More matter with less art

OK, so I promise this isn't just an excuse to post pictures of this man

Well, maybe it is.

Just a little bit.

I'll stop now. I promise. Right after this

Tonight I was lucky enough to join my sister and some of her friends at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon for Gregory Doran's Hamlet. You've more than likely seen the rave reviews, so I'll just confirm that it was brilliant. This is the third RSC production I've seen of Hamlet (previously saw Kenneth Branagh and Ralph Fiennes, the latter was fantastic) and by far, the best yet. David Tennant's preformance was excellent - as was Patrick Stewart's - and the rest of the cast for that matter.

I couldn't quite believe my luck when we got to our seats. Row B in the stalls. The courtyard has an apron stage. We could have literally reached out and touched the cast. If the mood had taken us. Ahem.

I'm depserate to see the show again in London, but just don't think I can stretch to the £1,200 cost for a pair of tickets on ebay. Sigh...

I hadn't really thought through the fact that I was going to be away from my daughter for 10 hours, three hours from home, until I was about to leave the house. Considering the fact I've only been out for an evening before and never further away than central London, this felt like quite a big deal.

However, 15 minutes into the journey I was really enjoying being alone, despite the jammed Friday traffic. 3 hours alone in a car, with nothing but music for company (an 80s Greatist Hits compilation to be precise) was a brilliant way to spend an afternoon. Great prelude to an even better evening.