British Theatre Guide Podcast

BTG's Mark Smith talks to Amy Letman about Leeds's international Transform Festival, her career as a producer, and how to get into festival programming. Transform Festival 2017 runs from 19-22 April in venues across Leeds, with a full programme available on the Transform web site.

Highlights of the launch event for the Manchester International Festival 2017, held in Manchester on 9 March 2017. Introduced by new MIF artistic director John McGrath, this episode also features announcements from festival participants including actress Jane Horrocks, playwright Simon Stephens, Underworld’s Karl Hyde, Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham, artists Yael Bartana and Phil Collins and New Order’s Bernard Sumner, amongst others. MIF 2017 will take place from 29 June to 16 July 2017 at locations all over Manchester. Image from MIF launch: L - R, Karl Hyde, Scott Graham, Simon Stephens, Yael Bartana, John McGrath, Phil Collins, Stephen Mallinder, Nick Vivian, Jane Horrocks, Bernard Sumner, Raymond Yiu, Sue Buckmaster, Joe Duddell, Tom Chapman, Graham Massey Credit Joel Chester Fildes

Midlands editor Steve Orme talks to Lekan Lawal, who is making his main stage directorial debut at Derby Theatre with Harold Pinter's Betrayal, and cast members Ben Addis (Robert), Kemi-Bo Jacobs (Emma) and Philip Correia (Jerry).

Liverpool playwright Lizzy Nunnery's new play Narvik directed by Hannah Tyrell-Pinder for Box of Tricks will open its national tour at the end of January 2017 following a successful run at Liverpool Playhouse in September 2015. Lizzy spoke to BTG editor David Chadderton a couple of weeks before the tour opened about the process of creating the play from stories from her grandfather and other World War II sailors stationed in the Arctic and about her career writing for stage and radio over the last ten years. Narvik opens at HOME Manchester from 31 January to 4 February 2017 before touring to Stahl Theatre in Oundle, Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Mumford Theatre at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury, Mac in Birmingham, Clwyd Theatre Cymru in Mold, York Theatre Royal, The Unity at the Bluecoat in Liverpool, The Met in Bury, The Carriageworks in Leeds and Harrogate Theatre before ending at New Diorama Theatre in London from 21 to 25 March.

Michael Feingold of the Village Voice talks to BTG London editor Philip Fisher about current trends on the New York theatre scene, suggests shows that should not be missed and develops thoughts about the impact of Donald Trump on Broadway and beyond.

Theatre by the Lake in Keswick in the Lake District has had at its helm Executive Director Patric Gilchrist and Artistic Director Ian Forrest since before the current theatre building opened in 1999. Conrad Lynch has taken over as both Artistic Director and Chief Executive after working alongside his predecessors for the last few months. Not long after announcing his first season in his new post, he spoke to us about his future plans for this Cumbrian theatre.

BTG Midlands editor Steve Orme speaks to director Theresa Keogh and artistic director Jack McNamara of Nottingham-based New Perspectives Theatre Company about their new rural touring production of M R James's classic ghost story Oh Whistle and I'll Come To You adapted by David Rudkin and also about recently working with best-selling crime writer John Harvey on Darkness, Darkness with Nottingham Playhouse.

In December 2016, the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield will stage its first professional pantomime, Cinderella, written by Andrew Pollard and directed by Joyce Branagh. Joyce was preparing to start rehearsals for Cinderella when we spoke to her, but she had also just directed a fifteen-minute version of Wuthering Heights for JB Shorts, a regular evening of short new plays which has just moved to new Manchester venue 53two. Cinderella will be at Lawrence Batley Theatre from 9 to 31 December 2016. (Photo of Joyce Branagh in Boomtown Gals by Lucas Smith)

Freedom Studios is an inter-cultural theatre company based in Bradford, West Yorkshire which is about to open a new play by Tajinder Singh Hayer set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy version of Bradford called North Country at The Wild Woods in the heart of the town where it is set. Alex Chisholm, the play’s director and recently appointed co-Artistic Director of Freedom Studios, spoke to BTG editor David Chadderton about the play and about the philosophy behind Freedom Studios. North Country will be at The Wild Woods in Bradford from 26 October to 5 November 2016. (Rehearsal image of Alex Chisholm by Maria Spadafora)

Performance poet Luke Wright is is currently touring with a solo verse play directed by nabokov’s Joe Murphy called What I Learned From Johnny Bevan. Luke plays Nick, an arts journalist, who is transported by current events back to memories of his days in university in the mid-‘90s when his friend, after whom the play is named, changed his life. In this episode, Luke speaks to BTG editor David Chadderton about the show, politics, New Labour, festivals, acting awards and poetry. Luke tours the UK until December 2016 with What I Learned From Johnny Bevan. For details of where he will appear, see the gigs page on his web site. (Photo credit: Guiseppe Cerone)

Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sweeney Todd—the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a co-production between Derby Theatre and Mercury Theatre Colchester directed by Daniel Buckroyd. In this episode, BTG Midlands editor Steve Orme speaks to the two lead actors in the production: Hugh Maynard who plays Sweeney and Sophie-Louise Dann who is Mrs Lovett. Sweeney Todd is at Derby Theatre from Friday 30 September until Saturday 22 October. It then transfers to the Mercury Theatre Colchester from Wednesday 26 October until Saturday 12 November. (Rehearsal image of Hugh Maynard and Sophie-Louise Dann by Robert Day)

