2021 had felt like a beacon of hope, and the new year promised the restart we were all waiting for. But as the year ticked over, shows programmed for the new year, for Spring for Summer even well into the future that started to feel uncertain, then impossible, and inevitably, they were cancelled too. According to current government guidelines, supposedly, theatres will be able to reopen in a few weeks time. But the closer we get to reopening, how likely is it that we will get what our...

In the attempt to resurrect live theatre while navigating constantly shifting terrain, how far can hope get you? How do you make theatre when the world keeps changing, when time keeps collapsing, when the earth beneath your feet keeps sinking into bog? And how do you communicate with a government who seems to be operating on a different frequency somewhere in a separate universe?  In order of appearance: Kwame Kwei-Armah (Director) Adele Thomas (Director, Presenter) Sunita Hinduja (Stage...

While we wait for Episode 3 to drop (20th April 2021), we'd like to know if you were taking part in a "Ghost Show" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enjoy your Easter Holiday. Stay safe. Be kind. Listen next week for details on how you can get involved in a very special episode of Ghost Shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ghost Shows follows the shows that were conceived, programmed and even rehearsed in 2020 but were closed down before they’d even opened.  This is not a historical document - this is an emotional record of the first few months of lockdown. This is our untold story.  If you haven’t listened to the first episode, we'd really encourage you to do so. In Episode 1, we chronicled the lead up to the mass closures of theatres in March last year, and some of the individual shows that never made it to...

A year on from theatres closing their doors, ‘Ghost Shows’ asks what happened to the shows that were created, rehearsed and tech'ed but never lived in front of audiences? Presented by freelance opera director, Adele Thomas, the series features interviews with freelance performers, stage technicians, creatives and production staff from a variety of productions across the UK. From ‘the announcement’, through the confusion of government updates, in and out of lockdown, ‘Ghost Shows’ explores...

Sally Beck Wippman, an American Director, had just moved back to the UK a few months before the pandemic sent the country into lockdown.  Far from family, and without an established place in the UK theatre community, she found solace in Freelancers Make Theatre Work - and the Migrants in Theatre movement. In this episode, Sally takes us into an empty Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol, England to reminisce on past productions and dreaming of future ones... She is joined by actor Joe...

In this episode, Lighting Designer Prema Mehta returns to Storyhouse during the pandemic to reflect on previous experiences there, and also to show what a theatre freelancer feels like when they are no longer able to go into work with theatres shut. Prema has designed the lighting for over 200 productions, and works across the UK. Recent work includes productions at The Royal Court, Sheffield Theatres, Shakespeare’s Globe, Storyhouse, and The Young Vic. She has also designed for Madame...

We thought we’d bring you a little bit of cheer in the form of our annual Christmas podcast. This year we turn our ears towards the creator of the world of The Wizard of Oz which, of course, begat the megahit musical “Wicked”.  In this slightly different Christmas tale by L Frank Baum, Santa encounters an unfortunate series of events that may or may not prevent him from delivering his presents.   Baum’s short story “A Kidnapped Santa” has it all.  Santa. Elves. Pixies. Knooks and Rils (don’t...

Paule is an Olivier and Tony award-winning freelance lighting designer. She is an associate director of the National Theatre and of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.  She has worked on shows like Ocean at the End of the Lane, Angels in America, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Les Mis, Warhorse and Follies.  Her designs have transported audiences and characters to heaven, deep into the ocean, through the inner workings of a child's mind, through wars, and into dreams.  She is...

A little bite-size morsel of what's to come from the Freelancers Make Theatre team. A fantastic insight into the world of theatre in lockdown and it's anticipated return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No Pressure is all about artists, freelancers, creatives and creators like George MacKay - the people that make things happen, who are up against it every day, and work tirelessly behind the scenes (and as in George’s case) in front of the camera too.  This podcast was recorded at the tail end of the first UK lockdown in the summer of 2020, just before George was due to start filming a new project, "Wolf". He's one of the busiest actors around. so getting some sit-down time with him was a...

We catch up with Proper Production's Mark Ward and Loud Sound's Steven Reynolds as they take us through their journey from Newcastle to London via Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Reading, Oxford, Brighton and more. The #WeMakeEvents campaign continues to highlight the precarious position of freelancers and suppliers in the live events industries. Topics discussed. as you can imagine, include saddle soreness and crashing into buses.  Donate to the campaign We Make Events "Asks" Curtain Call...

