A planning application to turn a former Finsbury Park office block into a new theatre are to be submitted to Islington council this month. The building, which has lain empty for the last two years,  would become the Park Theatre, and include a 200 seat theatre, and a smaller studio space. It's a £2million development, which will include flats above the theatre space which will be sold to subsidise the costs of creating the the theatre, and it's initial running costs.

Artistic director Jez Bond says the venue will produce, but also rent space to visiting companies, and will stage new works as well as revivals. He explains: "I want to build a theatrical powerhouse for north London basically... it's a bit of a cultural desert at the moment".

The Serpentine Gallery's new and rather striking red summer pavilion has been unveiled in London. The building, designed by the rather good architect Jean Nouvel, is the latest in a long line of yearly architectural commissions by the gallery, and will be open to the public until 17 November.

Launching the temporary structure, which is filled with leisure items such as chess sets and frisbees, Nouvel said "When I see the red sun through the ceiling I am happy. The red for me was the idea of something very strong, energetic and optimistic and also complementary because the green, you can see that around”.

Previous commissions in the pavilion scheme, which began in 2000, include Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa's Floating Pool Of Water, and Frank Gehry's jagged, glass and wood structure.

Madonna has cast actor James Fox and his son Laurence Fox (aka Mr Billie Piper) in her feature debut 'W.E', which the singer has co-written and will direct. The pair will star, respectively, as King George V and his son Bertie in the movie, which is about Wallis Simpson, wife to Edward VIII, and catalyst for his abdication. Andrea Riseborough will play Simpson, whilst James D'Arcy takes on the role of Edward. I hope they survive the experience intact. Madonna doesn't have the best track record, cinema wise.

Not sure why this is relevant to Londoners, but it's surely the big gossip story of the day, and the gossip section of the ThisWeek news blog is looking a little starved of late. Lindsay Lohan, actress, singer and gossip blog fodder, has been sentenced to 90 days in jail, for violating the terms of her probation. And she seemed like such a sweet child in 'The Parent Trap'.

Lohan had been on probation since August of 2007 after pleading guilty to drugs and driving charges, and according to the judge in the case, Marsha Revel, she had failed to attend alcohol education classes. She had in recent months been forced to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet after failing to make it to a probation hearing because, she claimed, she was stranded in France. Appearing in court this week, the actress protested: "I did do everything I was told to do and did the best I could to balance jobs and showing up". She burst into tears when the verdict was announced.

Lohan has been ordered to turn up on 20 July to begin the jail term.

The Pet Shop Boys, aka Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, are to compose music for a new dance show, 'The Most Incredible Thing', to be staged at Sadler's Wells in London. The pop duo will work with choreographer Javier De Frutos on the piece, which is based on a Hans Christian Anderson story and will feature a 26 piece orchestra and a cast of fifteen. It will run in the Jerwood Studio for four days in March.

George Michael has been arrested in the Hampstead area of London, on suspicion of being unfit to drive; it follows an incident on Sunday in which a car crashed into a building on Hampstead High Street. He was taken to a North London station and bailed to return in August.

It's not the first time the 47 year old singer has got into trouble because of cars, because he doesn't seem to be able to work out when he is, ahem, "too tired" to drive. Michael was involved in a spate of similar incidents a few years back, and in June 2007 was banned from driving for two years for driving whilst unfit because of drugs.

Jonathan Mills, director of the Edinburgh International Festival, has accused the media of being lazy in the way they cover the combined Edinburgh Festivals, and says this is what accounts for the fact that the public don't really understand the difference between the seven different events.

Mills told The Stage: "A lot of people are confused because [the media does not] help us articulate to the extent that [it] ought to the differences between these festivals. In many other countries, anything as varied and as popular in every part of it, let alone its collective part, would be a cause for national jubilation". He added that the media  "don’t speak clearly and passionately and articulately enough about the different parts of Edinburgh's festivals", and are "very lazy" about the way they communicate on the subject.

I have to say, it's not something one could accuse us of, nor our sister publication, ThreeWeeks: the passionate, articulate, complete guide to Edinburgh's festivals. So there.

The musical version of 'Shrek' is to be staged at the Theatre Royal Drury lane from next summer, following a successful two year run on Broadway. The show, as you might well expect, if you thought about it, is based on both the book 'Shrek!', by William Steig, and on the 2001 DreamWorks film of the same name. Previews begin in May, and the press night is set for 7 June. Casting hasn't yet been announced for this production, so please be satisfied with a picture of the New York cast on the left.

