British Theatre Guide Podcast

Kat B and Matt Dempsey have appeared in many Hackney Empire pantomimes. The two performers speak to Simon Sladen about the pantomime rehearsal process, their love for the Hackney Empire and their roles as Puss and Tom in this year's production of Puss in Boots. Having returned to the UK after filming Mister Maker Around the World for CBeebies, Phil Gallagher speaks to Simon Sladen about his pantomime career, his love of Kent and his role as Billy Trot in this year's Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk.

The winners of the £16,000 first prize and three judges prizes of £8,000 in the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting were announced at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester on 22 November 2013. We present some highlights of the ceremony itself, followed by a chat with winning playwright Anna Jordan and three members of the judging panel: broadcaster Dame Jenni Murray, Bruntwood chairman Michael Oglesby and Royal Exchange artistic director Sarah Frankcom.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his publishing house, Nick Hern talks to Philip Fisher about a career in theatre and his work with some of the greatest names in the business. For more information about Nick Hern Books, see www.nickhernbooks.co.uk.

Actor Martin Barrass on playing the fool in his 28th panto at York Theatre Royal, the art and the craft of slapstick, having the part of Alfie written for him by Richard Bean in One Man, Two Guvnors and his home town of Hull becoming City of Culture. Martin will appear in Aladdin and the Twankeys by Berwick Kaler at York Theatre Royal from 12 December 2013 to 1 February 2014. See www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk for details.

Paul Holman Associates has produced over 200 pantomimes since 1995. Simon Sladen speaks to Paul Holman (founder, company chairman and Managing Director) and Lee Waddingham (Artistic Director / Associate Producer) about their pantomime careers, producing pantomimes and Paul Holman Associates' 2013 season, which sees the company produce thirteen pantomimes and one Christmas musical in venues across the UK.

Playwright Tom Morton-Smith and director Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder on In Doggerland, the first national tour from new writing company Box of Tricks Theatre Company. The play will tour to: 7-9 November: The Lowry Studio, Salford 10-11 November: New Diorama, London 14 November: Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven 15 November: Derby Theatre Studio 19 November: Mill at the Pier, Wigan 20 November: York Theatre Royal Studio 21 November: The Continental, Preston 22-23 November: Lantern Theatre, Liverpool 26 November: Exeter Phoenix 27 November: Square Chapel, Halifax 28-30 November: Theatr Clwyd, Mold

After two and a half years, the newly-refurbished Birmingham REP has reopened with an additional third auditorium. REP executive director Stuart Rogers takes us on a tour of the new building and artistic director Roxana Silbert explains what it is like to have three separate spaces to programme.

At the Edinburgh International Book Festival, author Philip Zeigler talks about his new biography of Laurence Olivier, based largely on 50 hours of taped interviews with the great actor, and theatre director Michael Bogdanov gives us his views on directing and Shakespeare as his books on directing and directing Shakespeare are published. Over at the Assembly Rooms, actor and writer Pip Utton, celebrating his 20th year on the Fringe, talks about the two pieces he has revived in Edinburgh for 2013: Adolf and Churchill.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge talks to Philip Fisher about her solo show Fleabag at Underbelly as well writing, performing in the West End and elsewhere and the Edinburgh experience. The Traverse's Artistic Director Orla O'Loughlin takes a break from rehearsals to discuss with Philip Fisher the theatre's work and what the Festival Fringe means to her. Animator and stand-up comedian Howard Read talks to David Chadderton about his two shows in this year's Fringe: for families his most successful animated character returns in Little Howard's Big Show, and for adults he presents his new show Hide and Speak.

On the day of the official start of the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe (Friday 2 August), we bring you our first Edinburgh podcast with interviews with the creators of some events we will be reviewing: Andy Lawrence of Theatre of Widdershins on Rumpelstilskin and the Wheel of Fortune Richard Medrington and Rick Conte of Puppet State Theatre on The Man Who Planted Trees Oliver Lansley of Les Enfants Terribles on The Trench plus Les Petits Theatre Company's Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs Phil Nichol on The Weary Land See the official Edinburgh Fringe web site for full listings and booking information.