We return to our first ever interviewee. Over five years ago, I sat down with West End actor David Hunter to chat about his career and recorded it, even though we didn’t know at that point we’d even have a podcast. Those were different times, for sure. This week, we did an online call to talk about his return to the West End stage after nearly 10 months. “Songs for a New World” was the first musical to appear on a stage in London’s West End since lockdown and I was there to witness what was...

After a successful event lighting the Thames-side venues in London (and beyond) in red on August 11, followed by a global day of action on the 30th of September where over 2,300 venues around the world were lit in red...proving that even when there is no show..there IS a show... the next event is already taking place. The Survival Tour. A 1500 km bike ride from Newcastle to London via major cities around England. I sat down with Steve Reynolds from Loud Sound and Mark Ward of Proper...

Tamara von Werthen, Lily McLeish and Josephine Starte are the podcast equivalent of the Three Musketeers - bringing justice and equality to the world of online audio theatrical drama. The Fizzy Sherbert Podcast is an extension of an idea that brought together the brightest female writing, directing and acting talent to the Hackney Attic. When Covid-19 hit, they needed to make sure that the momentum wasn’t lost, so they packed up their trunks and headed online. Fizzy Sherbert Website Fizzy...

What started out as a campaign launched by the Professional Lighting and Sound Association to highlight the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the live events industry has grown into a global movement to keep the issues faced by those industries in the spotlight - both at governmental level and across the general public. We chatted to Nicky Greet from PLASA (Professional Lighting and Sound Association), Koy Neminathan from Avolites and Gavin Eldridge a freelance production manager to talk all...

Georgia Tapp is an inspiration for anyone looking to find their way in the business. She’s done it all because she is a “doer”, and we love “doers” at Curtain Call. Sit back for the next 25 minutes and let Georgia tell you what called her to the theatre, her travels, the final auditions she was undergoing right when the pandemic brought everything to a halt and keeping your voice and body in good nick when you’re not using it every day. Twitter: @GeorgiaMTapp Insta:...

Founded by Stuart Brown in early 2019, Sounds of Broadway has an absolutely full schedule of musicals you love, along with some you may not even have heard about. There’s also weekly quizzes and request shows...not to mention his podcast. Needless to say he is a very busy man. His audience reach is truly global and growing and we were intrigued to find out what he’s planning and just how he manages his days. https://soundsofbroadway.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

A returning guest this week. Playwright David Spicer and host John Schwab have a long history of working together. John directed two of his plays before...Long Live the Made Parade at a regional theatre and “Stop! - The Play” in the West End. Before lockdown, David and John were workshopping a new play. Covid stopped all that, but David didn’t stay still at all. He got to work writing new plays with Northern Comedy Theatre and went about selling tickets for the plays...something that is...

One of our guests this week has already been on the show. Laurence Mark Wythe appeared way back on episode 122 BC (before Covid) He’s not been sitting idle during lockdown, however. Not only has he continued composing, he’s also started his very own podcast called Game of Shows. It’s a fantastic podcast that pits cast members from different West End Shows against each other in a game of knowledge of all things musical. Represented shows include Hamilton, Six, Come From Away, Only Fools and...

In this episode, we revisit our previous episode 39 to give you an encore of a Curtain Call show visit. I talk to the company of Amadeus, recently at The National Theatre, about the process of rehearsing with musicians who never had the opportunity of getting out from behind their instruments. But also had a chance to talk to the musicians about having to get out of their comfort zones and get comfortable with telling the story though movement as well as music.  

When we got a call from The Unicorn Theatre to take part in an R&D week to take it’s hit play “I Cinna (the poet)” and put it online, we jumped at the chance.  It was a fascinating experience to see just what could be achieved on the Zoom platform, and it’s safe to say that today’s guest, lighting and video designer Will Monks, absolutely pushed the boundaries of what could be done remotely. It was a brilliant week and was so successful that they are putting the show on and have already...

So...we’ve passed 100 days in lockdown here in London, and as restrictions ease down around the country for small and non-essential businesses, as of the time of release of this episode, July 1st 2020, there is no specific news for the theatre industry and live entertainment industries as a whole.   We know the pressure and uncertainty that puts on freelancers who work in the industry - and we will be bringing you a special episode with a panel in the very near future. But what about the...

Welcome to No Pressure - a podcast for creatives, theatre makers, artists, and ambitious souls with host, Matt Humphrey, photographer and founder of CurtainCall, In this episode I am so honoured to be talking to producer REBECCA WOOLCOCK - Lead Producer with Hartshorn Hook and Immersive Everywhere. This podcast is all about creators and theatre makers like Rebecca - the people that make things happen, who are up against it every day, and yet you’d never know it.  This is perhaps especially...