Stone’s ‘The Oresteia’, the character Alice says to her brother, Augie, of their family tragedy: ‘it has to stop’. Does it stop? Does it even have to? This is a blog on reading, long after seeing Simon Stone after Aeschylus and Others (2026) The Oresteia

September 22, 2026

In Simon Stone’s The Oresteia, the character Alice says to her brother, Augie, of their family tragedy: ‘it has to stop’.[1] Does it stop? Does it even have to? This is a blog on reading, long after seeing Simon Stone after Aeschylus and Others (2026) The Oresteia London, Methuen Drama. I saw Simon Stone’s The … More In Simon Stone’s ‘The Oresteia’, the character Alice says to her brother, Augie, of their family tragedy: ‘it has to stop’. Does it stop? Does it even have to? This is a blog on reading, long after seeing Simon Stone after Aeschylus and Others (2026) The Oresteia

In Freud, the ‘unheimlich’ and the ‘heimlich’ are a kind of equivalence. Is what ‘feels like home’ really the ‘uncanny’?

September 21, 2026

In Freud, the ‘unheimlich’ and the ‘heimlich’ are a kind of equivalence. Is what ‘feels like home’ really the ‘uncanny’? Even if we do not invoke Freud, the doubt about the comfort conveyed by this prompt question is in the prompt question itself: ‘What’s a place you visited that felt like home?’ There are two … More In Freud, the ‘unheimlich’ and the ‘heimlich’ are a kind of equivalence. Is what ‘feels like home’ really the ‘uncanny’?

Should we start much earlier than we do learning about ‘Life, the littleness of it’. Do little books about littleness in enlarged contexts need prizes or forgetting? This is a blog on Emma Cline (2026) ‘Switzy’.

September 20, 2026

Should we start much earlier than we do learning about ‘Life, the littleness of it’.[1] Do little books about littleness in enlarged contexts need prizes or forgetting? Do little books about littleness in enlarged contexts need prizes? This is a blog on Emma Cline (2026) Switzy London, London, Chatto & Windus (Penguin). In a final … More Should we start much earlier than we do learning about ‘Life, the littleness of it’. Do little books about littleness in enlarged contexts need prizes or forgetting? This is a blog on Emma Cline (2026) ‘Switzy’.

Durham city lacks the cultural vibration of constant reinterpretations of great works that a living professional theatre company gives any city.

September 19, 2026

What’s one thing that would instantly improve your city? Durham city lacks the cultural vibration of constant reinterpretations of great works that a living professional theatre company gives any city. I am using this graphic of the Empty Space of the Gala Theatre in Durham to denote a wider absence, brautiful theayre though it is: … More Durham city lacks the cultural vibration of constant reinterpretations of great works that a living professional theatre company gives any city.