Author | Lightnews

Sarah Blake

@sarahblake.bsky.social

100 followers 34 following 110 posts

Writer, director, actor. Artistic Director of Sounds Curious (audio) and Cabinets of Curiosity (theatre). Creator of vintage interior and audio installations at The Curious Room, in The Hague (www.thecuriousroom.com). General arty person.

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Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 17h

Happy Hallowe’en! 💙🧡💙

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 11d

In honour of #DianeKeaton, I watched The First Wives Club. It's still so funny & joyful, but it struck me that the interior of Shelly's apartment - which is clearly meant to be a trashy joke - is emulated today by many designers, as well as a certain president. We live in such a bad taste era.

Image shows a still from the film 'The First Wives Club' and depicts a New York apartment interior, with a beige marble floor, a studded leather door on the left, slab wall-panelling in white and wood, and a hideous staircase with a metal frame, wooden slat stair risers and metal tubular banister rails. Mounted on the wall behind the staircase is a rectangular mirror in a heavy gilt, faux-rococo frame, underneath a pair of wall-mounted frosted-glass torchiere lamps - and to the left of these, an open door reveals a cloakroom with a ridiculous gold, Louis XIV-style lavatory, brown carpet and navy blue striped wallpaper.

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 13d

That rumba from Alex, tho 🔥🔥🔥#Strictly

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 13d

Gorgeous - my fave so far!

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 13d

Lovely tribute to Singin’ In The Rain from Katya Jones and Lewis Cope tonight… even if absolutely no one on the actual dance programme seemed to spot it. #Strictly

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Reposted by Sarah Blake

Beyond Shakespeare @beyondshakes.bsky.social · 17d

🚨One Week to Go!
Have you booked your tickets for our Wyrd Revels yet? Five days, five shows, recording live for the Beyond Shakespeare Podcast.
The Witch of Edmonton, The Wise-woman of Hogston, Thyestes, and both versions of Doctor Faustus!
#Wyrd #Horror #Drama #AudioDrama #Demon #Witch #Halloween

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Reposted by Sarah Blake

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 21d

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 22d

I don’t normally like to draw attention to my chronic illnesses, but this is too funny and brilliant not to share… 😆😭😆

Chronic Illness Memes @chronicillnessmeme.bsky.social · 23d

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 24d

Isn't it wonderful? But can't claim any credit for it... they're the original worktops and flooring from 1908! 😍

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 25d

You’ll have to excuse the pile of washing up by the sink, but when I walked into the kitchen this morning, the burnished creeper looked so beautiful hanging over the back door that I had to take a photo of it ❤️
#autumnglory #autumnvibes #autumnbeauty #autumn

Photo shows the back door of a kitchen, which is painted yellow and has a four-paned window in the upper half of it. To the right of the door is a low kitchen cabinet, also painted yellow, with a black and white stone worktop on top of it and a stone sink set into it. To the left of the back door is another, matching yellow cabinet and, above it, another four-paned window. Both windows look out over a garden, which is still very green, with a turf lawn and a high wall covered in dark green ivy. However, hanging down in front of both windows are several long strands of virginia creeper, which has taken on its autumn colours of bright orange and crimson. The orange tones of the creeper are picked up by a wooden bowl of satsumas and golden kiwis that are sitting on top of the kitchen cabinet on the left, in front of the window, and by the edge of a bright orange washing-up bowl that’s just visible in shot on the right. However, the scene is not enhanced at all by the pile of washing-up that’s sitting on the worktop next to the sink, on the right. Should I have done the washing-up before taking the photo? Yes. Should I have at least moved it out of shot, before taking the photo? Yes. Could I be arsed to do either of these things? No.

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Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 28d

I am excessively sad that Patricia Routledge has died at the grand old age of 96 - she was amazing ❤️ But the news comes so fast these days - and fuck me, we now have a female Archbishop of Canterbury! 😍 Amazing 🥰 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Sarah Mullally named as new Archbishop of Canterbury - BBC News

She becomes the first female leader of the Church of England, replacing Justin Welby who resigned over his handling of a safeguarding scandal.

www.bbc.com

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · 29d

The Marie Antoinette Style exhibition at the V&A is stunning. Lots of original artefacts, plus a fabulous collection of couture designs that have been inspired by her legacy. Definitely worth a visit!
#MarieAntoinette
#MarieAntoinetteStyle
#V&AMuseum
#couture
#fashion
#fashiondesign
#18thcentury

Picture shows a black headless mannequin wearing a pink and cream-striped Robe à la Francais, which dates from around 1775. It features an embroidered stomacher, decorated with pink and blue ribbon flowers, and a full crinoline skirt that is also embroidered with small pink flowers and red ribbon trim, and is looped up at the sides, in the style known as 'à la Polonais'. Underneath the dress is a white cotton chemise that is visible around the neckline and at end of the three-quarter sleeves, where white ruffles fall gently down the arms to where the wrists would be.

