Alex Barclay: On My Cultural Radar

Current favourite book

I'm listening to Deepak Chopra's Synchrodestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles. It's about synchronicity and meaningful coincidences, and the more I read it, the more I notice it. Like, I'm working with the musician John Murry on a project, and he kept saying the exact phrases that I'd written down in a notebook a couple of weeks ago. I think that if coincidences like that happen, it's for a reason.

Restaurant

I love the Berehaven Lodge Restaurant in Castletownbere. It has such a beautiful setting on Beara Peninsula, and you can sit out on the deck. The food is gorgeous, especially the fresh seafood.

Play/musical

I saw Matilda in London years ago, but it’s still one of my favourites. It’s really fun for kids but for adults as well. The songs are brilliant and hilarious, and the stage design was so well done. It was exciting and energetic – non-stop action.

Artist/designer

The Dublin artist Peter Homan. I first saw his work online. He does mixed-media pieces that he sets on fire, I'm really interested in abstract work and fire anyway, so to me, his work is really cool.

Bill Evans Trio: Live at Birdland review – Essential tracks from an epochal group

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The Rails: Cancel the Sun review – A stirring slice of Anglicana

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Hell yeah! How the satanists became the good guys

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Album

John Murry’s A Short History of Decay. John’s a singer-songwriter, and we met a couple of years ago when we were on a panel together Electric Picnic. We’ve been friends since. He’s a brilliant lyricist and a brilliant singer. The album is so gnarly and dark – he has this song called on the album called Wrong Man and I remember hearing one particular line: “I’m the wrong man to ride shotgun on your murder mile”. It really stuck with me. He’s just incredibly talented.

City

I love Paris. I lived there at different points like when I was a student, and I went there twice in the last few months too. I love the food, the people, the smell, the architecture. I always seem to have adventures there, it’s never a dull stay. It’s a city to explore on foot – I love walking around the Marais and the Left Bank. The most recent time, I went with friends but I was in the final stages of writing I Confess, so I didn’t get as much freedom as I would have liked.

Actor

I’m just watching Andrew Scott in Fleabag, but I think he’s brilliant in everything he’s done. Sometimes you’re conscious of the fact that an actor is giving a brilliant performance, but when he’s on screen, you’re there with his character, whoever it is.

Podcast

Song Exploder interviews musicians about the history behind a particular song of theirs. It’s short and brilliantly done. You hear the songs at the end, and some are famous and you’d know them, but even if you didn’t, the story of how it came together is enough to keep you listening. The Lorde interview on her song Sober was one that sticks in my mind as an especially strong episode.

TV show

My new book is pretty dark and the push at the end was intense, so once I’d finished it, I discovered Queer Eye and watched all four series back to back. It’s such a feelgood show. It’s where five gay guys spend a week with a person and make over their lives – they’re given a style makeover and taught how to cook, for example. There’s so much heart and compassion and caring. Also, Mindhunter is back for a second season. It’s about the behavioural science unit in the FBI, and it couldn’t be any more up my street. Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany are incredible in it.

Film

I recently watched The Greatest Showman with my nieces and nephew, and it’s not a film I’d usually like but I enjoyed it. Maybe it was because I was curled up on the sofa with three of my favourite people in the world, watching a movie that they already loved – they were waiting for my reaction to their favourite bits, and were singing and dancing along to it. But now I can definitely lip sync Never Enough if I had to.

I Confess is out now