A combination of a lingering cold and the pointy end of my novel has meant that for the past couple of weeks I've been cancelling tickets to plays right, left and centre (three at last count). My apologies to the companies involved; I'm not normally, I assure you, quite so disastrously unreliable. I'm not sure what sort of person I will be when I no longer have this epic story cluttering up my brain, but I'm optimistic that I might be merely a poet, writing very short things.

I also feel strangely obliged to mention the Tonys. Tom Stoppard's gigantic Coast of Utopia swept the awards, as most of you will know by now, and the musical of Spring Awakening - something, I confess, that I can't quite imagine, though you can check out one of the songs and download ringtones here - was another big winner. Myself, I'd rather see the actual play... The Playgoer is your Tonys man.