Shows
The Super League Raw PodcastThe Final Whistle Podcast - 27th July 2025 - Rd 20 Pt 1 - Betfred Super LeagueDave returns from holiday with Team Talk Members Aden Simpson (Castleford Tigers), Alex Sharp and Marc Hill (Leeds Rhinos), Gary Hutchinson (Hull KR), Ia, Craig Forth and Adam Reeves (Wigan Warriors), and Steven Rudge (Wakefield Trinity) discuss all the weekends action and pay tribute to Ray FrenchTo donate to the Mikey Higham GoFundMe visit:https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/emma-worrall-2?utm_medium=CR&utm_source=CLTo become a member visit:www.superleagueraw.com.
2025-07-271h 12
Forest FocusNOTTINGHAM FOREST SIGN ALEX MORENO | EDDIE NKETIAH NEXT | JOE WORRALL EXIT | SOUTHAMPTON PREVIEWNottingham Forest have signed Alex Moreno on loan from Aston Villa with Eddie Nketiah looking likely to be the next arrival from Arsenal. We discuss those deals in full as well as the departure of Joe Worrall to Burnley, plus the small matter of Saturday's Premier League game at Southampton.Matt Davies is joined by Mark Sutherns and Mikey Clarke.Do like and subscribe to our channel. You can also become a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8cKKOXuEiopR3A11TDtgQ/join...
2024-08-2259 min
Garibaldi Red - A Nottingham Forest PodcastNOTTINGHAM FOREST 2 LUTON TOWN 2 | REDS GIFT TWO POINTS WITH COLLAPSENottingham Forest threw away two points as they drew 2-2 with Luton Town in the Premier League at the City Ground after Chris Wood scored twice to put the Reds two up.Matt Davies is joined by Greg Mitchell, Mikey Clarke and former Reds midfielder Lewis McGugan as they discuss Steve Cooper's substitutions, terrible errors from Serge Aurier and Joe Worrall and how the start to the season looks now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2023-10-231h 05
Garibaldi Red - A Nottingham Forest PodcastCHELSEA 0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1 | A NEW ERA AWAITS AFTER DEADLINE DAY SPREENottingham Forest were 1-0 winners at Chelsea as they followed up a stunning transfer deadline day in equally brilliant style.Matt Davies is joined by Reds legend Garry Birtles, broadcaster Darren Fletcher and regulars Greg Mitchell and Mikey Clarke. We'll discuss the performances of Joe Worrall, Ryan Yates and Anthony Elanga before moving onto signings such as Ibranhim Sangare and what it means for the development of #NFFC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2023-09-041h 09
Backstage With...Sharon Sexton (Bat Out of Hell: The Musical)Sharon Sexton reflects on her time playing Sloane in Bat Out of Hell: The Musical including her single audition for the part, creating the show ("Please can we have a shower in the set?") and how the company celebrated the life and legacy of Meatloaf after his death in January 2022.Follow Sharon on Twitter @SharonSextonIRE and Instagram @shar.sextonEmail me: Mikey@backstagewith.comSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2022-05-1740 minBackstage With...Peter Hannah (Into the Woods, Waitress)Peter Hannah talks about playing the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince in the first major UK production of a Stephen Sondheim musical since the composer/lyricist's death in November 2021. Into the Woods is playing at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, until Sunday 27th February 2022. For tickets: https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/whats-on/into-the-woodsEmail me: Mikey@backstagewith.comFollow on Instagram: @backstagewith @mikeyworrall1Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2022-02-2441 minBackstage With...Carly Mercedes Dyer (A Chorus Line, Anything Goes, Six, West Side Story)Carly Mercerdes Dyer on playing Cassie in A Chorus Line at Leicester Curve, being on the Beeb at Christmas in Anything Goes (Boxing Day at 6.40pm, on BBC2), and if she'd ever go back to Six after Covid-19 ended her run before it had even begun. #poweredbypastrySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-12-2245 minBackstage With...Savannah Stevenson (Little Women, Wicked, Mary Poppins)Savannah Stevenson is currently playing Marmee in Little Women at the Park Theatre in north London. Find out which song she was fearful of, why she wants people to leave Little Women wanting to call their mum, and the scene in which she'd love to make a cameo appearance in the film adaptation of Wicked.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-11-2746 minBackstage With...Oli Higginson (The Last Five Years, Bridgerton, The Pursuit of Love)The Last Five Years' Jamie on bringing the show to the West End, whether it should be categorised as new or a revival in awards season, and trying to straddle a model building atop a grand piano whilst playing a clock.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-10-0738 minBackstage With...Quincy Brown & Kevin Bianchi (Sentimental Men Podcast)What better way to mark International Podcast Day and the week of Wicked UK's 15th anniversary than with a conversation with Wicked podcasters Quincy and Kevin. They are the Broadway connoisseurs behind Sentimental Men, a must-listen for any Wicked fan. Follow them at @SentMenPod.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-09-3039 minBackstage With...Samuel Edwards (Anything Goes, Ghost, Wicked)Samuel Edwards (Billy Crocker in Anything Goes) is here to talk about being back on stage after the pandemic, playing opposite Broadway star and two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster, and why he'll always feel sentimental about Ghost. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-09-2228 minBackstage With...Francesca Moody (Producer of Leopards, Mum, Fleabag)Francesca Moody is best known as the original producer of the multi-award-winning Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, which she has produced globally on behalf of DryWrite, most recently in London’s West End at the Wyndham’s Theatre, where it was also recorded and broadcast by NT Live, playing in cinemas throughout the world. Her current and upcoming productions include Leopards, at the Rose Theatre, in Kingston, and Mum at Soho Theatre.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-09-1919 minBackstage With...Lara Martins (The Phantom of the Opera)Lara Martins played Carlotta in Phantom in the West End for a record-breaking six years. She's here to talk about her new album, Canção, which is available to stream now.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-09-0840 minBackstage With...Christina Bianco (Diva impressionist, Funny Girl, The Ballad of Anne and Mary)Two-time Drama Desk award nominee Christina Bianco joins us to talk about starring in the musical podcast series The Ballad of Anne and Mary, playing Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, in Paris, just before lockdown, and how she became Broadway's original YouTuber and Diva Impressionist.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-08-181h 14Backstage With...Stephen Oremus (Frozen, Kinky Boots, Wicked, The Book of Mormon)Two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Oremus talks about creating some of the biggest musicals of the last two decades, conducting the orchestra for the Frozen movies, and arranging and conducting Lady Gaga's performance at the Academy Awards. Stephen's credits include: On Broadway and worldwide: As Music Supervisor/Arranger and/or Orchestrator: Disney’s Frozen; Kinky Boots (Tony Award for Best Orchestrations; Grammy Award); The Book of Mormon (Tony & Drama Desk Awards-Best Orchestrations; Grammy Award); 9 to 5; All Shook Up; Avenue Q; Wicked. Off-Broadway: The Wild Party, tick, tick…BOOM!; Film: Vocal arranger/conductor for Frozen & Frozen 2; Strin...
