Londoner’s Diary
Don’t stand next to Richard Osman unless you want to look like a Lilliputian, as Steven Spielberg and Dame Helen Mirren learned at the premiere of The Thursday Murder Club in Leicester Square. The film is based on Osman’s bestselling cosy crime novel of the same name. “The premiere was amazing because they didn’t invite any celebrities, it was just the cast and fans,” said Osman on his podcast, The Rest is Entertainment.
The aforementioned starry cast includes Celia Imrie, Naomi Ackie, Richard E Grant and Pierce Brosnan, who brought along his son Dylan and his granddaughter Isabella Smith. Spielberg’s red carpet appearance was a surprise, while the other unexpected guest was former prime minister Sir John Major, invited by cast member Sir Ben Kingsley. According to Osman, Major was “sitting there very happily eating his popcorn, chatting away”.
Meanwhile, Succession star Brian Cox was at the Ham Yard Hotel for an exclusive screening of 007: The Road to a Million, a James Bond-inspired Amazon Prime game show he somewhat bizarrely presents. The first season was panned, but Cox insists the new one is “infinitely more dramatic”.
Twins fly the flag in Soho
Bright young things flocked to Nessa in Soho to toast Kevin and Karlon Bonsu, better known as The Flag Twins, who made this year’s Forbes 30 under 30 list (and The Standard’s 100 sexiest Londoners). The duo are a fixture on the London scene, often found behind the decks at fashion parties or cycling around the city on Brompton bikes.
The evening started off with bumps of caviar and Don Julio tequila mojitos before a three-course meal, a DJ set from the twins and a nightcap at a nearby speakeasy bar. Guests included model Savannah Blake, singer Dionne Bromfield and 30 under 30 alumna Shola West.
Juniper Blood at the Donmar
Over at the Donmar Warehouse, actors Kadiff Kirwan, Samantha Spiro and Tom Edden went to the opening night afterparty for Juniper Blood, a new play starring up-and-comers Terique Jarrett and Nadia Parkes. The cast may have been all smiles, but the same cannot be said for The Standard’s theatre critic.
