Front Row Actor Forbes Masson on the stage production of cult sitcom The High Life
Mar 25, 2026
Forbes Masson, actor and writer who revived the cult sitcom as a stage musical, recalls reuniting with Alan Cumming and updating the show's cheeky humour for modern audiences. Claire Shenstone, artist in her 70s who uses her own face in her work, talks about painting ageing expressions. Richard Cork, art critic and historian, reflects on how older people are shown in art and culture.
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Middlest Authors Define Publishing's Shrinking Backbone
- The novel's characters are 'middlest' authors: experienced, regularly publishing writers who aren't breakout bestsellers but could, with support.
- Cat Clarke describes middlest authors as the shrinking backbone of publishing squeezed by demand for guaranteed hits.
Novelisation Locked Room Inspired The Plot
- V. E. Schwab was inspired by real 'locked room' novelisation rules where authors write from sealed scripts before release.
- She imagined the added stress if multiple authors were isolated competing to produce the same ending.
Satire Drawn From Real Publishing Horror Stories
- The book satirises publishing horrors drawn from real anecdotes but deliberately avoids naming identifiable individuals.
- V. E. Schwab says most anecdotes happened to them or close friends, yet they excluded stories that would reveal recognizable people.