2021-08-031h 01Backstage With...Giles Terera (Hamilton)The Olivier award-winning star of Hamilton talks about what it was really like in The Room Where It Happened. Giles's book, Hamilton & Me: An Actor's Journal, is available now.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-07-2758 minBackstage With...We All Look the Same But We're Different Than We WereReflecting on the reopening night of Come From Away in the West End.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-07-2307 minBackstage With...Kayi Ushe (The Lion King, Kinky Boots, The Book of Mormon)It sure feels good to be back in your podcast feed. Are you ready for a new series of conversations with your favourite theatre people? First up is Kayi Ushe who's preparing to play Simba in The Lion King when the show reopens in the West End. You may have seen him as Lola on the UK tour of Kinky Boots or during his four-year stint in The Book of Mormon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...
2021-07-1346 minBackstage With...Guest Host Daisy Maywood with Mikey WorrallDaisy Maywood (The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Company, A Chorus Line) guest hosts this episode of the podcast with Mikey Worrall. This is the final episode of series five. We'll be back in 2021 with more actors and creatives from your favourite shows. (This episode was recorded in September 2020 before the second lockdown in England. Any references to recent gym sessions and family visits were completely legal at the time.)Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
2020-12-011h 08Backstage With...Gavin Spokes (Hamilton, Company, Quiz)Gavin Spokes was playing King George III in the London production of Hamilton when the West End went dark the week before the UK went into lockdown in March. You might have recently seen him wrestling with Mel Giedroyc as Harry in Marianne Elliot’s West End revival of Company, working his way up to a million pounds as the Major in James Graham’s Quiz, or as pollster Andrew Cooper in Channel 4’s Brexit: The Uncivil War. Follow Gavin on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. ...
2020-11-1754 minBackstage With...Susie McKenna (Associate Director, Kiln Theatre)Susie McKenna was creative director at Hackney Empire for seven years and wrote, produced and sometimes starred in its pantomimes for 22 years. She is now an associate director at Kiln Theatre, in north west London. Susie's many stage credits include Follies, Cats, The Witches of Eastwick, Woman in White, Ragtime, and Chicago. When the pandemic took hold, Susie was over in New York where her wife - three-time Olivier award winning actress Sharon D. Clarke - was about to begin previews in the title role in Caroline or Change on Broadway. W...
2020-11-101h 16Backstage With...Kiruna Stamell (Cyrano de Bergerac, Great Britain, Moulin Rouge!)Kiruna Stamell was working as an extra on the film Moulin Rouge in Australia twenty years ago when the director created the part of La Petite Princess just for her. She used her pay check to come to the UK where she’s worked across television, film and theatre. At the start of this year she was in the Jamie Lloyd Company production of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Playhouse Theatre in the West End, which won the Olivier award for Best Revival at the weekend. She was meant to be part of the show’s Ne...
2020-10-2759 minBackstage With...Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins, SpongeBob SquarePants the Musical, Top Hat, Beauty and the Beast)Gavin Lee is an Drama Desk award winner, Olivier award nominee, and two-time Tony nominee. He's best known for creating the role of Bert in the original West End, Broadway and U.S. touring productions of Mary Poppins, and originating the role of Squidward in SpongeBob SquarePants the Musical on Broadway. Follow Gavin on Instagram. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can send Mikey your guest requests and questions on Twitter and Instagram, or email Mikey@backstagewith.com.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/bac...
2020-10-201h 17Backstage With...Melanie La Barrie (& Juliet, Matilda, Wicked, Mary Poppins)Chances are you've seen Melanie La Barrie in at least one show in the last 20 years. She's developed and appeared in a number of shows including the original productions of Mary Poppins, Matilda and & Juliet. She also played Ursula in the London pre-Broadway workshop of The Little Mermaid and on top of all of that somehow found time to complete full contracts in Les Miserables and Wicked. Prior to lockdown, Melanie was playing Nurse in & Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre, a role she'll return to when the show reopens in 2021. Follow Melanie on F...
2020-10-131h 03Backstage With...Daisy Maywood (Company, A Chorus Line, Phantom, Les Mis)Daisy Maywood has been in some of the most high profile productions of the last decade such as the Les Mis 25th anniversary concert at the o2, The Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall, and the 2013 revival of A Chrous Line at the London Palladium. She was most recently seen as Susan and the Priest in Marianne Elliot’s West End revival of Company at the Gielgud theatre. Follow Daisy on Twitter. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can send Mikey yo...
2020-09-2958 minBackstage With...Flavia Cacace (Midnight Tango, Dance 'Til Dawn, Strictly Come Dancing)This week’s guest lifted the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball alongside the Olympic Gymnast Louis Smith back in 2012. Over the last eight years Flavia has co-created, co-choreographed and starred in four theatre productions with her professional dance partner, Vincent Simone. They've clocked up six tours, two West End transfers, and two Olivier award nominations for family entertainment. Follow Flavia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can send Mikey your guest requests and questions on Twitter and Instagram, or email Mikey@backstagewith.com.
