Seen Lately: Esther Freud Author, 'Hideous Kinky'

I went to see the Monet exhibition at the Royal Academy in the unusual situation of seeing it in the middle of the night. My father and I alone in the gallery followed by three security guards. It is very inspiring to see someone who knew exactly what they wanted to do. It happens so often with creative people that they feel they should be doing something else but Monet knew what he was interested in and his work is so beautiful it proves you must have faith in what you are doing.

I went to see a play called In Flame at the Bush by Charlotte Jones. It is a play about family relationships which is my favourite thing. It's a real actors' piece. You're so close to the actors that you are watching their faces, that is what is so great about the Bush. It was a cast of mainly women including one elderly actress who was bitterly sarcastic and did a great tapdance. I thought what a fantastic part for her.

I also amazingly went to Dingwalls for the first time since I was 17 to see Gillian Welch. She's a country/hillbilly singer but people get very offended if you give them the wrong title; I suppose she's more modern country. It was very plaintive, compelling with strange songs from a culture you know nothing about. It's just Gillian and her partner alone on stage playing with an almost gospel concentration. It is as if they are not performing, they are so caught up in what they are doing; they are just playing.

And I've been watching on television, what I think is absolutely brilliant, Gimme Gimme Gimme, with Kathy Burke and James Dreyfuss on a Saturday night. I'm a big fan of Kathy's as she knows. But both performers are brilliant. It is written by Jonathan Harvey. The writing is outrageously rude and funny - so outrageous that you can't believe it will go on in that tone, but it does.

Interview by Chloe Walker