07 OCTOBER 2026

Hello.

I hope you are well.

I used to put a question mark after statements like that.

I hope you are well?

But that implied upward inflection changes the intention too much for me now. It’s not a question, it’s a statement of fact.

I hope it with all my heart.

Rule of three

[Book] Out There by Kate Folk
Loved this short story collection that is, by turns, deeply weird, deeply disturbing and deeply hilarious. The worlds we visit here are drawn with such a light touch, deceptively casual and conversational - until you notice the nightmare fuel beneath the confection and maybe you’d stop reading if it wasn’t so darn funny and perceptive. Highly recommended (but perhaps not just before going to bed).

[Game] 007 First Light
For many of us who were teenagers in the 90s, the arrival of a new James Bond game will always engender a frisson of excitement. We, the children of Goldeneye, will forever associate the series with our first forays into multiplayer death matches and sniping headshots across the featureless grey concrete of the opening Contra Dam level. 007 First Light stars a young Bond, yet to achieve his license to kill status. Its strong narrative and voice acting give it a real propulsive power and the tutorial levels, cut like a movie training montage, are like nothing I’ve ever experienced in a video game before.

[Online] IMG_0001
For many years there was a function on the iPhone that instantly uploaded videos to YouTube. Most of them were just tagged IMG_ and then a procedurally generated number. This website crawls YouTube for these random moments from people’s lives. It’s fascinating and feels wonderfully like the old internet. The one that felt wild and precious and that brought people closer together.

Thanks to Robin Hodges for the recommendation.

Spotlight

**🚨ALERT🚨**

There are not many tickets left for our workshop weekend with Flock Festival founders, Laura and Gael Doorneweerd-Perry on 17th/18th October.

This week, I want to talk about Laura. She is hands down the best improv director I’ve ever worked with. The show concepts she comes up with are elegant, beautiful and inspiring. And she directs them with such care and an unerring eye for the little details that elevate a good show into a truly great one.

As a performer she is fearless, open-hearted and magnetic. She was one of the first people to truly show me how ambitious and theatrical improv can be. I will forever associate her with that kind of fizzy, sparking improv that is thrillingly pushing at its own boundaries.

I cannot recommend her workshop - A Control Freak’s Guide to Playfulness enough.

And, if I may be so bold, you won’t want to miss her and Gael’s show Object of Affection at Pretend Night that same evening. What a day of improv you will have!

Longform thoughts

Neither cruising along deep in our comfort zone, nor stranded so far outside it that we’re lost and panicking.

This week, in my ongoing series on natural movement theory and improv, we’re looking at Joint Articulation.

Radio Contact

Radio, take a bow.