Opening

Well, really, all these people telling me Alan Yentob was spotted with Mandy Rice-Davies at the Stephen Ward musical first night. He would say that, wouldn't he?

Theatre news

Here's an imaginary trio of chums. Chancellor George Osborne was spotted in the first night front row for the revival of Jez Butterworth's play Mojo - hero "Silver Johnny". Jez, post-Cambridge, co-wrote plays with James Harding, now Director of BBC News. James Harding has been mates with George Osborne since their days at St Paul's School.

It's all in the presentation

Kevin Spacey v Alan Yentob - a celebrity interview so compelling that London's new Jewish Community Centre has allocated tickets by ballot. It's on November 23. The topic: a ripsnorter - The Power of Arts in the Community and the Place of Community in the Arts.

This week on screen, Alan replaced Joel Grey as narrator of Michael Kantor's excellent US documentary on the Jewish Legacy of Broadway. Though written and directed by Michael, Alan seems to have been given a clean mix of the soundtrack to drop in his dulcet tones - how many of the words he'd changed, we'll never know. The closing credits were shrunk to offer a self-serving tail piece with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and, yes, Alan Yentob, reviewing the work over cocoa in New York.

Not sure what was in the rucksack. Readers' suggestions welcome.

Hoofer

And lo, until recently unheralded in the Imagine winter running order, there appears on November 12th, "Broadway: A Jewish Legacy", presented by Alan Yentob, series editor Alan Yentob.

PBS in America had programme in January this year, called "Broadway: A Jewish legacy", presented by Joel Kay. Either this Imgaine offering is a different programme; or someone, maybe the series editor, has decided that Brits won't relate to Joel, or his context. Will Alan be on Broadway to put things right ?

Context

Theatre producer Michael 'Chalky' White is celebrated in a new film, The Last Impresario. His more famous London stage offerings include The Rocky Horror Show, Oh ! Calcutta, Cambridge Circus (with Bill Oddie and John Cleese), A Chorus Line, and West End shows with Dame Edna Everage.

Michael Coveney, critic for WhatsOnStage, notes that the film contains "a lot of boring wittering on from the deathly Alan Yentob - why? - about something or other".  Tatler's Bystander offers a shot of Big Al at the first night party for the film with his arm round Australian director, actress, and model, Gracie Otto.

And here's Al just before filming his contribution. He can't seem to keep his feet off other people's furniture or dashboards, I'm told.

Behind you

Starting the silly season early - where are our faves in panto this year ?  Two breakthrough artists - Gok Wan is making his debut as The Man in The Mirror, in Snow White at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Jo Brand will be be the Genie of The Ring in Aladdin at Wimbledon.

East Enders scriptwriters will be making creative storyline space for Ian Beale/Adam Woodyatt, in Peter Pan, Crewe, and Shane Richie/Shane Richie in Cinderella, High Wycombe. Shane Richie Jr is playing Buttons in Hayes.

Craig Revel Horwood is once again giving his Wicked Queen, this time in Southend, and without the support of Ann Widdecombe. Jimmy Osmond returns to Swansea as Captain Hook in Peter Pan. David Hasselhoff offers an alternative intepretation of the role in Nottingham.

We await news of castings in Hastings, Llandudno, and Northampton - may the producers have more success in their signings than Arsene Wenger....

Smart

Andy, 43, a business training consultant from Portsmouth with a degree in theatre studies, is Britain's Brightest 2013. But will there be a champion in 2014 ?

The final show of the BBC1 series bumped over the 5 million mark (average 5.15), inheriting a rugby, news and regional news audience. Mind you, ITV1 handed in the towel with a Nanny McPhee film running up to Take Me Out. Next week, Animal Antics gets a run out at 5pm, as we move into a run of Let's Dance for Comic Relief; still no sign of editions 5 and 6 of Richard Hammond's Secret Service.

Still up Danny Cohen's Saturday night sleeve: I Love My Country - eight shows recorded in December, with celebrities such as Ashley Banjo, Ricky Groves, Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, Chelsee Healey and Susannah Reid.

Good baddie

I went to an excellent party yesterday, to mark Peter Donaldson's (final ?) retreat from the microphones of Radio 4. Excellent, short, speeches were made, featuring that old news-reading ripsnorter, Lee Bum Suk.

It wasn't the time for a full tour of the Donaldson days. Further research overnight has found him in a modern dress production of Julius Caesar for the National Youth Theatre in 1962 - with fellow cast members including Martin Jarvis, Hywel Bennett, Robin "Poldark" Ellis and Kenneth Cranham.

Thence, in 1964, he moves to the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park for The Taming of The Shrew, with Dinsdale Landen and Trevor Peacock.

In 1965, he's part of a stellar Royal Shakespeare Henry V at the Aldwych - Ian Holm, Eric Porter, Michael Bryant, Michael Jayston, Michele Dotrice, and more, directed by John Barton and Trevor Nunn.

The biggie comes in 1967 - lead baddie in a Sinhalese version of James Bond, (Jamis Banda, Agent Sri 007) entitled Sorungeth Soru. Peter had returned to Colombo on holiday, after touring Shakespeare there in previous years. The travel company went bust, and while stranded, he was asked to join in the filming. "It was after a couple of bottles of beer and some devilled prawns that I suggested - half in jest - playing the son of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun".

That's probably enough. You don't need to know about blow-torches. (2105 update: Link dead, but Peter used to be part of a team running a website called "Collecting Friends" - and boasted a neat collection of blow-torches)

Play school

Ah, the narrow world of tv set design  - Daybreak's relaunch is the work of Simon Jago, now working for BDA Creative. He's been involved with ITV mornings for some time, producing the Lorraine set. The Chiles/Bleakley Daybreak look was the work of Jonathan Paul Green. Now Jago, he of strong lines, red, blue and neon, is trying to prove he can do cuddly...

Artful

The BBC has declared that the show "Over The Rainbow" is "art", and therefore it needn't answer a Freedom of Information enquiry about why it is promoting "commercial products by Mr Webber".

This may be legally correct, but I think the offended viewer, and many others, deserve greater transparency about the contractual relationship between the BBC and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a statement of how it fits within the BBC's guidelines.

Or, at the very least, at the end of every edition, the statement "Other West End shows are available" should be broadcast.

Good Lord !

A light refreshment with some BBC colleagues of a more artistic bent than myself led to a discussion about compliance, product placement, Baron Lloyd-Webber and the new BBC1 show "Over The Rainbow".

With out comment, here's a list of the Really Useful Group's London theatres, their current shows, and the cast list of Saturday's show.

The Cambridge: Chicago. Current star Ruthie Henshall was a Dorothy mentor.
The Palladium: Sister Act. Current star Sheila Hancock was a Dorothy judge.
The Theatre Royal: Oliver. Current star Jodie Prenger was a guest - Kelly Ellis, who is taking over the role of Nancy, was a mentor.
Her Majesty's: Phantom of the Opera. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber - lead judge.
Adelphi (co-owned): Love Never Dies. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Palace: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Co-producer The Really Useful Group, owner Andrew Lloyd Webber.
New London Theatre: War Horse.....

Questions. Does Andrew Lloyd Webber get a fee from the BBC ? Or does the BBC get a fee from Really Useful to cover the cost of running his auditions ? Does the Lord get a royalty every time they play the opening sting from The Phantom of the Opera ? Compliance, where is thy sting ?