Channel 4 has commissioned a four part thriller about gang members living in East London, to be broadcast next year. The drama has been scripted by Ronan Bennett, and is being produced by Cowboy Films, who also made the hard-to-sit-through, but still rather good 'The Last King Of Scotland'.

In researching 'Top Boy', Bennett has turned to Gerry Jackson, a fitness coach who has worked with young people in Hackney to help them stay away from drugs. The scriptwriter says: "I knew that I wanted to write about this world from the bottom up, from the point of view, not of the police, but of the tinies and youngers I saw every day hanging around the supermarket forecourt. So I asked Gerry if he would introduce me to kids on the street. Some of their stories were brutal and frightening. Others were sad and some were unintentionally funny. I wanted Top Boy to look at the fabric of life in a world we hear a lot about, but about which we know a lot less than we think".

Elsewhere in programmes-about-crime news: that Christopher Ecclestone is to star as a drug lord in a new six parter for the BBC, 'The Shadow Line'. It's a "noir thriller", written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick and co-starring the likes of Antony Sher, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Stephen Rea, and Lesley Sharp. Filming begins this month on the Isle Of Man, and the show will air next year.

Renowned novelist Beryl Bainbridge has died at the age of 75, following a short illness. She had suffered from cancer in recent times.

Bainbridge was born in Liverpool, and raised in Formby. She began her career as an actress - appearing in a 1961 episode of 'Coronation Street' – and apparently began writing as a way to fill time. Her first novel 'Harriet Said...' was rejected by publishers because of its dark subject matter, but her second and third attempts made it into print, even if they failed to make an impact.

It wasn't until the seventies that the novelist's work began to gain notice; 1973's 'The Dressmaker' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, 1974's 'The Bottle Factory Outing' won the Guardian Fiction Prize, and 1977's 'Injury Time' was awarded the Whitbread prize for best novel. She accrued many more nominations and awards during the course of her career, including a second Whitbread prize, and the James Tait Black Memorial Award. She was also appointed a DBE in 2000.

Bainbridge also wrote scripts for television, and a number of her works made it onto the big screen. Her 1989 book 'An Awfully Big Adventure' was made into a 1995 film starring Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman, and she wrote a screenplay of her own novel 'Sweet William' for a 1979 film starring Sam Waterston.

She is survived by three children and seven grandchildren.

That Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, yesterday launched Big Dance 2010, which is set to commence on 3 July, and runs until 11 July. More than eight hundred events will take place as part of the festival, including Big World Dance, which will, it's hoped, see many thousands of Londoners taking to the streets to take part in a dance routine choreographed by Luca Silvestrini.

Johnson, who inflicted the sight of his own dancing on the amused spectators, was joined at the launch by 'Strictly Come Dancing' star Camilla Dallerup, West End type Sheridan Smith, and choreographer Jerry Mitchell as well as those involved in organising the various Big Dance events. The Mayor told his audience that dance "not only gives people exercise but of course it teaches people to break down their inhibitions and form relationships with people they might not otherwise become so friendly with. We have a magnificent example of a great coalition waltz by Nick Clegg and David Cameron, followed by William Hague break-dancing down Whitehall".

The Big Dance was founded in 2006 by the Mayor and Arts Council England, and is supported by English National Ballet. As previously reported, organisers of the biennial event have big plans for the 2012 festival, which will tie in with, and take place just ahead of, the 2012 Olympics. For more information, see www.bigdance2010.com.

The producers of the 'Spider-Man' franchise have announced that 26 year old British actor Andrew Garfield is to play the lead role in the next film. As previously reported, Tobey Maguire, who previously played Spider-Man, dropped out earlier this year, as did the director of the first three films, Sam Raimi.

The next instalment will focus more on Peter Parker's formative years and his experiences at high school. Garfield, whose previous credits include 'The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus' and the yet to be released 'Never Let Me Go', will begin work on the film in December. The actor was born in the US to an English mother and an American father, but was raised in the UK, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Director of the new film, Marc Webb, says of Garfield: "Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor's work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker".

Prolific art collector Charles Saatchi has announced that he is giving his Saatchi Gallery and more than 200 artworks to the British Public. I'm not sure he can actually give the Gallery away, to be honest, because the building appears to be owned by the Cadogan Estate, but the running costs will continue to fall to the gallery itself to meet, and not to the state.