2020-09-2239 minBackstage With...Stephen Crockett (Casting Director: Mamma Mia!, Chicago, Jerry Springer The Opera)Stephen has worked in casting for over 20 years. During that time he’s been the casting director for Mamma Mia! London and UK Tour productions, and has been casting consultant on productions in Germany, Holland, Norway, Italy, Spain and Russia. His many other shows include Jerry Springer – The Opera, Chicago, Hairspray, and Mrs Henderson Presents. He works alongside David Grindrod who used to be Andrew Lloyd Webber’s in-house casting director, and who went on to set up David Grindrod Associates casting agency. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebo...
2020-09-1547 minBackstage With...Sophie-Louise Dann (Lend Me a Tenor, The Girls, Made in Dagenham)Two-time Olivier award nominee Sophie-Louise Dann is best known for originating roles in West End musicals such as Lend Me a Tenor, Bend it Like Beckham, The Girls (the Calendar Girls musical) and Made in Dagenham. She’s also been in the musical pastiche productions of Forbidden Broadway and Spamilton. You can see her this coming Saturday live in person, or on a livestream, as she returns to the stage at Crazy Coqs, in London, with her solo show May I have a Moment?. Buy tickets here or at BrasserieZedel.com Follow Sophie-Louise on...
2020-09-0847 minBackstage With...Harry Francis (Cats, A Chorus Line, Wicked)Harry Francis is an actor, singer and dancer, and a huge theatre fan. He's done five shows at the London Palladium and been in musicals such as A Chorus Line, Cats, The Book of Mormon, Hairspray and Wicked. He’s currently in rehearsals to play Lewis/Theo in Pippin at The Garden Theatre, at The Eagle, in South London, from Tuesday 8th September to Sunday 11th October. Follow Harry on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can send Mikey your guest requests and qu...
2020-09-011h 11Backstage With...Louise Dearman (Wicked, Side Show, Guys and Dolls)Louise Dearman is only person in the world to have been cast as Elphaba and Glinda in Wicked. So far in her career she’s starred in shows including Evita, Side Show, Guys and Dolls, Jekyll and Hyde, Grease and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. You can watch her Umbrella Rooms live concert here or head to @UmbrellaRooms on Twitter. Click here to sign the petition to support the four pillar plan for recovery in the performing arts & entertainment. Follow Louise online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Ba...
2020-08-2550 minBackstage With...Phantom Special Part Two with Josh PitermanIn the second part of our Phantom of the Opera special, Mikey speaks to Josh Piterman who was playing the Phantom when the West End went dark. He joined the London cast last autumn and is hoping to return to the when the show reopens at Her Majesty's Theatre with a brand new physical production of the brilliant original. Click here to sign the petition to support the four pillar plan for recovery in the performing arts & entertainment. Follow Josh online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twi...
2020-08-1834 minBackstage With...Phantom Special Part One with Kelly Mathieson150 days after the chandelier fell, we're talking about what the future holds for The Phantom of the Opera after the announcement the original production will not reopen after lockdown. A new physical production of the original will reopen at some point in the future, after major renovation work at Her Majesty's Theatre. In this two-part special, Mikey speaks to the most recent actors to play the Phantom and Christine in the West End production. Click here to sign the petition to support the four pillar plan for recovery in the performing arts & entertainment.
2020-08-1135 minBackstage With...Jenna Boyd (Come From Away) Jenna Boyd is an original cast member of the Olivier award-winning musical Come From Away. Follow Jenna online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Click here to sign the petition to support the four pillar plan for recovery in the performing arts & entertainment. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can send Mikey your guest requests and questions on Twitter and Instagram. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2020-08-0650 minBackstage With...Andrew Lippa (Big Fish, The Addams Family, The Wild Party)Andrew Lippa is a Drama Desk award-winning composer, lyricist, writer, actor and teacher. His vast body of work includes the off-broadway productions of John and Jen and The Wild Party; new songs for the Broadway version of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, the show for which Kristin Chenoweth won her Tony award; the music and lyrics for stage adaptations of The Addams Family and Big Fish; and the oratorio, I Am Harvey Milk, which he was commissioned to write for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Follow Andrew online, on Twitter and Facebo...
2020-07-2853 minBackstage With...Frank DiLella (New York Theatre Journalist)The host of New York 1's On Stage joins Mikey to compare what's happening in the theatre industries in the UK and US. Follow Frank online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can see his work at ny1.com. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can send Mikey your guest requests and questions on Twitter and Instagram.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2020-07-2128 minBackstage With...Alexia Khadime (The Prince of Egypt, The Book of Mormon, Wicked)Alexia Khadime was the first woman of colour in the world to be cast as the principal Elphaba in Wicked. She's also known for playing Nabalungi in the original London cast of The Book of Mormon, Eponine in Les Miserables, and Nala in The Lion King. This episode was recorded prior to the announcement of the Government's arts rescue package. We discussed the issue of race and how it relates to the theatre industry at length. #BlackLivesMatter Follow Alexia on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Backstage With... online, on Tw...
2020-07-1448 minBackstage With...Kerry Ellis (Wicked, Cats, Oliver, My Fair Lady)Best known as the first British Elphaba in Wicked, Kerry Ellis made her name as the one of the most popular actors in musical theatre. Follow Kerry on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Backstage With... online, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can send Mikey your guest requests and questions on Twitter and Instagram.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2020-07-0752 minBackstage With...Kara Lily Hayworth & Charles Hagerty (Cabaret)This week's guests are currently touring the UK in Rufus Norris's production of Cabaret. Kara Lily Hayworth (Sally Bowles) is best known for playing the title role in Cilla the musical on tour in 2017. Charlie Hagerty (Cliff Bradshaw) has worked extensively in the US, Europe and in the UK where he now lives with his husband. He was also in the original Broadway cast of If/Then alongside Idina Menzel in 2014. Mikey Worrall chats to Kara and Charlie at the New Wimbledon Theatre. Subscribe to the podcast for more interviews with the...
