British Theatre Guide Podcast

Sir Jonathan Miller has returned to Halifax-based Northern Broadsides Theatre Company to director company founder Barrie Rutter in the title role of Shakespeare’s King Lear. BTG editor David Chadderton speaks to Barrie Rutter about his new OBE, playing Lear, working with Jonathan Miller and touring large-cast productions and to Catherine Kinsella about playing Cordelia, winning a Manchester Theatre Award and making a career as an actor in the north of England. The production will open at the company’s base at the Viaduct Theatre in Halifax on 27 February 2015 before touring to Hull Truck Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough, Liverpool Playhouse, The Lowry in Salford, York International Shakespeare Festival, Rose Theatre Kingston and finally New Vic Theatre in Stoke, where it will end on 13 June 2015. For more information about the company, see www.northern-broadsides.co.uk.

Douglas McGrath, who wrote the book, speaks to BTG London editor Philip Fisher about Beautiful – the Carole King Musical. They talk about the genesis of the project, the pleasure of interviewing the four leading characters and developing their lives into a musical and the work itself and its stars both on Broadway and in London. Beautiful - The Carole King Musical began previews at London's Aldwych Theatre on 10 February 2015. Press night will be on 24 February, and the show is currently booking until 13 June 2015. For more information, see the Beautiful in London web site. Image of Katie Brayben as Carole King, credit Uli Weber.

Comedian and actor Jonny Donohoe talks about the Edinburgh Fringe and New York success of Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan, as well as his experiences of working interactively with audiences and playing opposite Sarah Jessica Parker. After a successful run on the Edinburgh Fringe in Paines Plough's portable Roundabout Theatre at Summerhall, the production transferred to Barrow Street Theatre in New York from 5 December 2014 until 29 March 2015. Following its run in New York, Every Brilliant Thing will embark on an extensive UK Tour.

2014 sees Leon Craig celebrate his 13th pantomime Dame and first Beauty and the Beast at Oxtord Playhouse. He speaks to Simon Sladen about breaking into the industry, his favourite pantomime titles and reveals some of his experiences from daming up and down the country. Keith Jack and Olly Pike star as Prince Charming and his valet Dandini in the Capitol Theatre, Horsham's pantomime Cinderella. One of panto's best-established double acts, the two roles are rarely thought of in such a way. Simon Sladen speaks to Jack and Pike about their characters and careers encompassing Any Dream Will Do, CBBC and a combined total of nine pantomimes.

Home Manchester will hold its ninth annual Re:Play Festival, which celebrates the best productions from the Manchester fringe scene from the previous year, in January 2015 at its temporary theatre space in an office block at Number One First Street. At the launch for Re:Play, we hear from Re:Play 2015 producer Rebecca Jenner and some of the contributors to the festival: co-writer of War Stories, Rob Johnston, writer and performer of An Evening of Filth and Despair, Jenny May Morgan, and writer of Two Spirits, Chris Hoyle. Re:Play runs from Monday 12 to Saturday 24 January 2015 on the second floor of Number One First Street, Manchester M15 4FN. For more information, including a schedule of which productions run on which days, see homemcr.org.

Simon Aylin has ticked off almost every role both front and backstage in panto. Now best known as a writer and director, he speaks to Simon Sladen about the season ahead and his first time as a pantomime producer. Simon's pantomimes this year include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Beck Theatre, Hayes featuring Linda Robson, Dick Whittington at the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon with Nigel Havers, Aladdin at the White Rock Theatre, Hastings starring Louie Spence, as well as Peter Pan at the Chelmsford Civic Theatre and Sleeping Beauty at the Stahl Theatre, Oundle. To keep up to date with Simon's panto season, follow him on Twitter at @noyourethebest.

Philip Fisher talks to American actor/director David Cromer about the striking new production of an American classic Our Town at the Almeida Theatre in London in which he stars. They also talk about his career and aspirations. Our Town runs at the Almeida Theatre in London from 10 October to 29 November 2014. For more information, see www.almeida.co.uk. Image credit: Marc Brenner.

Oily Cart Theatre Company was founded in 1981 to specialise in creating theatre for the under-5s, considered a challenging audience by most theatre groups. A few years later, it started to create theatre for children and young people with multiple and profound learning difficulties or on the autism spectrum, which is now a major strand of its work. Oily Cart co-founder Tim Webb talks about the company's philosophy and methods and also specifically about the company’s Christmas show, There Was An Old Woman. There Was An Old Woman runs at the Royal Festival Hall in London from 13 December 2014 to 4 January 2015 before touring to Warwick Art Centre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Gulbenkian Theatre Canterbury and Chichester Festival Theatre. For more information about the company, see oilycart.org.uk.

