FirstWord SIMON CALLOW
Simon Callow, Shakespearian actor, luvvie and recently- outed Toblerone-eater (as spotted by a List reader) tackles our Q&A with aplomb
First record you ever bought Brahms’ 2nd Symphony conducted by Bruno Walter.
First film you saw that really moved you The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Last lie you told I forgot I was meeting someone and said my laptop had been stolen. First movie you ever went on a date to Death in Venice.
Last time you cried Last night during my show.
First thing you do when you’ve got time off work Time off work? What is that? Last great meal you cooked Very simple: poussin and baked sweet potato. Kind of perfection.
Last extravagant purchase you made Two armchairs, one for each of my dogs. First crush Ian Klassen. I was nine; he was ten.
Last book you read The Anatomy of Puck by Katharine Briggs.
First great piece of advice you were given Don’t cross the road when there’s a car coming. Last time you were star struck When I did a concert with the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.
First thing you’d do if you ran the country Resign. Last meal on earth – what would it be? Tournedos Rossini.
First song you’ll sing at karaoke As far as I’m aware there is no karaoke for Schubert Lieder.
Last time you exploited your position to get something Last week to get tickets for Jansons’ concert at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh at the last minute.
First time you realised you were famous When I walked into a restaurant I didn’t know and in which I hadn’t booked and they said, ‘Good evening Mr Callow.’
Last time someone criticised your work Happens every day: professional hazard. First three words your friends would use to describe you Insatiable, affable, workaholic.
WeLike The things making our world just that little bit better
Last time you made an impulse buy and regretted it The armchairs: had to take the door off to get them in the house.
First concert you ever attended Leonard Bernstein conducting Fifth Symphonies of Sibelius and Shostakovich. Last time you bought someone flowers
Yesterday: 70 roses for a 70th birthday. First thing you think of when you wake up in the morning Sex.
Last thing you think of before you go to sleep Sex.
■ Shakespeare – The Man From Stratford, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 21–Sat 25 Sep.
■ First, we’ll deal with the walking wounded. If your brain is still too mushed from August for video tributes to literary legends, important developments in music distribution and
astronomy, try this web-based collection of owls that look like they’re hungover. They feel just as bad as you, but they’re all
cute ‘n’ fluffy. And, in a
pleasing bit of url- shortening service/subject matter convergence, here’s the
link: http://ow.ly/ 2yXsL. Next up it’s everyone’s favourite over-ambitious indie-folk flower child, Sufjan Stevens (what happened to the other 48 albums, eh Suf?), redefining the way we consume music. He released new EP All Delighted People through Bandcamp, charging only $5 a pop and streaming the whole thing for free which, um, rather delighted people. Amazingly it got well up the American
Billboard charts on three days’ of Bandcamp sales alone. Go Sufjan! Finally, we’re sure you’ve all noticed, but ain’t the moon looking mighty fine lately? That’s cos it’s the equinoctial Harvest Moon, when the earth’s seasonal tilt makes it appear bigger and redder than usual – lovely! A close second in our league table of seasonal moons to November’s ‘Beaver Moon’. Nice.
2 THE LIST 9–23 Sep 2010