Curtain Call Podcast

The Evening Standard Theatre Awards shortlist was revealed with two cast members from The Ferryman among those nominated. Laura Donnelly has been nominated for Best Actress and Tom Glynn-Carney for the Emerging Talent Award. Curtain Call paid a visit to The Ferryman when it was on at The Royal Court, just as they announced their transfer to The Gielgud in London's West End. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have seen a recent spate of high profile actresses making acceptance speeches at awards nights - highlighting the unequal representation of actresses on stage and screen and the need to redress the balance. It kicked off in earnest with Denise Gough at the 2017 Olivier Awards, actor Jimmy Nesbit even chipped in at the BAFTA TV awards, and is continuing as witnessed by Deirdre Mullins’ speech after picking up a Best Actress in Film award at the Scottish BAFTA’s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few months ago, we went over to the ENO London Coliseum to take in the theatre spectacle that is Bat Out of Hell: The Musical. It started in Manchester before moving down to London, and last weekend the entire London company started their run in Toronto at the Mirvish Theatre. Bat Out of Hell is like nothing I have ever seen...or heard. The sound system in that theatre was incredible. And there were so many people in that production, that, for the first time, I had to have help to make sure that we talked to as many of the company as possible. Theo Bosanquet, who you have heard on this podcast before, and I spoke to scores of people that night, and we hope to have the majority of that content up on our site soon. This week, I thought I would bring you the full chat I had with Sharon Sexton, who plays Sloane in the show. We talked about everything from being in such a physically demanding show, various states of dress and how a musical theatre actor can keep their voice in tact during a long run of a show that’s such a big sing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were fortunate enough to find time with multi award-winning lighting designer Paule Constable, an associate of the National Theatre where her many credits include Follies, Angels in America, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and War Horse.She talked to Theo Bosanquet and Matt Humphrey about her serendipitous entry into the profession, her design process and collaborations with directors including Marianne Elliott, and how she feels the industry can improve in regards to gender and diversity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Curtain Call attended The Mono Box September Speech Surgery and talked to Niall Bishop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have been waiting to chat to my next guest for ages! I first met Olivia Williams when I was understudying Matthew Fox in Neil Labute’s two-hander “In a Forest Dark and Deep” back in 2011, and have had the privilege to share the stage with her on numerous Word Theatre stages around London. I am in AWE of her talent. Olivia doesn’t just play characters, she inhabits them. Rosemary Cross in Rushmore or Anna Crowe in The Sixth Sense to Miss Stubbs in An Education. On screen, you just believe her. And that’s brilliant acting. As for her on stage exploits...she’s such a powerhouse. And she's going from strength to strength in her latest production "Mosquitoes" at the National Theatre in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Curtain Call had the privilege of attending a Q&A after a performance of Man to Man at the Wilton's Music Hall this week. A fascinating discussion with Director Bruce Guthrie and Translator Alexandra Wood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's podcast was recorded in the press room of The Stage Debut Awards, where winners and guest presenters spoke to Curtain Call's Theo Bosanquet about their own debuts. The answers were touching and surprising in equal measure (suffice it to say, we're keen to see Rufus Norris reprise his performance of a chicken). Guests you'll here from include Preeya Kalidas, Dan Gillespie Sells, Grace Moloney, Noma Dumezweni, Christina Bennington, Abraham Popoola, Lekan Lawal, Rufus Norris, Nica Burns and Kenneth Cranham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I thought I would sit down with the Casting Directors Guild and find out just what it means to be a casting director. What it means to have those three little letters (CDG) following your name, and the path one takes to become a casting director in today's industry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's podcast is all about gender, a hot topic both in the news headlines and the arts world currently. It features a conversation with Camden People's Theatre (CPT) artistic director Brian Logan and acclaimed writer/director Lucy J Skilbeck.CPT is about to launch its festival Come As You Are, which features 'a host of gender-anarchists with more questions than answers'. Theo Bosanquet went along to find out more about it, and Skilbeck's new play Bullish, which is headlining the festival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices