Olivia Manning took inspiration from her wartime service with the British Council in Bucharest for her Balkan Trilogy. Lawrence Durrell used his time with the British Council in Belgrade to write authoritatively about Yugoslavia in White Eagles Over Serbia.
Jack Thorne is an established playwright, television writer and screenwriter. He’s a name to look out for and as he’s only forty-five, something I wouldn’t have said fifty years ago; he has plenty more successes to look forward to.
As a rule I swerve new operas and plays. They are not always bad but that’s the probability. Conversely a new ballet is worth the detour but it’s less of an investment as it’s shorter.
I saw The Rocky Horror Show at a theatre in the King’s Road (possibly The Royal Court) in the 1970s and was taken by surprise when the audience were mostly in costume and participated in the show – I remember lots of rice being chucked in a wedding scene.
Crowded bars, warm white wine, poor sight lines and uncomfy seats sum up an expensive visit to a West End theatre in the past. I used to game the system by ordering dry cider and ice for the interval.