The Lady Magazine

20 May 2016

Dear Readers, This week we bring you the best of all things British, starting with an interview with Night Manager star Tom Hiddleston alongside a look at the remarkable cohort of British acting talent now gracing stage and screen. While the current crop of British leading men is, perhaps, notable for its significant public school/Oxbridge presence, the same cannot be said of our shortlist of British actresses tipped for superstardom, four of whom, incidentally (including cover star Suranne Jones) soared to fame in gritty police dramas. The ‘best of British’ theme continues, ranging from outfits and accessories in flag-waving red, white and blue, to some favourite venues for afternoon tea, to a review of Emma Rice’s spectacular new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, now on at the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare can always be relied on for a quote, and ‘with mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come’ from the Merchant Of Venice is, surely, a testament to the life-affirming power of laughter. How gratifying, then, that laughter should be one export in which the British lead the world, as Louis Barfe explains in his essay about British comedy – an essay which may well generate a few chuckles itself. The British are, of course, a people renowned for their horticultural prowess, and in the last in our four-part series on designs for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, we feature the centrepiece of the show – a garden set around a 1920s railway carriage. British eccentricity at its finest! Until next week, best wishes, Sam Taylor