Five star review

I woke up this morning to discover that Brass had been given a five star review by Musical Theatre Review. Reviewer Craig Glenday describes the show as one of the theatrical highlights of the year: "The show’s lead creative, Benjamin Till, is responsible for the holy trinity of book, lyrics and music, and his writing is monumental – an audacious combination of Oh What A Lovely War and Les Miserables. Every song hits the mark and is perfectly placed, the ebb and flow of the numbers ensuring a rollercoaster of a ride. From the triumphant and celebratory to the heart-wrenching and devastating, each number is absolutely compelling, and Till deserves to be seated at musical theatre’s top table for his efforts.

Brass is a truly epic musical event – I can’t think of a better British score from recent years – and it has just added itself to my list of top five shows of 2016."

So that was a rather nice start to a day which could have been a tad deflating.

As it happened, there was work to be done as well which kept me occupied over lunch. I went to Julian's house with Abbie and Nathan to record a few demos for a pitch I'm about to deliver. Both tracks turned out rather well, as it happens. Abbie, in particular, sang beautifully, particularly when it came to a rendition of a little folk melody I'd written. I can't actually imagine anyone singing it any better than she did.

After finishing in the studio, we jumped in the car and drove down to Brighton, well, Hove, actually, stopping en route at a Little Chef. Old School. The food was dreadful. I had a vegetarian cottage pie which was actually solid. I've never eaten cottage pie with a knife and fork before.

The purpose of our trip to Brighton, well, Hove Actually, was to attend Janie Ranger's housewarming party in her new flat on Palmira Square, which is one of the most beautiful homes I've ever seen: Tall ceilings, huge rooms, stunning cornices, amazing original features. I instantly fell in love with it.

The party was a lot of fun and we played a mega game of Meryl which took us through to about 1 in the morning. Meryl, for the record, is often called the Name Game. Everyone writes five names on little pieces of paper and takes it in turn to pull them out of the hat, describing each one. The same names go back into the hat for round two, and people have to describe the names with just one word, and then, for round three, just by miming. It's hysterical. I laughed a lot.