Weekend working

How do you get your mind right for one of those big face-to-face confrontations ? Tory MP Nadine Dorries, who will beard BBC Director-General Mark Thompson tomorrow over the Corporation's treatment of women on and off screen, has tweeted that she'll be spending the weekend "talking to women past and present in the BBC" in preparation.

Meanwhile Thommo was spotted at the English National Opera's new production of "The Death of Klinghoffer", based on the taking of the Achille Lauro by PLO terrorists.  Also in the first night (of seven) audience - Alan Yentob (in 'hi-tops'), Will Self, Rory Kinnear, Chris Morris and Mark Thomas. Twitter has not recorded the presence of women.

Mark Thompson commissioned and ran a film version of Klinghoffer when he was boss at Channel 4 in 2003.

• Not many reviews to hand yet for the ENO team to ponder. I can only find this, by Igor Toronyi-Lalic, for The Arts Desk. He's unequivocal: "There were only two things in this production that were truly offensive: the direction and the music."