2020-03-1129 minBackstage With...Miriam-Teak Lee (& Juliet, Hamilton, On the Town)Miriam-Teak Lee is the WhatsOnStage award winning, Olivier nominated star of & Juliet the musical. The show won six WhatsOnStage awards and has been nominated for nine Oliviers. Mikey Worrall chats to Miriam-Teak in her dressing room at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Subscribe to the podcast for more interviews with the artists and creatives you love. You can find more on our YouTube channel and at Backstagewith.com. Follow Backstage With... on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to find out which stage door we’re going through next. Hosted by @mikeyworrall1.Su...
2020-03-0421 minBackstage With...Stephen Schwartz (The Prince of Egypt, Wicked, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame)Stephen Schwartz is an Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe and Honorary Tony award winning composer and lyricist. His work has spanned six decades and includes Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, The Baker’s Wife, and London’s newest musical, The Prince of Egypt, which is based on the 1998 Dreamworks animated film. Stephen also wrote the lyrics for the Disney films Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted, on which he collaborated with the composer Alan Menken. We recorded this conversation in a dressing room at the Dominion Theatre a few days before The Prince of Egypt's...
2020-02-2627 minBackstage With...Rachel Tucker (The Pirate Queen, Come From Away, Wicked)Rachel Tucker is flying off to New York next week to join the cast of Come From Away on Broadway. Before that she's starring in a one-off charity performance of The Pirate Queen (by Les Mis writers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg) in aid of Leukaemia UK. You can get tickets here. Rachel is best known for playing Elphaba in Wicked in London and on Broadway. She was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical last year for Come From Away. She's also appeared in We Will Rock You in...
2020-02-2108 minBackstage With...Carley Stenson (Curtains, Les Miserables, Legally Blonde)This week's guest is Carley Stenson who's currently starring the UK tour of Curtains, the musical comedy. After 10 years in Hollyoaks, Carley moved into theatre where she's remained ever since. She's played Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Princess Fiona in Shrek, The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot as well as appearing in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and, most recently, as Fantine in Les Miserables. We had a chat at the New Wimbledon Theatre in January when the show was back on the road after its West End transfer over Christmas. Subscribe to the pod...
2020-02-1836 minBackstage With...Sara Bareilles & Gavin Creel (Waitress)Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel are getting ready to join the cast of Waitress the musical in London's West End for six weeks from 27th January. Sara Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics for the show and has previously played Jenna for three engagements on Broadway, most recently alongside Gavin Creel. Gavin returns to London as a Tony award winner (Hello Dolly!), after winning the Olivier award for best actor in a musical for The Book of Mormon, in which he originated the role of Elder Price in the London production. He made...
2020-01-2312 minBackstage With...Rachel John (Girl from the North Country, Hamilton, Memphis)Rachel John is currently playing Mrs Neilsen in Girl from the North Country at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End. You may have previously seen her as Angelica in the Original London Cast of Hamilton, for which she received an Olivier nomination. Her other credits include The Bodyguard, Memphis, We Will Rock You and Sister Act. You can follow Backstage With… on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to find out which stage door we’re going through next.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast...
2019-12-2244 minBackstage With...WhatsOnStage Awards 2020 NomineesIn this episode we meet some of the 2020 WhatsOnStage Awards nominees from shows including &Juliet, Waitress and Dear Evan Hansen at the awards launch in the West End. Mikey Worrall went along to the reception at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden where he spoke to &Juliet's Miriam-Teak Lee, Cassidy Janson and Jordan Luke Gage, Waitress's David Hunter and Marisha Wallace, and Dear Evan Hansen's Sam Tutty. You can follow Backstage With… on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to find out which stage door we’re going through next.Support this show http://supporter.acast...
2019-12-0626 minBackstage With...Oliver Ormson (High Fidelity, Cats, The Addams Family)Oliver Ormson is currently playing Rob in High Fidelity at the Turbine Theatre in south London. The theatre was recently founded by its Artistic Director, Paul Taylor Mills. High Fidelity is the theatre’s second production and its first musical. The show originally opened on Broadway in 2006 where it closed 10 days after its opening night. The show is about a north London record shop owner called Rob who ranks everything in his life in top 5 lists and whose girlfriend breaks up with him. It’s based on a novel by Nick Hornby. You m...
2019-11-2031 minBackstage With...Melissa Jacques (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Mamma Mia!, Wicked)It’s 25 years since Melissa Jacques left Sheffield to pursue her musical theatre dreams in London. A year-long course at the London School of Musical Theatre led her to summer seasons, pantomimes and rep work where she cut her teeth before she joined the original cast of Mamma Mia. That’s where Melissa says she grew up and really learned her trade. This autumn she was promoted to the role of Margaret, one of the roles she previously understudied, in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, after joining the show as a standby last summer. You c...
2019-11-0631 minBackstage With...Daniel Boys (Falsettos, Avenue Q, Any Dream Will Do)Daniel Boys is currently playing Marvin in Falsettos at The Other Palace, just around the corner from where he saw his first West End musical as a child, Starlight Express, at the Apollo Victoria. After graduating from Guildford School of Acting, Daniel appeared in Rent, Sunset Boulevard and Grease before auditioning for the BBC’s Any Dream Will Do, the search for a man to play Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He made it through to the live show stage and was the seventh contestant to leave the programme. Daniel went on to...
2019-10-2328 minBackstage With...Jon Robyns (Hamilton, Les Misérables, Memphis)Jon Robyns is about to take on the role of Jean Valjean in the new production of Les Misérables which is due to open at the newly renamed and renovated Sondheim Theatre in December. Jon is currently playing King George III in the West End production of Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre. He will handover to an as yet unnamed heir in the coming months before moving across town to Shaftesbury Avenue to tell another revolutionary tale. Jon’s many theatrical credits include Marius and Enjolras in Les Misérables, Robbie in The Weddi...