Theatre director Michael Rudman talks to BTG London Editor Philip Fisher about a long career in theatre, running the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, Hampstead Theatre in London and the Lyttelton at the National Theatre on the South Bank. He also discusses his productions of Death of a Salesman in the West End and on Broadway and his long association with Felicity Kendal. Michael Rudman's memoirs are published by Capercaillie Books as I Joke Too Much: The Theatre Directors Tale, and were reviewed by Philip Fisher in August 2014.

Birmingham’s BE Festival of European arts will be touring the best of 2014’s event for the fourth year, taking three performances from Hungary, Austria and Belgium to venues throughout the UK and Madrid. In this episode, BTG's David Chadderton speaks to Mike Tweddle, who is one of the festival’s directors with Miguel Oyarzun and Isla Aguilar. The 2014 tour visits runs from 8 October to 8 November, visiting the Pit at the Barbican in London, The Door at Birmingham Rep, Bath Spa Live, Circomedia in Bristol, Home Manchester’s temporary base at Number One First Street, Slung Low’s Hub in Leeds, Gulbenkian Theatre Canterbury, The Atkinson in Southport, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Caedmon Hall in Gateshead and Traverse Theatre Edinburgh. For more information, see befestival.org.

Imitating the Dog, a company known for its integration of video and other technology into its theatre work, has managed to secure the rights for the first ever UK stage adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms for a short tour of the UK and Italy. The novel has been adapted for the stage and is directed jointly by Imitating the Dog founder members Pete Brooks and Andrew Quick. In this episode, David Chadderton speaks to Pete Brooks a week before the show’s opening about the production, acquiring the rights from the Hemingway estate, the company's style and production process and some of the challenges of touring work to Europe. The production opens at The Dukes in Lancaster on 10 October 2014, before visiting Cast in Doncaster, New Wolsey in Ipswich, The Lowry in Salford, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and The Old Market in Brighton, followed by a tour of Italy. For more information about the production and the company, see www.imitatingthedog.co.uk.

York-based Pilot Theatre’s latest project is an adaptation by British playwright Roy Williams of the Greek classic play Antigone by Sophocles. In this episode, Pilot artistic director Marcus Romer, who is directing this production, talks about how the project came about, how they have approached this ancient Greek play, working with Roy Williams and about the work and philosophy of Pilot Theatre Company. Antigone from Pilot Theatre opens at Derby Theatre on 19 September 2014, then goes to Northern Stage in Newcastle, Nottingham Lakeside Arts, Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield, York Theatre Royal, Watford Palace Theatre, Gulbenkian in Canterbury, Theatre Royal Winchester, Exeter Northcott Theatre, finishing at Theatre Royal Stratford East on 14 March 2015. For more information, see www.pilot-theatre.com.

The hottest tickets for 2014’s autumn theatre season in Manchester are productions of Shakespeare from two of the region's leading theatre companies. The Royal Exchange Theatre production of Hamlet is directed by artistic director Sarah Frankcom starring popular stage and TV actress Maxine Peake in the title role. When we spoke to Sarah and Maxine with two and a half weeks to go before opening, this had already become one of the theatre’s most popular productions. Hamlet runs at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester from 11 September to 25 October 2014. For more information, see royalexchange.co.uk. Manchester’s new arts centre, Home, is presenting a series of site-specific productions in the run-up to the opening of its new purpose-built venue next spring. After Angel Meadow, the second of these is new artistic director Walter Meierjohann’s directorial debut for the company, a production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet performed in Manchester’s historic Victoria Baths, which sold out before ope

Townsend Productions is touring a new play about a group of protesters in the 1972 builders’ strike who have become known as the Shrewsbury 24, one of whom is now well-known to TV viewers as actor Ricky Tomlinson. The 24 strikers were arrested and charged with conspiracy, and the campaign to have their convictions quashed is still ongoing 42 years later. In this episode, we speak to writer and co-performer Neil Gore. United We Stand by Neil Gore from Townsend Productions, directed by Louise Townsend and performed by Neil Gore and William Fox, will tour from 19 September to 29 November 2014. For more information, see www.townsendproductions.org.uk.