Co-founder Simon Willis, head of content for Wise Buddah, talks about the proposed new Internet radio station dedicated to musical theatre called Stage Door and about the crowd-funding campaign, currently running on Indiegogo, to raise the funds to launch it. The presenters on Stage Door will all be current stars of musical theatre, and two of them spoke to us about their involvement. Canadian actor Alex Gaumond is probably still best-known for playing Galileo in We Will Rock You but is currently in Top Hat in the West End while rehearsing to take over as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda later this year. Louise Dearman is most famous for playing both Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked, a show that she will soon leave as she prepares for a concert tour later this year. More information: Stage Door Indiegogo campaign page Alex Gaumond Louise Dearman

In July 2013, Manchester's 24:7 Theatre Festival, dedicated to producing brand new one-hour plays in venues around the city, will celebrate the tenth of its annual events. Actor David Slack, who co-founded the festival in 2004 and is still its producer, reflects on ten years of putting new writing on stage and talks about new developments for this year's event. Following this, five of the writers from this year's festival talk about their plays at the media launch in June 2013 at Manchester's Comedy Store: Alice Brockway (Blunted), Thomas Bloor (Night on the Field of Waterloo), Richard O'Neill (Temper), Micheál Jacob (Daylight Robbery) and Catherine Manford (Billy the Monster and Me). For more information, see www.247theatrefestival.co.uk.

At the Manchester International Festival, Alexander Vlahos talks about playing Malcolm in Macbeth, a production that sees Kenneth Branagh return to the stage in the title role opposite Alex Kingston as Lady Macbeth, directed by Rob Ashford and performed in a deconsecrated church at a secret location in Manchester. Also, Hadley Fraser talks about playing chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in The Machine by Matt Charman directed by Donmar Warehouse artistic director Josie Rourke who, despite being Salford-born, has never directed in Manchester before. The 2013 Manchester International Festival runs from 4 to 21 July. For information about all MIF productions and other events, see www.mif.co.uk.

Philip Fisher talks to actor Seth Numrich, currently playing Chance Wayne opposite Kim Cattrall as Alexandra del Lago in Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams at the Old Vic in London following Broadway success in Golden Boy and War Horse.

BTG London editor Philip Fisher chats with actress Sarah Greene, currently playing a romantic lead opposite Daniel Radcliffe in Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Noel Coward Theatre. See Philip's review of this production.

Dukes Theatre artistic director Joe Sumsion talks about his production of a new adaptation of Robin Hood in Williamson Park, Lancaster this summer, a comeback for the Dukes's famous outdoor productions by popular demand after it was announced that the 25th anniversary production two years ago would be its last due to funding issues. Joe talks about their unusual approach to the famous story in a production set in the future, about the challenges and joys of outdoor promenade theatre in the UK and about the up-side of their announcement that these productions were to cease. Following this, production manager John Newman-Holden takes us on a walk around Williamson Park, talking us through the different locations used for the production and the practical challenges of realising the creative team's visions in the open air. Robin Hood runs in Williamson Park, Lancaster from 5 July to 10 August 2013. For more information, see www.dukes-lancaster.org or call the box office on 01524 598500.

Manchester's Library Theatre Company has created a trilogy of site specific works about Manchester since leaving its home of more than half a century at Manchester Central Library in 2010. The third of these, Manchester Sound: The Massacre, written by Polly Wiseman and directed by Paul Jepson, will take place at a secret location in Manchester city centre between 8 June and 6 July 2013. BTG editor David Chadderton spoke to Polly and Paul in Manchester a week before the show's opening. For more information on the show, see www.librarytheatre.com.

Playwright Fin Kennedy was thrust into the heart of the debate about arts funding when he produced a report—called In Battalions, a title taken from a quote from Hamlet—with professional researcher Helen Campbell Pickford into the effects of cuts in public funding to theatres on their production of and development of new writing. In this episode, Fin talks about the origins of the report in a conversation he had with UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaisey and about its findings, as well as speculating on how this will continue to affect the theatre sector and on the motivations behind cutting an area of the UK budget so small that it will have a barely-noticeable effect on the UK deficit. Fin Kennedy is an award-winning playwright and theatre blogger whose plays are produced in the UK and US. In the UK, he has written for Soho Theatre, Sheffield Crucible, Southwark Playhouse, Half Moon Theatre, The Red Room, Birmingham Rep and BBC Radio 4. Fin also has many years’ experience

Sarah Brigham talks to BTG Midlands Editor Steve Orme about taking the reigns of Derby Theatre as its first artistic director since University of Derby took over the lease of the troubled former Derby Playhouse and succeeded in obtaining Arts Council funding for it in 2012. The first homegrown production from the new Derby Theatre is Lee Hall's Cooking With Elvis, and Steve talks to director Mark Babych and actor Jack Lord about the production. Babych, who was artistic director of the Octagon Theatre in Bolton for ten years, also talks about his recently-announced appointment as artistic director of Hull Truck Theatre, a post he takes up immediately after finishing work on this production.

Stephen Barlow, artistic director of the Buxton Festival which combines rarely-seen opera with live music and literature, talks about this year's event and about the history of the festival, which has been running in the small Derbyshire town in the Peak District since 1979. For more information, see www.buxtonfestival.co.uk or ring the box office on 0845 127 2190 or 01298 72190.