2019-10-0938 minBackstage With...Lucie Jones (Waitress, Les Misérables, Legally Blonde)Lucie Jones is currently playing Jenna in the West End production of Waitress. Since appearing on The X Factor in 2009, Lucie has played Cosette in Les Misérables (West End), Elle in Legally Blonde (Curve and national tour), Molly in Ghost (Chinese tour), Maureen in Rent (UK tour) before returning to London to play Jenna. This episode was recorded in Lucie’s enormous dressing room at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End. You can follow Backstage With... on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to find out which stage door we’re going through next...
2019-09-0432 minBackstage With...Caroline Sheen (9to5, Mary Poppins, Les Misérables)Caroline Sheen is currently playing Violet in 9 to 5 the musical in the West End. She joined the original cast of the production after Louise Redknapp injured her wrist, giving her only a week to learn the show before having to perform it. Over the years Caroline has starred in Mary Poppins (UK and US tours), City of Angels, Les Miserables (as Eponine and Fantine), The Witches of Eastwick, Mamma Mia, Into the Woods and Grease - to name a few. You can follow Backstage With... on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to find out...
2019-08-2140 minBackstage With...Andy Mientus (The View UpStairs, Spring Awakening, Smash)Andy Mientus is currently playing Patrick in The View UpStairs at the Soho Theatre in London. Andy is thrilled to be making his London theatre debut, it’s something he’s wanted to do for a long time. You might know him from the TV shows Smash, The Flash and Gone. He also played Marius in the recent broadway revival of Les Miserables, and Hanschen in the original US touring production of Spring Awakening. Andy played that role for a second time in the Broadway transfer of the Deaf West production of the show which he c...
2019-08-1437 minBackstage With...Jamie Armitage (Co-director of SIX)Jamie Armitage is the co-director of the the hit musical, Six. He took a break from rehearsing with new cast members to chat about his most recent project, Southern Belles, which is currently running at the King’s Head Theatre, in London. You can buy tickets to see Southern Belles on the King’s Head Theatre website. You can follow Backstage With... on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to find out which stage door we’re going through next.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast...
2019-08-0831 minBackstage With...Whose Mind is it Anyway? (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)Whose Mind is it Anyway? is a theatrical experience combining hypnosis, improv and movie musicals. My guests this week are the creators of the show, Michelle and Simon. They’ve taken the show to the Edinburgh Festival where it’s running at Gilded Balloon’s Patter Hoose. We recorded this episode in Michelle’s voiceover booth, which was extremely cosy, on one of the hottest days of the year so far. Click here for tickets to the show. If you can’t make it to Edinburgh this summer, then you can catch Whose Mind is it...
2019-08-0717 minBackstage With...Ricardo Afonso (Jesus Christ Superstar, We Will Rock You, Top Hat)Ricardo Afonso is currently playing Judas Iscariot in Jesus Christ Superstar, a reincarnation of the 2016 Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production at the Barbican. The show had a second run at Regent’s Park in 2017 after it won the Olivier Award for best musical revival, played Chicago in 2018, and will tour the US later this year. The show, which was originally written as a rock opera album, is about the days leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This particular production has received rave reviews each year it’s run in London. Apart from t...
2019-07-2429 minBackstage With...Christie Prades (On Your Feet, In the Heights)Christie Prades is currently starring as Gloria in On Your Feet the musical, which you may have guessed is all about Gloria Estefan. We recorded this episode in her dressing room at the London Coliseum almost three years to the day since Christie made her broadway debut as Gloria. Now she’s come over to the UK to do the show after covering the role in New York and playing it on tour for two years in the US. She’s handing over the part to Philippa Stefani at the end of this run when the...
2019-07-1024 minBackstage With...Julie Atherton (Bare, Avenue Q, Sister Act)Julie Atherton is making her London directorial debut with Bare: A Pop Opera at The Vaults in south London. Best known for playing Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in the original West End cast of Avenue Q Julie has also appeared in Sister Act (UK tour), The Last Five Years, Lift the Musical, Thérèse Raquin and The Grinning Man. We recorded this episode just as technical rehearsals for Bare were about to begin. Bare: A Pop Opera is running at The Vaults until August 4th 2019. You can follow Ba...
2019-06-2628 minBackstage With...Matt Henry (Kinky Boots, The Lion King, One Night in Miami)Matt Henry is currently starring as Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami at Nottingham Playhouse. He’s best known for appearing on the second series of The Voice UK and originating the role of Lola in the West End production of Kinky Boots for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Matt was also honoured with an MBE for services to musical theatre in the Queen’s New Years Honours List in 2017. Matt trained at the Urdang Academy after completing his degree in Sociology. He left his cour...
2019-06-1225 minBackstage With...Layton Williams (Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Rent, Billy Elliot)Layton Williams is currently playing the title role in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in the West End. At the age of 24 he has been working in showbusiness for more than half his life. After going to an open audition in Manchester for Billy Elliot at 12 years old he was swept away to ‘Billy School’ before playing the role in the West End. That lead to a part in the BBC series Beautiful People, alongside Olivia Colman. Layton trained at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and has since worked with Sir Matthew Bourne and appear...
2019-06-0627 minBackstage With...Pippa Evans (Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, The Parts I’ll Never Play)Pippa Evans is a musical comedian, actress and singer. She’s one of those people who has 34 different projects on the go at any given time, and describes herself as the ‘ultimate modern-job human’. Pippa has been part of the Olivier award-winning Showstopper! The Improvised Musical for 11 years. She’s also part of the Glenda J Collective improv group and writes and performs regularly across a number of radio and television shows. Now Pippa is launching a show called The Parts I’ll Never Play at The Other Palace where she’ll be joined by musical thea...
2019-05-2049 minBackstage With...Clive Carter (Come From Away, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera)Clive Carter is one of the Olivier award nominated stars of Come From Away. He was in the original cast of Les Miserables at the Barbican, created the role of Raoul in Phantom of the Opera (while it was in development at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sydmonton estate), and he was part of the original West End cast of Into the Woods. Clive has been working as an actor since 1975 and is one of a handful of actors who has seamlessly switched between Shakespearean plays to big budget musicals. Come From Away is ab...
