"Austen? No thankyou!" says modern man

Officially zilch on the news front, so here are some little bits that are either fun, loosely-related or inconsequential:

• As reported by the Telegraph, a UKTV poll has revealed that 37% of women would rather date a 'Darcy-like figure' than a modern man. The poll also found that the majority of modern men were unlikely to even know who this 'Darcy' person is - two-thirds of male respondents had never read a romantic novel in their lives. Unhappy thought indeed!


• Just when we thought Martha Plimpton had planned a rest - even if she had yet to take it - it has been announced that she will join the cast of Cymbeline this fall. This, however, is not any production of Cymbeline - it is Lincoln Center's, meaning Ms Plimpton will be back at the Vivian Beaumont, on a stage we're assuming she knows quite well after seven months of The Coast of Utopia. Ms Plimpton will be playing Imogen, and previews will begin November 1. She is also joined in the project by Crew-topian lighting extraordinaire Brian MacDevitt. Exciting stuff. Meanwhile Beyond the Green Door was, for the first time ever, 'left doubled over in laughter' after seeing Ms Plimpton's current project, A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Delacorte. Similarly, Danny Miller was left asking 'What can't this woman do?' Well, quite.


• California's The Envelope meanwhile are already using the words 'Rock 'n' Roll' and 'Tonys 2008' in the same sentence. They also are drawing our attention to the new Tony Nominating Committee who will be deciding the 2008 nominees. If you thought all this was a little premature, even the official Tony website are telling us "It's not too early to sign up to get news about the 2008 Tony Awards!" Incidentally, they also appear to have taken Ms Plimpton's lead in setting up a MySpace page. Lastly, if you want to read the articles the stars were reading on June 10 in between applause, chit-chat, and more applause, see the American Theatre Wing's written excerpts of the official Tony Playbill for 2007.


• Lastly, should you have some superfluous roubles knocking around, eBay has a pretty red leather-bound copy of Possession, signed by AS Byatt, for $180. Happy reading!