Now that winter is trending again, time to get back to thoughts writerly. Here in the world of prose we seem to be having a kind of Eurythmic Arab Spring of brothers & sisters doing it for themselves. "There is no longer any reason whatsoever to pay the slightest attention to the world of print" says writer Michael Allen, "Of course, you can if you want to. If you enjoy banging your head against brick walls, feel free. But you don't need to. You can just go straight to the reader yourself, without any agent, publisher, or bookseller making life difficult." Writing Events Bath, in support of such emancipation, is offering a workshop on self-promotion by social media. And it looks like there's no escape within the ancien regime either: "An agent will expect you to know about twitter, blogs and facebook, and to use them" claims Neil Blair - and he should know, he represents J K Rowling.

Madhampton.co.uk, written by Mark Breckon, is the latest show from feisty and effervescent Stepping Out Theatre Company, and like all their ensemble productions this combines high-energy comedic action and glorious visual set-pieces with thought-provoking social questioning. As you can surmise from the play's title, the allure and dangers of social networking are in the spotlight here - along with some marvelously cheesy disco scenes - and the plot thickens by the minute as fast as unstirred custard but a lot tastier. Much of what transpires is, to quote someone (I think the psychiatrist, or maybe the polar bear) "neither legal nor ethical, but it is exciting and it's on the internet so it's probably ok". This is a feel-good show with a great finale, and best of all is the contagious enjoyment & exuberance of the whole company ~ and with over 40 on stage, that's a lot of joy & exubing. If you want to know more about the complex plot, check the excellent review in Venue.
It's on at The Brewery in Bristol till Saturday 14th, so do go if you can.
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