2019-05-1339 minBackstage With...Simon Lipkin (Ghost Stories, Avenue Q, Rock of Ages)Simon Lipkin has been in some of the biggest West End musicals of the last 15 years including Avenue Q, Rock of Ages, The X Factor musical I Can’t Sing as well as starring opposite Rebel Wilson in Guys and Dolls. He’s currently appearing in Ghost Stories at the Lyric Hammersmith, where it ran in 2010 before transferring to the West End. This episode is entirely spoiler free so if you haven’t seen the play, we don’t give anything away. If you enjoy this episode then subscribe to make sure you never mi...
2019-04-2543 minBackstage With...Summer Strallen (The Sound of Music, Young Frankenstein, Love Never Dies)Summer Strallen has been singing, dancing and acting since she was three-years-old. Growing up as the niece of Bonnie Langford and the daughter of Sandy Strallen and Cherida Langford, there was never any doubt Summer and her three sisters would follow them into showbusiness. Summer has worked extensively in musical theatre, most recently appearing as Inga in Young Frankenstein in the West End, as well as playing Meg Giry in the original production of Love Never Dies and taking over from Connie Fisher as Maria in The Sound of Music. Having recently made her directorial...
2019-04-1220 minBackstage With...Lucy May Barker (Mamma Mia!, Spring Awakening, Sweeney Todd)After writing to one of the UK’s top casting directors, Pippa Ailion, at 14-years-old, Lucy May Barker bagged the role of Ilsa in the original London production of Spring Awakening. The show opened at the Lyric Hammersmith before transferring to the Novello Theatre in the West End. Sadly, the show didn’t get the ticket sales it deserved and closed within a few months of transferring. Since then Lucy has built a career in theatre having appeared in plays at the National, the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Sweeney Todd, alongside Michael Ball and Imel...
2019-04-0530 minBackstage With...The Real Newfoundlanders and Plane People of Come From AwayIn this episode we meet some of the people whose stories are told in the musical Come From Away which opened last month at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End. If you aren’t familiar with the show, it’s about what happened when the US airspace was closed on 9/11. 38 planes were forced to land at Gander airport on a Canadian island called Newfoundland. The 7,000 people from those planes were taken in and looked after by the people of Gander and nearby towns for five days before the planes were allowed to take off again. I...
2019-03-2831 minBackstage With...Hayden Tee (Matilda, Les Misérables)Hayden Tee is currently terrorising children in the West End as Miss Trunchball in Matilda the Musical. Matilda is his favourite musical and Trunch is his ultimate role so he’s very excited to be doing the show London. Hayden is originally from New Zealand but has worked extensively in Australia, the UK and the US. He played Javert in the most recent Broadway revival of Les Mis before reprising the role in Dubai and London. He also played Marius in 2005 not long after the show moved to the Queen’s Theatre from the Palace Thea...
2019-03-1224 minBackstage With...Wendi Peters (Call Me Vicky, Into the Woods, Coronation Street)Best known as Coronation Street’s Cilla Battersby-Brown, actress Wendi Peters has been treading the boards for 30 years. Wendi is currently playing Sylvie in Call Me Vicky at the Pleasance Theatre in north London. We chatted in her dressing room about how she started out improvising on stage at the Piccadilly Theatre when it was a club on a Saturday night in the 80s, how she went from being a dresser on the West End production of Into the Woods to playing in it as part of Sondheim’s 75th birthday celebrations, and how Coronation Stre...
2019-03-0122 minBackstage With...Susan Harrison (Showstopper! The Improvised Musical)Susan Harrison has been with The Showstoppers for about seven years now. Showstopper! The Improvised Musical is on at The Other Palace at the moment but also at the Lyric Theatre in the West End one Monday a month. Last month it celebrated its 1000th show. The show is different every night. The audience make suggestions for the setting and the cast take it from there. It works so well and I really can’t recommend it enough. Susan and I met at the Museum of Comedy in London, which is in Bloomsbury, un...
2019-02-2625 minBackstage With...Jonathan Bailey (Company)Jonathan Bailey is currently playing Jamie in the West End production of Company at the Gielgud Theatre.
The part, originally Amy, is one of five roles in the show that’s been gender-flipped. In this episode Jonny talks about how the show was modernised during the workshop process, the importance of queer roles existing without social commentary and how shy he went whilst working with Stephen Sondheim. To find out about the upcoming gala performance of Company in aid of the LGBTQ+ charity, Albert Kennedy Trust, click here. You can buy tickets to Company on TodayT...
2019-02-0742 minBackstage With...Ilana Levine (Broadway actress & podcaster)Ilana Levine is best known for starring in the 1999 Broadway revival of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. She’s appeared in a variety of Broadway plays and has worked extensively in film and television. Ilana is also a podcaster, bringing conversations with her peers to you every week in Little Known Facts. She has so much love for the industry, the people in it and the magic of theatre. I introduced myself to Ilana after she hosted a panel at this year’s BroadwayCon in New York. Two days later she schlepped all the wa...
2019-02-0151 minBackstage With...Jeremy Taylor (Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, The Sound of Music)Jeremy Taylor is currently playing Raoul in Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the West End. Many of you will know Jeremy from his time as Fiyero in the West End production of Wicked. Since graduating from Guildford School of Acting, he’s also appeared in The Sound of Music at the London Palladium and on tour, Evita and We Will Rock You. We chatted in his dressing room about his journey to the West End, how he copes with awkward stage door moments and the Plan Bs for when things go w...
2019-01-2521 minBackstage With...Gemma Sutton (Gyspy, Sweet Charity, Legally Blonde)Gemma Sutton is currently playing Aladdin in this year’s Hackney Empire pantomime, marking the creative team’s 20th anniversary. You may have seen her in Gypsy (with Imelda Staunton), Sweet Charity at the Watermill, The Rink, Strictly Ballroom, Hairspray, Legally Blonde and many other shows. We had a chat in the green room where everyone who works at the Empire goes to eat and relax. It was a rare one show day, with only a matinee, so Gemma kindly stuck around after the show to talk to me. Aladdin is running at the...