The Gallery will be renamed The Museum Of Contemporary Art (MOCA) for London. Which is kind of what the Tate Modern is, really, isn't it? But never mind; what's in a name? More than £25million worth of stuff is in there, including famous pieces like Tracey Emin's 'My Bed', but the gallery said in a statement that the institution will continue to maintain "a living and evolving collection of work, rather than an archive of art history".

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt says: "Charles Saatchi has built up a collection of huge international importance. His decision to gift these works to the nation is an act of incredible generosity and I'd like to thank him on behalf of the government. Philanthropy is central to our vision of a thriving cultural sector and this is an outstanding example of how Britain can benefit from individual acts of social responsibility".

The Stage reports that Thomas Schumacher, Head of Disney Theatrical Productions, has praised the National Theatre, and says he hopes it won't be affected by the economic downturn. Financial cuts were recently announced for all of the Arts Council's regularly funded organisations, of which the National is one,  meaning that the theatre will lose around £100k funding.

Schumacher told the paper: "I cannot think of another theatrical institution anywhere in the world that does the extraordinary level of work, depth of work and service to the audience that Nick [Hytner] does at the National. It’s a world treasure, not just a British treasure. I am constantly in the theatre - small theatres, big theatres, foreign work, performance work, commercial work, and I just see nothing on a consistent basis like I see at the National Theatre. It’s a real treasure, and I certainly hope it will be protected".

A variety show is to take place at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 26 September, to celebrate the venue's 100th birthday. 'A Centennial Celebration' will feature turns from the likes of Barry Cryer, Catherine Tate and Alistair McGowan, and will raise money for the Entertainment Artistes Benevolent Fund and the Wimbledon Civic Theatre Trust. It's to be directed by veteran Royal Variety Performance producer Kevin Bishop.

New Wimbledon Theatre's executive general manager Maralyn Sarrington says this: "'A Centennial Celebration' will be a joyous, unique evening and the fact that we are raising funds to support such great charities is the icing on the birthday cake".

A host of British stars are set to appear in Martin Scorsese's new film, 'The Invention Of Hugo Cabret', which has begun production in London. Amongst the confirmed cast of the movie are Jude Law, Christopher Lee, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Frances de la Tour and Richard Griffiths.

The film, which is about a boy who lives in the walls of a train station in Paris, and will be the renowned director's first foray into 3D. It is set to be released in December next year.

Jackie Chan and David Beckham are to appear on the final instalment of Jonathan Ross's final Friday night talk show, which will be broadcast on 16 July. Also appearing, at the host's request, are Roxy Music.

As previously reported, Ross announced earlier in the year that he was leaving the BBC after thirteen years with the broadcaster. Speculators doing that old speculating thing are currently speculating that he is to take his chat show over to ITV.

The BBC Trust has called for the publication of the salaries of the corporation's highest paid stars. The governing body's chair, Sir Michael Lyons, says that the Beeb has to show that it is in touch with, and not "aloof and separate" from, the economic problems faced by the rest of the country, adding that "this is one of a small number of areas where we need to recapture public confidence". The stars in question won't actually be named however.  

Lyons also explained that a plan to cut the pay of senior managers at the BBC should be accelerated, and that millions had already been saved by the lowering of salaries elsewhere, as well as the axing of some posts. The BBC's executive board, and director general Mark Thompson will additionally only receive eleven months pay in this financial year, and members of the BBC Trust will themselves take a pay cut of 8.3% over the next two years.

Lyons said: "That's further evidence of the BBC recognising that this is a country facing tough times and that we need to do more to satisfy licence fee payers that we are genuinely using every pound and that we have particularly got to focus on the top pay of managers and the performers".

US chat show veteran Larry King has said that he will end his nightly show on CNN in the autumn, after a run of 25 years, during which he has interviewed more than 40,000 people, and gained an entry in the Guinness Book Of World Records: 'Larry King Live' is the longest running show with the same host retaining the same slot.

King has been plagued by personal trouble in recent months. He was, as previously reported, blackmailed over allegations of affairs with staff members, and his marriage seemed to be over, though he and seventh wife Shawn Southwick are now reconciled.

King explained via his blog that his departure would allow "more time for my wife and I to get to the kids' little league games", though added that he will "still be a part of the CNN family", and plans to host special programmes and events.

Alison Steadman is to star in a new production of Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit' at the Apollo Theatre next year. The play, which is to be brought to the West End by Theatre Royal Bath Productions, will run from 2 March until 18 June 2011. It will be directed by Thea Sharrock, who has helmed the production of Terence Rattigan's 'After The Dance', which is currently on at the National Theatre.

Steadman will play the role of the clairvoyant. Further casting to follow.