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Joely Richardson looks back: ‘Natasha’s death was life-changing. She was a figurehead to me’

The Nip/Tuck and Downton Abbey star on losing her sister, growing up in a theatrical dynasty, and how she feels about ageing

Born in London in 1965, Joely Richardson is an actor and campaigner. The daughter of actor Vanessa Redgrave and director and producer Tony Richardson, she trained at Rada, and rose to prominence with roles in 101 Dalmatians, Nip/Tuck and The Tudors, as well as in theatre and on Broadway. More recently, she appeared in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. Richardson is working for Save the Children’s annual festive fundraiser, Christmas Jumper Day, and also backing the charity’s new Christmas campaign.

I remember this as a happy day, but my eyes tell a different story. They look a little mistrustful. In my arms is my brother Carlo – we have different fathers; his is Italian actor Franco Nero. That day was Carlo’s christening, and it was obvious from my hand position that I’m not used to standing like that. Someone’s gone: “Put your arms out! We’re taking a picture of you holding the baby!” The whole thing looks awkward.

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© Photograph: Pål Hansen

© Photograph: Pål Hansen

© Photograph: Pål Hansen

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This year, I have seen a glimmer of hope: people are ditching a life led on screens for the real thing | John Harris

Whether it’s nightclubs banning phones or a drop in online dating, there are signs that we’re rediscovering the joy of being in the moment

It’s only a small rectangular sticker, but it symbolises a joyous sense of resistance. Some of Berlin’s most renowned clubs have long insisted that the camera lenses on their clientele’s phones must be covered up using this simple method, to ensure that everyone is present in the moment and people can let go without fear of their image suddenly appearing on some online platform. As one DJ puts it, “Do you really want to be in someone’s picture in your jockstrap?”

Venues in London, Manchester and New York now enforce the same rules. Last week brought news of the return of Sankeys, the famous Mancunian club that closed nearly a decade ago, and is reopening in a 500-capacity space in the heart of the city. The aim, it seems, is to fly in the face of the massed closures of such venues, and revive the idea that our metropolises should host the kind of nights that stretch into the following morning. But there is another basic principle at work: phones will reportedly either be stickered or forbidden. “People need to stop taking pictures and start dancing to the beat,” said one of the club’s original founders.

John Harris is a Guardian columnist. His book Maybe I’m Amazed: A Story of Love and Connection in Ten Songs is available from the Guardian bookshop

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© Illustration: Nathalie Lees/The Guardian

© Illustration: Nathalie Lees/The Guardian

© Illustration: Nathalie Lees/The Guardian

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Is it time to redraw our maps?

From migration to ecology, new knowledge makes new cartographic demands

In May, as part of his campaign to annex Canada, President Donald Trump called the border with his neighbour an artificial line that had been drawn with a ruler “right across the top of the country”. He suggested that the map of North America would look more beautiful without it.

Historians pointed out that the border reflected a complex history and an everyday reality for millions, but they also admitted that Trump wasn’t entirely wrong. Much of the border does follow a straight line – the 49th parallel – and the Americans and Britons who drew it up knew almost nothing about local geography.

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© Illustration: Elia Barbieri/The Guardian

© Illustration: Elia Barbieri/The Guardian

© Illustration: Elia Barbieri/The Guardian

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‘Suddenly, it was everywhere’: why some books become blockbusters overnight

Whether it’s through TikTok buzz, celebrity endorsements or good old-fashioned word of mouth, some titles enjoy a second, more powerful, life. But what unites them – and is there a formula for this type of success?

There is a particular kind of literary deja vu that strikes sometimes. Seemingly out of nowhere, the same book starts appearing across multiple social media feeds. On the bus, you’ll spot two copies of the same title in one day. A friend says, “Have you read this yet?”, to which you respond, “Someone was just telling me about it the other day.”

These are the sleeper hits that seem to materialise without warning. They are not stacked high on the new release tables. They are books that, for one reason or another, have slipped their original timelines and found a second, often more powerful life.

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© Composite: N/A

© Composite: N/A

© Composite: N/A

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‘It’s fun to go to war with God’: Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany on their sweaty, sacrilegious take on Amadeus

Last time the fierce enmity between Mozart and Salieri was adapted for the screen, it won a best picture Oscar. Now a new TV version turns up the temperature several notches – but will its stars develop a rivalry of their own?

“A prodigal son story with God as the father,” is how actor Paul Bettany describes Amadeus, the Peter Shaffer play that became a celebrated film in 1984. Both depict the rivalry between Austrian court composer Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a former child phenomenon whose towering talent exposes Salieri as mediocre and stuck in his ways. Salieri, who believes a composer’s gift to be divine, is so affronted by this upstart that he renounces God and sets about destroying Mozart.

Now Amadeus has been remade for TV, with Will Sharpe in the title role and Bettany as Salieri. The series, which begins with Mozart arriving in Vienna in a rickety carriage and promptly throwing up in the street, is written by Joe Barton, the Black Doves and Giri/Haji writer known for his leftfield approach to genre TV. Little surprise, then, that Amadeus takes liberties with the classic period drama, injecting it with modern-day dialogue and gloriously anarchic flourishes. While I won’t divulge the details of an early sex scene between Mozart and a young soprano, safe to say you won’t look at a macaron the same way again.

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© Composite: Simon Emmett

© Composite: Simon Emmett

© Composite: Simon Emmett

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‘Happy by Pharrell is exceedingly annoying – but I love it’: DJ Roger Sanchez’s honest playlist

The Another Chance star does Journey at karaoke and gets the party started with Daft Punk. But which Stevie Wonder track would he like played at his funeral?

The first song I fell in love with
I grew up in New York City, so the emergence of hip-hop really connected with me when I was a kid. Rapper’s Delight by the Sugarhill Gang started me down the road where I am today.

The first single I bought
Let No Man Put Asunder by First Choice, on 12-inch vinyl from Rock and Soul in New York City, with money I’d saved from working part-time at the grocery store.

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© Photograph: Haris Nukem

© Photograph: Haris Nukem

© Photograph: Haris Nukem

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