2018-12-2032 minBackstage With...Declan Bennett (Striking 12, Rent, Once)Declan Bennett is currently starring in Striking 12 at the Union Theatre in Southwark. Since 2000 he’s been seen in shows including Taboo, Rent, American Idiot, Once and Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as having a stint in BBC’s EastEnders. In this interview he spoke for the first time about leaving the UK tour Taboo after a cancer diagnosis led to panic attacks on stage. He quit the business for two years until, after getting the all clear, an audition for Avenue Q led to a nine month U.S. tour of Rent, in which he played Roge...
2018-12-1735 minBackstage With...Amy Manford (Phantom of the Opera)Amy Manford plays Christine in Phantom of the Opera twice a week at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the West End. Originally from Australia, Amy has a wide range of skills to her name including rhythmic gymnastics, pole vaulting (winning gold at the Australian national championships) and grade 7 in Violin. After auditioning for Phantom on a whim, she bagged the alternate job which she says gives her a great work/life balance. You can see Amy as Christine on Mondays and Fridays. Phantom of the Opera is currently booking in the We...
2018-12-1216 min
Coming Out StoriesMikeyMikey Worrall, the wonderful host of our brilliant sister podcast Backstage With... shares his heartfelt coming out story and some great advice too.Presented by Emma Goswell Produced by Sam Walker We'd love to hear YOUR story. Please get in touch www.comingoutstoriespodcast.com or find us on twitter @ComeOutStories and on Instagram @ComingOutStoriesPod We have a book! Coming Out Stories is available at all major shops now! JKP.com | Queerlit | Waterstones | Amazon Coming Out Stories is a What Goes On Media Production
2018-12-0324 minBackstage With...Clare Halse (42nd Street, Hairspray, Wicked)Clare Halse is currently tapping her way to stardom eight times a week as Peggy Sawyer in the West End revival of 42nd Street. She’s also appeared in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Singin’ in the Rain, Gypsy with Imelda Staunton, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Shrek, Hairspray and Wicked. There are just six weeks left to see 42nd Street before it closes in the West End. Clare says she’s in denial that it’s nearly over.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...
2018-11-2630 minBackstage With...Mazz Murray (Mamma Mia!, Chicago, We Will Rock You)Mazz Murray is currently playing Mama Morton in Chicago in the West End. She started out in shows including Fame, Pippin, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Boogie Nights and Rent. In 2002 Mazz joined the original cast of We Will Rock You as the Teacher. She understudied the role of Killer Queen (originally played by Sharon D. Clarke), a part she went on to play for eight years at the Dominion Theatre. After leaving the show in August 2011, Mazz joined the cast of Mamma Mia! in the West End. She was also part of the se...
2018-11-0928 minBackstage With...West End Wilma: How I turned my blog into a businessWest End Wilma is one of the biggest theatre blogs in the land. More than 20,000 people read it and have watched videos of fan favourites having tea with Wilma. Wilma first emerged as a character in 2012 before Ed Baker revealed himself as the man behind it all in early 2017. What started out as a hobby has since become his full-time job and business.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2018-10-3025 minBackstage With...Meet the cast of Come From Away In this special edition we meet the cast of Come From Away ahead of its European premiere in Dublin at the end of the year before its London opening in early 2019. There are performances from and interviews with members of the cast including Rachel Tucker and Clive Carter. Come From Away runs at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin from 6th December to 19th January 2019. Previews begin in London on 30th January before its official opening night on 18th February.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Ho...
2018-10-1223 minBackstage With...Rebecca Lock (Heathers, Mary Poppins, Avenue Q)Rebecca Lock is one of my absolute favourite actors. She is currently stealing the show in Heathers at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End. A show she’s been with since its first London workshop in 2017, through its run at The Other Palace earlier this year before its transfer. Among her credits are both the title role and Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins (not at the same time), Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in Avenue Q (at the same time), Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera and Bertrande in Martin Guerre. In th...
2018-10-0328 minBackstage With...Marisha Wallace (Dreamgirls, Something Rotten, Aladdin)Marisha Wallace is currently playing Effie White in the West End production of Dreamgirls. We had a chat in her dressing room at the Savoy Theatre about her work on Broadway, bringing the show to London and the moment she first performed And I Am Telling You on the West End stage. Marisha also told me why she thinks Playbills should be introduced in London so audiences know who they’re seeing on stage without having to pay for a programme. You can catch her in the show until it closes on 12th January 2019. ...
2018-09-1934 minBackstage With...Rebecca Trehearn (Sweet Charity, Ghost, Show Boat)Rebecca Trehearn has one of the most beautifully unique voices in British musical theatre. A wealth of credits to her name, she won the Olivier for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical in 2017 for Showboat. Rebecca’s currently starring in Sweet Charity at Nottingham Playhouse. She kindly took some time out of her busy rehearsals last month to have a chat with me about all the shows she’s been in, and the ones still on her to-do list. I first saw Rebecca as a lead in Ghost in 2012 when she covered the role of Moll...
2018-09-0620 minBackstage With...Michael James Scott (Aladdin, Hair, The Book of Mormon)Michael James Scott is in London to play the Genie in Aladdin over the summer. Trevor Dion Nicholas has gone home to Pittsburgh to play his hometown on the US tour so he and Michael have swapped for a short run. Michael has incredible stories of being taught by old school Broadway stars including Ben Vereen, Julie Andrews and Gwen Verdon as well as working in shows such as Tarzan, Hair and The Book of Mormon. He’s very excited to go for afternoon tea in London - something he discovered when he was over he...
2018-08-2935 minBackstage With...Lucas Rush (Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ Superstar, We Will Rock You)Lucas Rush has one of the most varied CVs of any musical theatre actor. He’s currently performing in I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical at The Crazy Coqs at Zedel in London at the same time as rehearsing for the upcoming tour of Rock of Ages in which he’ll be playing Lonny. Since he started acting at seven-years-old Lucas has performed in Tosca, Peter Pan, Les Miserables, Fame, We Will Rock You, Grease, Jesus Christ Superstar, Saturday Night Fever and American Idiot - to name a few. In this episode we talk...
