Michael Billington

I have just returned from the Royal Academy of Music where I saw London Youth Opera's exhilarating production of Pandora'a Box: a witty, melodic piece (Stuart Hancock composer, Donald Sturrock librettist) that deserves to be picked up by youth groups around the country.

Look out for The Remarkable Journey of Bernard Levin on BBC4 on Nov 12 at 22.30. It tells the story of one of the great journalists of our time who was prolific, controversial and always stunningly readable.

I would highly recommend The Empress at the Lyric Hammersmith: Tanika Gupta's epic portrayal of British imperialism and maltreatment of immigrants has gained in resonance since I first saw it ten years ago.

Watching Jour de Fete on TV, I noticed a brief appearance by a character called Papa Godot. So did Jacques Tati influence Samuel Beckett? It seems highly likely.

A great day at the Linbury yesterday marking Wayne Sleep's 75th birthday. Janie Dee put together a great package including an interview with Wayne, clips from his Royal Ballet past and a reunion of Kit-Kat club girls from Cabaret. It was a superb tribute to the Puck-like Wayne.

If you want a potent piece of political theatre, head to The Return of Benjamin Lay at the Finborough. Written by Naomi Wallace and Marcus Rediker, it tells the extraordinary story of a 4ft-tall, 18th century Quaker who became a fervent abolitionist. Mark Povinelli is amazing.

I've just read a fascinating memoir, In Search of Truth by Eliza Harrison, from whom we bought our Chiswick House in 1976. The book is a compelling page-turner in which Eliza belatedly discovers that her real father was a famous Tory politician. I'd urge everyone to read it.

My second example of undimmed age is fictional. Annabel Leventon and Tim Hardy are giving terrific performances in The Journey to Venice at the Finborough as Norwegian oldsters who go on fantasy journeys and read Dostoyevsky and DH Lawrence to each other.

Two examples of the resilience of old age. Today at Irving Wardle's funeral we were reminded that this great critic was doing comic improv classes and acting with a local amateur group in his eighties and nineties.

Good to see the massive public support for Gary Lineker. It shows there is still some decency in this country.

No-one, I'm told, reads Sir Walter Scott. But Old Mortality is the fifth of his novels I have read recently and it is amazing for its portrait of the battle between religious fanaticism and royalist oppression in 17th century Scotland. Read Scott and relish him.

A magnificent service at St James's, Piccadilly yesterday commemorating the multi-talented Tom Phillips. Some sublime music and heartfelt tributes to Tom's artistic genius from David Attenborough, Brian Eno, Simon Callow and Tom's widow, Fiona Maddocks.

Have just finished Palace Walk: the first part of the Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. It is a great novel: a vivid portrait of a patriarchal Egyptian culture and a fierce attack on the cruelty of the British during the years of the protectorate. A must read.

Loving watching the Lord's Test on TV but I wish Sky Sports would ditch Kevin Pietersen who talks nothing but vacuous drivel.

Do go and see Harry Burton's production of Pinter's The Dwarfs at the White Bear. It's an edgily funny account of the writer's Hackney youth and you can't really understand Pinter unless you've seen the play or read the novel on which it is based.

To Poets' Corner last night for the dedication of a memorial stone to John Gielgud. A deeply moving occasion with speeches by David Hare and Richard Eyre and readings by Ian McKellen, Judi Dench and Janet Suzman.

Go to Hampstead Theatre website, click on The Breach and you will find an interview I've done with the play's author, Naomi Wallace. She talks fascinatingly about her own work and about political drama in America.