SEEN LATELY: JOHNATHAN HARVEY PLAYWRIGHT

One thing I'm really going to miss is The Lakes, which has been the best thing on television for years. It's brave, dark and dangerous. The writing, acting and directing were never formulaic and never failed to excite me. I think anything that has a stroke of genius will always cause controversy, and the episode when a woman was gang-raped was very brave. I've also really enjoyed the Mrs Merton and Malcolm series, which again is quite dark. Are they comedy characters or is Malcolm a man cosseted by his mother? I'm surprised it's on before the watershed. I find the rudeness towards the father upstairs very dark.

I went to see Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson at the Vaudeville with Samantha Bond, Julia Sawalha and Alison Steadman who is a personal goddess of mine. It is about three sisters who are getting together for their mother's funeral. The three performances are brilliant and the writing is drop-dead funny; I love laughing at the theatre and don't do it very often.

Jonathan Harvey's play `Hushabye Mountain' opens at the Hampstead Theatre, NW3 on Wednesday 14 April (0171 722 9301).