Londoner’s Diary
There was much swooning at The Wyndham’s Theatre this week for the opening night of Born With Teeth . The play reimagines an erotically charged relationship between rival playwrights Christopher Marlowe, played by Ncuti Gatwa, and Shakespeare (Edward Bluemel). In an interview with Vogue, Gatwa said that he and Bluemel wanted to make the play “as hot as possible”. He described Marlowe as “a bad bitch” who would have “painted the town red” if he were alive today, adding that Marlowe and Shakespeare were “unapologetically queer”.
The afterparty was held at St Martins Lane and guests included Gatwa’s Sex Education co-star, Patricia Allison.
Padel and picantes
Soho House’s most competitive members were out in the sticks on Friday for the members’ club’s inaugural charity padel tournament. 32 pairs paid a £200 entry fee (with all proceeds going to Prostate Cancer Research) to battle it out on court. The eight finalists got to play against actor Daniel Kaluuya and comedians Jack Whitehall and Michael McIntyre, who were each paired up with professional padel players. Alright for some! In the end Whitehall and pro Alfonso Patacho took home the trophy, before all the players retired to a private dining room for a four course meal and copious Picantes.
The event was hosted at Soho Farmhouse by founder Nick Jones, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022 and is calling for a national screening programme. “Every man deserves the same chance I had — to catch it early and do something about it,” he says.
at Wyndham’s Theatre. The play reimagines an erotically charged relationship between rival playwrights Christopher Marlowe (Gatwa) and Shakespeare, played by Edward Bluemel. In an interview with Vogue, Gatwa described Marlowe as “a bad bitch” who would have “painted the town red” if he were alive today. He describes Marlowe and Shakespeare as “unapologetically queer”.
Rag-tag readings
Once the prerogative of weddings and funerals, “readings” have become cultural catnip for the literati. They will pack into airless rooms to hear budding writers recite their oft-unpublished short stories. It’s a hit format. There were a full nine readings at the London launch of On The Rag, a tabloid newspaper for the thinking man edited by LA-based writer Sammy Loren.
The line-up included an amusing story about a post-coital apology shepherd’s pie, another about a post-coital coma and a rousing sestina (a six-stanza unrhymed poem — keep up). One particularly modest reader introduced her piece by saying “this is really shit, by the way” before skipping large chunks which she deemed too boring.
The event was held at Beasy Bar in Soho and rapt audience members included dancer Chantel Murphy, author Leo Robson, writer Thea McLachlan and model Lily McMenamy. Less enthused was artist Phillipa Horan’s dog Marley, the most cultured canine in London who has slept through a Bible’s worth of readings.