Halifax-based Northern Broadsides has paired up with York Theatre Royal for a revival of J B Priestley's When We Are Married, directed by Northern Broadsides artistic director Barrie Rutter. Playing the role of Clara Soppitt, actress Kate Anthony, best-known for playing Pam Hobsworth in Coronation Street, spoke to BTG editor David Chadderton during rehearsals about the production and her part in it as well as some of the differences between acting in theatre and TV and the importance of getting on with your fellow actors while touring. When We Are Married is at York Theatre Royal until 24 September 2016 before touring to Hull Truck Theatre, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Rose Theatre Kingston, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre, New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Liverpool Playhouse and Northern Broadsides’ own Viaduct Theatre in Halifax, where it closes on 4 December. (Rehearsal photo of Kate Anthony by Nobby Clark)

Theatre in Scotland: A Field of Dreams is a compilation of 35 years of reviews from The Scotsman's lead theatre critic Joyce McMillan, edited by former Traverse Theatre artistic director Philip Howard. From the heart of the Edinburgh Festivals of 2016, Joyce shared with BTG editor David Chadderton her extensive knowledge and insightful analysis of Scottish theatre and its development in conjunction with political and social changes in Scotland and across the UK since the 1970s.

Philip Fisher and Richard Jordan discuss Richard’s exciting new multimedia theatrical collaboration with Apple Corporation in Chicago and also Edinburgh trends and the very best that Edinburgh has to offer. Philip Fisher joins the three leading Scottish theatre critics, Joyce McMillan, Mark Fisher and Neil Cooper, to talk in detail about Anything That Gives off Light in the Edinburgh International Festival, Diary of a Madman at the Traverse and World Without Us at Summerhall, as well as identifying a plethora of other shows that are well worth catching.

David Chadderton talks to Nir Paldi, co-artistic director of Theatre Ad Infinitum whose show Bucket List was previewed at Latitude Festival before opening in its final form at the Edinburgh Fringe. (Photo credit: Alex Brenner) Philip Fisher talks with Kate O'Flynn, who is starring in what is likely to be the pick of Edinburgh 2016, John Tiffany's production of The Glass Menagerie in the Edinburgh International Festival, about the play, her stage career and working with Mike Leigh. (Photo Credit: Johan Persson) Philip Fisher interviews Dave Malloy about bringing Ghost Quartet to Summerhall Roundabout and the impending Broadway opening of his musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. (Photo Credit: Ryan Jenson)

Phelim McDermott co-founded acclaimed theatre company Improbable in 1996. His directing credits including Shockheaded Peter with Julian Crouch and The Tiger Lillies, Philip Glass’s The Perfect American with ENO and Teatro Real in Madrid, The Addams Family on Broadway and, most recently, Jim Broadbent in A Christmas Carol on the West End. Phelim spoke to BTG editor David Chadderton about the origins of Improbable's show Animo that combines improvisation and puppetry, which was revived for the 2016 Latitude Festival led by co-artistic director Lee Simpson. He also looked back on 20 years of Improbable and talked about the importance of improvisation to all of his work, even when script-based, and the influence of the ideas of Keith Johnstone and Jeremy Whelan on his techniques.

The Classic Thriller Season has been running at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham since 1988, produced by Colin McIntyre until his death in 2012. The season has been kept up by Tabs Productions, which has continued the format of presenting four plays over a four-week period. Karen Henson and John Goodrum of Tabs talk to Midlands Editor Steve Orme about this year's season, about continuing a long-running tradition and about their contribution to keeping the rep system alive.

Producer Bonnie Mitchell and performer Kylie Walsh talk about Mobile, a production from The Paper Birds that takes place in a small caravan for an audience of up to eight people at a time. Bonnie and Kylie talk about the themes of class and social mobility, the devising process and the special challenges of touring a show for a tiny audience in a caravan. The production, a co-commission from Live Theatre and The Marlowe Theatre, has just finished its first tour. It will be visiting The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury from 8 to 12 October and Theatre Royal Plymouth from 1 to 5 November 2016 before touring again in 2017. For more information, see www.thepaperbirds.com. (Photo of Kylie Walsh credit: Richard Davenport)

BTG London editor Philip Fisher talks to writer Nell Dunn in her Fulham home. Nell Dunn first became a published writer with Up the Junction, a collection of short stories, in 1963, then went on to become a successful novelist (Poor Cow, 1967) and playwright (Steaming, 1981). She co-wrote a screen adaptation of Poor Cow with Ken Loach, who directed the film in 1967, which has been digitally restored for a re-release both in cinemas and for home viewing.

Roxanne Pallett, probably still best-known for her long-running character of Jo in ITV’s Emmerdale, is currently appearing as Tyler in Neil LaBute’s Some Girls at London’s Park Theatre and in 2017 will star as Holly in a new production of The Wedding Singer, a musical based on the popular 1998 film of the same name, for a national tour. Roxanne talks to BTG editor David Chadderton about both productions in a busy year for her, and also speaks quite frankly about how tough it can be for an actor to handle the leaner times when the work isn't coming in. Some Girls by Neil LaBute runs at Park Theatre in London from 14 July to 6 August 2016. The Wedding Singer will open at Curve in Leicester on 9 February 2017 and will tour the UK until September 2017. (Photo: Roxanne Pallett at the 2015 Manchester Theatre Awards at Royal Northern College of Music, credit Simon Pendrigh.)