"I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart"

The Independent’s entertainment newsletter [SUBSCRIBE]( [SUBSCRIBE]( January 07, 2023 [View in browser](   Happy 2023! I hope everyone’s Christmases were a cosy joy. I had a lovely time catching up on various cultural things, from Don’t Worry Darling (oh, the plot holes) to Wuthering Heights (I can’t believe I’d never read it… I can’t believe Heathcliff hangs a dog). This year I’m taking inspiration from the creative life force that was Katherine Mansfield. “The mind I love must still have wild places, a tangled orchard where dark damsons drop in the heavy grass, an overgrown little wood, the chance of a snake or two (real snakes), a pool that nobody’s fathomed the depth of – and paths threaded with those little flowers planted by the wind,” wrote the short story writer in her journal in 1920. Next week will mark a century since her death, and I loved talking to her new biographer Claire Harman about why she’s so underrated – you can read my piece tomorrow. January always makes me feel a bit like a kid in a sweet shop, looking out at a year of shiny, new cultural happenings. This week, the culture section has been packed with guides to the year’s upcoming culture, from[TV]( to [film](, [books](, [music]( and [theatre](. 'A Little Life', 'Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons' and 'The Pillowman' are among the 2023 theatre highlights (Jason Bell/Getty/Charlie Gray) There are a few things I’m personally very excited about. I can’t wait for The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre, Jack Thorne’s new play about when John Gielgud directed Richard Burton as Hamlet on Broadway, after the Welsh thesp had just married Elizabeth Taylor. Sam Mendes is directing, and Johnny Flynn is playing Burton. I fell down a YouTube wormhole of old interviews over Christmas and realised that Flynn and Burton have really quite similar deep, rich voices. I’m also so thrilled that the long-awaited West End revival of Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman is finally happening. It’s such a good play, and [Lily Allen is fascinating casting for the part of Katurian](. I’m giddy about the return of both Big Brother AND Black Mirror, and I’m looking forward to new novels from Deborah Levy, Katherine Heiny, Lauren Groff, Curtis Sittenfeld and Zadie Smith. Also... we'll finally find out if Greta Gerwig's [Barbie film]( is going to be good, or massively misguided. First, though, the biggest book of 2023 is on its way next week, after being accidentally released early in Spain – but the thought of reading Spare by [Prince Harry]( is slightly depressing me. I’ve written about why his explosive memoir is making me uncomfortable, [for this week's State of the Arts column](. Tomorrow night Harry’s [big interviews]( with ITV and CNN will air, and we’ll be bringing you all the bombshells as we get them (if there are any bombshells left). Happy new year, Jessie [@jessiecath](   [The Saturday Interview – James Norton]( [Oscars image]( James Norton is starring in the third and final series of BBC's 'Happy Valley' (Getty) Thanks to the telly gods for letting us start the year with a show as great as Happy Valley. I loved [Ellie Harrison's interview with James Norton](, who plays the unspeakably horrible Tommy Lee Royce in Sally Wainwright's drama. He's also set to star in one of the year's most anticipated stage shows as Jude in A Little Life, and gives some great insight into his own parallels with the character. (Just don't mention James Bond.) [Oscars image]( James Norton as Tommy Lee Royce in 'Happy Valley' (BBC) Read an extract from our Saturday Interview below… Happy Valley’s first season, in 2014, was Norton’s break-out role. But he’d been working for a good few years before that, following training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London – his early roles included playing a classmate of Carey Mulligan’s Jenny in An Education, a place in the original cast of Bullingdon Club parody Posh at the Royal Court, and a part as a young lawyer in the BBC One period drama Death Comes to Pemberley. But the world started to really take notice when bleach-blond psychopath Royce arrived on the scene, and Norton was Bafta-nominated for his magnificent, menacing performance. When the season one finale aired, in which Royce kidnapped his own son in a murder-suicide bid, Norton commented that “eight million people are currently wishing me dead”; his entry into the public consciousness was something of a baptism of fire. “But I’m quite grateful for the way it happened with me,” he says. “A lot of people, talking about baptisms of fire, could be landing a role as a teenager [Norton was 29 at the time]. Or look at the actor playing Wednesday Addams right now [Jenna Ortega], those baptisms of fire are nuts, because you miss so many rungs of the ladder, and suddenly you’re in this quite specific, lonely space. For me, Happy Valley was important, because it allowed me to show that I wanted to do transformative, challenging roles way away from my own life and personality... it came out when we were filming the first series of Grantchester, which was a role much more similar to me, and there was a risk that if I’d just done Grantchester I’d have been known as the well-spoken floppy haired guy, who can just do that.” [Read the full interview here](   Weekend Shelf-Care Weekend Shelf-Care Heather Clark January marks 60 years since the publication of The Bell Jar by [Sylvia Plath](. Heather Clark, the author of the major Plath biography Red Comet – a masterpiece in its own right – describes it as “feminist protest, Cold War history, medical expose, Bildungsroman, recovery narrative, and quest” in an introduction for the Folio Society’s beautifully illustrated new edition. The poet’s only novel, about a young woman’s breakdown against the misogynist landscape of the 1950s, only feels more pioneering as time goes on. I’d heartily recommend starting the year by going back to Plath, or reading Clark’s biography if you haven’t already. Or both! I’m thrilled that Clark has given us an insight into her reading and writing life to mark the occasion. A book I recently read and loved is… I loved Rebecca Donner’s All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days. It’s the story of Mildred Harnack, an American woman who was a member of the German Resistance and was beheaded at Hitler’s personal order. It’s a biography, spy thriller, love story, and detective novel all rolled into one extraordinary book. My three fantasy literary dinner party guests would be… James Joyce, Bruce Chatwin and Joni Mitchell. Not finishing books: my stance is… I have different rules for different genres. I don’t feel compelled to keep reading a novel if I’m not gripped by about page 100. I allow myself to jump around a bit more with biographies or historical non-fiction. My writing routine is… I am a university professor so I do not write full-time. On the days I set aside to write, my routine is dictated by the school bus. I begin writing when the bus picks up my son in the morning, and I end when it drops him off in the afternoon. The Folio Society edition of Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar', introduced by Heather Clark and illustrated by Alexandra Levasseur, is exclusively available from [foliosociety.com](   Enjoying this newsletter? Unlock unlimited, ad-free reading on the website and in The Independent app when you subscribe – plus, benefit from our [welcome offer when you join today](.   What to watch this weekend [Happy Valley]( Catherine Cawood is such a legend that I would not even mind being brusquely told off by her. The return of Sally Wainwright's Yorkshire police drama, with Sarah Lancashire on top form, has [already been a total treat](. [The Prince Harry interview]( Obviously you're going to watch it. Don't try and pretend otherwise. On Sunday, Prince Harry plugs his memoir on ITV and CNN with [some serious sit-down interviews](. [White Noise]( A couple of biggies – [M3GAN](, Empire of Light – don't hit cinemas until next week. But in the meantime, you can catch up with [Adam Driver being Adam Drivery]( in [Netflix's Don DeDillo flick](.   INDYBEST / [BEST BUYS]( Stranger Things and Quiksilver launch an Eighties-inspired collection that’s worn by the cast in season 4 As the second half of series four unfolds, inject some retro style into your wardrobe[Read more](       OTHER NEWSLETTERS YOU MIGHT LIKE [Competitions and Offers] Competitions and Offers Every Friday, 1.30pm (UK time) Our free weekly pick of great prizes, deals and discounts direct to your inbox [Join now]( [Health Check] Health Check Every Thursday, 7am (UK time) Written by Rebecca Thomas [Join now]( If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's entertainment newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. 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