Photo shows a long, cream and peach-coloured striped silk gown, seen from the back on a black, headless mannequin. The gown dates from around 1787 and is in the Robe à l'anglaise style, with long sleeves, a tight bodice and a skirt that is gathered over the hips and has pleats to make it full, as well as a short train that trails on the floor.

Picture shows a front view of a floor-length, cream satin gown on a black mannequin. The gown dates from around 1780 and is in the 'Robe à la Francais' style, with a tight bodice, half-length sleeves and a very full skirt - designed to be worn over a crinoline hoop, or panniers. The bodice has a plain scoop neck and fastens down the front with a vertical, central line of concealed hooks, while the skirt is made up of a flat fronted under-skirt, which is then covered by a mantua, or split-front over-skirt. Both skirt parts are embroidered with sprays of pink and yellow flowers and are also trimmed with bands of pale blue ribbon and cream lace.

Image shows an exhibition gallery in the V&A museum, which has a plain cream background and floor, with six white mannequins displayed upon it. From left to right, the mannequins are wearing: a long dark pink gown with filly sleeves by Moschino; a blue and white toile-patterned ensemble made up of a short, belted coat with a full crinoline skirt, over matching blue and white toile thigh-high boots, all by Jeremy Scott for Moschino; a calf-length ruffled dress in shades of beige and pale green, with a ribbon-decorated bodice and heavily-flounced skirt, by Vivienne Westwood; a long floral chiffon gown featuring heavy pleating and a pattern of large pink roses and green leaves on a cream background, by Alessandro Michele for Valentino; and a lemon coloured mini-dress that is shaped like a tiered wedding cake and covered in structured white decorations that are made to look like piped royal icing, by Jeremy Scott for Valentino. On the far right-hand side of the photo, next to the lemon-colured 'cake' dress, we can see half of another mannequin, wearing another 'cake' dress, this time in pale pink. All of the Moschino mannequins are wearing high, Marie Antoinette-style wigs that complement the colour of the outfit they are wearing (dark pink, blue, pale yellow and pale pink, respectively). By contrast, the Westwood and Valentino mannequins are both bald.

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Reposted by Sarah Blake

Ms. M @msmalarkey24.bsky.social · Sep 19

🧵 Gentleman in DC on the suspension of @jimmykimmel.com:

“But you know who the real villains in this whole thing are?

The 60-some percent of American voters who didn’t [vote].”

LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK. 1/

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Reposted by Sarah Blake

Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · Sep 14

Important.

Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 @rweingarten.bsky.social · Sep 14

Really important @TimothySnyder column open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

Free Speech and Me Speech

A helpful distinction

open.substack.com

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Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · Sep 5

Dear @teamlabouruk.bsky.social, please can we have @jessphillipsmp.bsky.social for Deputy PM, now?

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · Sep 5

It’s a sparkling Friday afternoon where I am… happy weekend, all!
#Fridayfeeling
#Seafever

$The picture shows a beach, with yellow sand on the lefthand side and soft waves coming in from the right across the centre of the picture. The sky is very blue, with lots of small, fluffy clouds, and at the top centre of the picture, there are refracted shafts of sunlight. The sunlight is also creating a sparking effect on the waves. In the distance, we can see the silhouette of buildings on the left, and a pier stretching over to the right, with a tower and a big wheel.$

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · Aug 29

I wrote this digital play 4 years ago &, post-pandemic & post-AI, I’m still really proud of it. Although it’s about UK politics, it’s scarily-prescient about the current US situation & contains beautiful, nuanced performances by the cast. @hcrichardson.bsky.social is right - art uplifts, art helps ❤️

Deepfakes - political satire by Sarah Blake

YouTube video by Sarah Blake

m.youtube.com

Reposted by Sarah Blake

Fiona Katauskas @fionakatauskas.bsky.social · Aug 17

ICYMI- Horses Changing Courses- yesterday's cartoon for @australia.theguardian.com