2018-08-2134 minBackstage With...Alice Fearn (Wicked, Into the Woods, Shrek)Alice Fearn has just begun her second year as Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked. She joined the show as Standby Elphaba in the 10th Anniversary cast in 2016. I went to meet Alice at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London on the last day of the heatwave so her dressing room was sweltering. She had about five fans on and a couple of air con units so we just about survived. Alice grew up in Cumbria and has appeared in shows including Into the Woods, Shrek the musical and Annie Get Your Gun.
2018-08-1332 minBackstage With...John McCrea (Everybody's Talking About Jamie)John McCrea is the breakout West End star of the last year. He’s currently strutting in heels as Jamie New in one of the most recent new British musicals to hit the West End, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. John created the role of Jamie in the first workshop of the show in 2014. It transferred to London at the end of last year after its world premiere in Sheffield. I went to meet John at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. We talked about how the show was developed, how he found ‘his Jamie’ and how he feels about bidding fare...
2018-07-1729 minBackstage With...Gina Beck (Matilda, Wicked, Les Misérables)Gina Beck is one of British musical theatre’s best known sopranos. She played Cosette in the 21st Anniversary cast of Les Miserables, did two years as Christine in Phantom of the Opera, played Glinda in Wicked for two years in London before joining the US Tour and is now playing Miss Honey in Matilda - a part she auditioned for just six weeks after having a baby. Gina said she was worried she wouldn’t have any fun stories to tell but, as you’ll hear, that just isn’t true. There’s the time a wigs mistress was sent on a ques...
2018-06-2523 minBackstage With...Emma Williams (An Officer and a Gentleman, Mrs Henderson Presents, Love Story)Emma Williams is currently on tour in An Officer and a Gentleman. Emma plays Paula, the role played by Debra Winger in the 1982 film. Emma’s been working as an actress since she was a teenager when she starred alongside Steve Coogan in the film The Parole Officer. A lengthy list of musical theatre credits to her name, this show is a departure from the work she is known for. We recently caught up at the Wycombe Swan, a week or so after Emma got married. She and her new husband, James (a drummer), are both on tour with different shows...
2018-05-1731 minBackstage With...Dianne Pilkington (Young Frankenstein, Wicked, Mamma Mia!)Dianne Pilkington is currently starring as Elizabeth Benning in Young Frankenstein in the West End. We chatted over a cup of tea in her dressing room in the run up to the Olivier Awards. She talked about her pre-show rituals, how she learned to cope with Wickedmania, and her 20 years in musical theatre. Dianne also showed me the vintage bed-come-sofa she inherited from Lily James which now has Matthew Horne’s gold bedspread on it. It sounds odd but it suits her character in this show perfectly. Young Frankenstein is booking at the Garrick Theatre until September 2018.Support this show ht...
2018-04-1327 minBackstage With...Katy Lipson (Aria Entertainment Producer)Producer Katy Lipson has been behind some of the most talked about productions of the last few years. As artistic director of the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester she has produced a catalogue of shows, some of which have gone on to transfer to London, including Yank!, Hair and Pippin. She’s a big supporter of new material having produced From Page to Stage, a season of new musicals, as well as the UK premieres of Yank!, Toxic Avenger the musical and The Addams Family. In this episode we talked about her ambitions for new material, the shows she’d love to re...
2018-02-2629 minBackstage With...Rachael Wooding (Fat Friends, Hairspray, Evita)Rachael Wooding is currently on the road in the UK tour of Fat Friends the musical. Her extensive CV lists shows like We Will Rock You, which she did twice, Hairspray and the title role in Evita. We talked for ages all about the shows she’s done. But we started, in true British style, by talking about the traffic and problems on our journeys into Leeds where we met at Leeds Grand Theatre back in November. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/backstagewith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...
2018-02-0231 minBackstage With...Matthew Seadon-Young (Big Fish, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Urinetown)Matthew Seadon-Young is currently starring alongside Kelsey Grammer in Big Fish the musical. His credits include Gerry Goffin in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Tony in Billy Elliot and Bobby in Urinetown. We talked about what it’s like playing opposite your idols, how far you can push yourself when there are no understudies, and being interrogated by security officials at the Oscars. In this episode we’re backstage in Kelsey Grammer’s dressing room, which has the loudest air conditioning you’ve ever heard. Big Fish the musical is running at The Other Palace until 31st December.Suppor...
2017-12-2030 minBackstage With...Jodie Prenger (Fat Friends, Oliver!, Spamalot)I don’t think I have ever laughed as much in an interview as I did while chatting to Jodie Prenger. She is undoubtedly one of the nicest people in showbiz. Jodie won the role of Nancy in the 2008 programme I’d Do Anything. She’s since taken on roles in Spamalot, One Man Two Guv’nors and Calamity Jane. She’s currently starring in Fat Friends - a new musical by Kay Mellor and Nick Lloyd Webber (you might have heard of his father…). In this episode we're backstage in her dressing room at the...
2017-12-0515 minBackstage With...James Meunier (Sunset Boulevard)James Meunier is currently touring the UK in Sunset Boulevard. James is a musical theatre singer and actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London and has since appeared in a variety of theatre productions in the UK and across the world. He's also sung with Elton John at the Royal Albert Hall and performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In this episode he talks to Mikey Worrall about getting emotional at a car chase, the song that’s followed him through his career and what it’s like to unde...
2017-11-2726 minBackstage With...Emma Hatton (Evita, Wicked, We Will Rock You)The first episode of Backstage With... featuring Emma Hatton who's currently playing the lead in Evita in the West End. Emma has previously starred as Elphaba in the London production of Wicked, as well as in We Will Rock You and Dreamboats and Petticoats. Emma talks candidly about the often bizarre audition process so many performers go through as well as what happens when you're called to the stage to take over halfway through a performance. Evita closes at the Phoenix Theatre on Saturday, October 14. The production will go back on t...
2017-10-0938 min