Producer Richard Jordan and BTG's Philip Fisher discuss trends in Edinburgh and recommend shows that should not be missed, including The James Plays in the International Festival. Founder and Co-Artistic Director Hannah Price tells Philip Fisher about the phenomenon of Theatre Uncut, which sets out to address political issues through drama, its genesis and future. Actor, director and one of the most established and respected theatre producers on the Edinburgh Fringe Guy Masterson, now in his 21st year at the world's largest arts festival, talks to David Chadderton about this year's Fringe programme, how he began as a Fringe performer and producer, surviving as a producer outside the public funding system and his hatred of the star system, amongst other things.

David Chadderton talks to Zach Reino, Jessica McKenna and Nick Semar of American comedy group Baby Wants Candy, one of the longest-running companies to offer a brand new, fully-improvised musical at each show. The Completely Improvised Full Band Musical runs at Assembly Roxy until 25 August 2014, plus the same group's All Star Improv Explosion Show runs at Underbelly Bristo Square until the same date. For more information, see babywantscandy.com Also, Philip Fisher talks with James Grieve, co-artistic director of new writing company Paines Plough, about the company’s history, its new touring pop-up theatre Roundabout and its four Edinburgh productions. For more information, see www.painesplough.com

Lancashire-based Horse + Bamboo, a company that has specialised in mask and puppet theatre since it was founded in 1978, brings its version of classic fairy tale Red Riding Hood to the Scottish Storytelling Centre for the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe. Performers Jonny Quick and Nix Wood talk to BTG editor David Chadderton about the production and their involvement with the company. The production runs at 1PM until 17 August 2014. For more information about this and the company, see www.horseandbamboo.org. Also in this episode, Philip Fisher talks to legendary cricket broadcasters Henry Blofeld and Peter Baxter about their show Memories of Test Match Special, back by popular demand after a run at last year's Fringe. They discuss the show, which recalls anecdotes about the sporting radio institution of Test Match Special, as well as their perspectives on the Fringe and on live performance. Their show runs at the Pleasance Dome at 16:20 until 24 August 2014, and can also be seen at the Lyric Theatre in London on 22 Sep

Halifax-based Northern Broadsides will soon tour a new production of Oliver Goldsmith’s 1773 comedy She Stoops to Conquer, directed by director, actor and composer Conrad Nelson, a regular member of the Broadsides production team. In this episode, Conrad talks about his production and about how it fits with the general philosophy of the company. She Stoops to Conquer will open on 29 August 2014 at the company’s own Viaduct Theatre in Halifax before touring to The Dukes in Lancaster, Rose Theatre Kingston, Oxford Playhouse, Harrogate Theatre, Everyman Cheltenham, Theatre Royal Winchester, Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough, West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Liverpool Playhouse, York Theatre Royal, Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield and finally The Lowry in Salford, where it will close on 13 December. For more information about Northern Broadsides, see www.northern-broadsides.co.uk.

Actors Shobna Gulati and Joe McGann speak to BTG Midlands editor Steve Orme about touring in John Godber's two-hander April in Paris, directed by the author. Shobna Gulati is best known for playing Anita in Victoria Wood’s Dinnerladies and Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street from 2001 to 2006, a role to which she returned at the end of 2009 and departed again in 2013. Since then she has been a panellist on Loose Women. Joe McGann was Charlie Burrows, the “housekeeper”, in the hit TV comedy series The Upper Hand, which ran for six years. His major stage roles include Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and Ray Say in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. April in Paris will open at Derby Theatre (27 June to 12 July) then tour to Brighton, Woking, Aylesbury, Malvern, Bromley, Glasgow, Crewe, Manchester, Richmond, Chesterfield, New Brighton, Dundee and Coventry.

HOME Manchester, the new arts organisation formed from the merger between the Library Theatre Company and Cornerhouse Cinema, is filling the time before the opening of its new, purpose-built home in spring 2015 with a series of site-specific productions around the city. The first of these, Angel Meadow, is a collaboration with Dublin-based ANU Productions that looks at the Irish communities in Ancoats who settled there in the late nineteenth century. In this episode, some of the team from ANU talk about the process of creating and performing this devised, site-specific piece and some of the difficulties it has posed. First, we spoke to actors Thomas Reilly and Lloyd Cooney, and then to director Louise Lowe with performers Dee Burke, Will Irvine and Úna Kavanagh. Angel Meadow from ANU Productions will be produced by HOME Manchester in Ancoats with performances from Tuesday 10 to Sunday 29 June 2014. For more information on this and the other site-specific productions in this HOME season—Romeo and Juliet at Vic