Some actors may wonder why they don't get an audition. It's not always because they weren't picked to be seen. Sometimes going through the CV's we discover someone we know who has submitted themselves for the role and we think would be perfect. They will then be offered the role without that part being auditioned. There's no way around this: it's impossible for us to think about everyone we know each time we come to cast a show and we will often be surprised by submissions from people we are acquainted with. Indeed, I often tell people who have worked for us in the past that they should always submit their CV for a role they are interested in playing because they mustn't assume we will have already considered them when casting.

That said, the BSC probably auditions more actors than most other companies, so the chances of being seen are relatively high.

Next week we start auditions for SKELLIG. It's turning into an extremely exciting project!

I unhappily bumped into one of the great conmen of the West End this week. A meeting with him is like having a barrel of oil poured over your head. He's slick and smooth but before very long you know you've come into contact with something extremely nasty, and it takes a severe mental scrub to get it all off. And just as with the price of oil these days, any encounter is likely to prove extremely expensive.

However, he's hurt so many people in the past that, rather like the Exxon Valdez, I have hunch that one day he's going down!

I'm not sure if The Arts Theatre sells out anymore, but just in case, don't risk it! The Two and Only is a priceless show and I recommend you grab a ticket just in case the word gets round too quickly. A unique, hugely enjoyable show about one man, many voices and his glorious relationship with puppets! It doesn't get any better.

Mandela is unsurprisingly one of my heroes. But I am surprised how often the media have sought to excuse his long silence on Robert Mugabe, only recently broken. As a child I remember being taught that none of our Biblical heroes are without flaws, that the very greatest men and women are inevitably human. It was argued that even Moses was prevented from entering the Promised Land because he displayed a flash of pride. Mandela is as near to Moses as any human being in our lifetime, but surely this is a case where we can legitimately question the great man’s long held silence on the crisis. Mandela makes clear in Long Walk to Freedom the immense value he places in loyalty and one senses it is this indestructible, misplaced loyalty to old supporters that has prevented him speaking out. The Daily Telegraph's political editor recently reached the bizarre conclusion that Mandela’s silence could have been because he felt “entitled to a few years rest and retirement”, which is surely as wide of the mark as it is possible to be. Is it not more likely that Mandela has made one of his very few mistakes, when his unique influence could have helped to rescue an entire country from the catastophe that has unfolded.