Hypatia Avenue

"I gave them a sword..."

Another amazing night at the theatre, in a series of amazing nights at the theatre. First Fuerzabruta (more on this later) and now... Frost Nixon. Not only was I lucky enough to see My Favourite Actor Michael Sheen "do" David Frost, I was also privileged to see Frank Llangella play Nixon. This was acting of the highest quality - Llangella had the awkward Nixon hunch and oversized hands making grumpy gestures right down to the finest detail. And in the final close-up, beamed above him on a bank of TV screens, he was Nixon, in the bulging eyes and the sweat on his top lip and the haunted look of a man who knows he did the wrong thing, however much he may insist he didn't.

Michael Sheen as David Frost was magnificent too but as I'm less familiar with David Frost, Sheen's performance kept recalling Austin Powers for me. A colleague who had to listen to my breathless, rave review over coffee this morning pointed out that Austin Powers is rather like vintage David Frost and it wasn't in any way incorrect for me to have made this association throughout the performance.

But the best thing of all about last night's trip to the theatre? Having Mr Hypatia Avenue with me, enjoying the play possibly even more than me. Though he appreciates good script-writing, can spot and enjoy high quality acting and directing and doesn't mind making time for the theatre when he finds something he wants to see, he doesn't have the same dedication to the art form as I do. Not for him the here, there and everywhere, anything and everything approach I have to the performing arts - he's far more select. And I felt very honoured and privileged and happy to have him with me last night. A good play was made even better by seeing it and experiencing it with him, my husband.

And on the subject of being married (because that is what the thinly-disguised previous paragraph was, in case it was not thinly-disguised enough) congratulations to Sir Humphrey and his soon-to-be Lady Humphrey who got engaged this past weekend, in the most unbearably romantic, Oxonian, literary fashion. Hurrah and dare I say, Huzzah!