Scene is two people and four horsemen of the apocalypse in coloured robes instead of the dark ones. Instead of the normal "death, famine, pestilence" etc, they have banners saying "Hope", "Justice", "Empathy" and "Just basically not being a dick"
Horseman 1 is saying to the two people "THe whole apocalypse thing got too depressing so we've reinvented ourselves as the Four Horsemen of Working Together to Get Us All Out of the Mess We're in"

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Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · Aug 14

Shakespeare - succinctly describing the problem with trickle-down economics all the way back in the early 1600s (Coriolanus, Ii)...
#Shakespeare
#trickle-down
#billionaires
#Musk
#Trump
#SNAPbenefits

Picture shows text from the Folger edition of Coriolanus, Act One, Scene One. The First Citizen is speaking and the speech reads: "We are accounted poor citizens, the patricians good. What authority surfeits on would relieve us. If they would yield us but the superfluity
while it were wholesome, we might guess they relieved us humanely. But they think we are too dear. The leanness that afflicts us, the object of our misery, is as an inventory to particularize their abundance; our sufferance is a gain to them."

Reposted by Sarah Blake

August Phoenix Mercantile @themercantile.bsky.social · Aug 12

getpocket.com/explore/item...

#18thcentury #LondonHistory #LettersHome

This Is What Being in Your Twenties Was Like in 18th-Century London

A restored collection of letters describes a 27-year-old’s office job, social life and financial concerns beginning in 1719.

getpocket.com

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Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · Aug 9

From Rose Garden to Olive Garden.

PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 @patriottakes.bsky.social · Aug 9

More chairs and tables added to Trump’s White House patio. Do donors pay $1M to meet with him here?

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · Aug 9

From Rose Garden to Olive Garden.

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Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · Aug 8

Photo from the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream I directed 3 years ago. It never used to be one of my favourites, but my god, I LOVED directing this... so if anyone ever needs a director for a queer feminist version of Dream, I have the adaptation done already and will make myself available!

Photo from a 2022 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, performed in the Prinz-Emil Garten in Darmstadt Germany, and directed by Sarah Blake. The photo is taken outside, in the garden, and in the foreground, Oberon is leaning against a tree trunk with their arms crossed, looking defiant. They have short fair hair and are wearing a bright pink armoured breast plate, black shorts, fishnet tights and heavy laced black boots, under a vintage paisley dressing gown. Their face is made up with a bright pink triangle, outlined in black, over their left eye, a pink smudge on their right cheek, a small blue moustache on their upper lip and small pointed beard on their chin. Behind Oberon, on the righthand side of the picture, we can see Bottom and Titania in a blurry woodland background. Bottom is standing with his arms raised to his chest. He has a giant donkey head with long ears, and is wearing an olive green waistcoat over a black t-shirt, with a pair of blue, yellow and red-patterned trousers. Titania crouches before him with her hands on his chest. She is wearing a black vest top with a rainbow-coloured net skirt over black leggings, and she also wears a crown of leaves and berries on her head.

Sarah Blake @sarahblake.bsky.social · Aug 6

Some more of my cocktail fairy characters...
#cocktails
#fairies
#DidoBelle
#BritishMuseum
#allthedrama

Pictures of two of my invented cocktail fairies, both of which are based on 1847 illustrations by J.J. Grandville, from his ‘Flowers Personified’ collection. On the left: The Fairy Pricklette, who is a white female wearing a dress made out of thistle leaves, with a white underskirt. She wears a hat also made of thistles, adorned on the top with a pink and yellow thistle flower, and pink thistle flower petals also trim her short sleeves. She is carrying a wand, which she is pointing at a giant praying mantis, who is standing on its back legs with its wings spread and its claws raised. A blue cocktail bauble hangs from the mantis’ right claw. Pricklette’s caption reads: “THE FAIRY PRICKLETTE. Friendly. Good wand skills. Usually reasonable, except when mantises try to steal her drink.” On the right: The Fairy Arancia, who is a white female wearing a short white gown that has a garland of large, orange, bell-shaped flowers decorating the skirt. Large orange petals also decorate the top of her corseted white bodice, and she wears a headdress of the same orange flowers. She is standing with one leg crossed in front of the other and her right arm is raised — and hanging from the little finger of her raised hand is an orange cocktail bauble. Below her, on the lefthand side of the picture, is a giant white and orange moth, who is also holding an orange cocktail bauble. Arancia’s caption reads: “THE FAIRY ARANCIA. Dank moves. All the drama. Friend to moths.”