MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast

It's Christmas again - but didn't we have one twelve months ago?  Well, just in case Dame Shirley Bassey is correct and it all just a little bit of history repeating, we might as well mark the fact in the traditional MusicalTalk way - with our annual festive quiz!  So, pit your wits against Thos as he attempts to bamboozle, educate, irritate and inform with twelve questions covering 150 years of m...

Travel back one hundred years as MusicalTalk looks at the world of theatre and musical theatre in late 1925 through the prism of the trade press of the period.  Josh and Thos thumb through an actor's newspaper from a century ago and uncover the invisible world of how the profession presented itself to its peers - through lists of classified messages, official notices, general advertisements, ads f...

Join Thos as he talks to the cast and writers of the stunning five star show, The Queen is Mad, about the early 16th Century Spanish monarch known to history as Joanna the Mad - but what if her madness was in fact fury?  Find out how this musical explores if Joanna was genuinely insane or whether she was simply the victim of intrigue and oppression, and how it draws out many contemporary parallels...

This week on MusicalTalk, Nick Hutson and Andrew Keating uncover a forgotten gem of musical theatre history as they sit down with the legendary David Wood to discuss the original ABBA jukebox musical: ABBACADBRA . Long before Mamma Mia! conquered the world, there was ABBACADBRA — a fantastical, family-friendly musical created at the Lyric Hammersmith in the early 1980s, featuring ABBA's music reim...

By Zeus! It's time for MusicalTalks's celebration of our Pick of the Fringe 2025 - the arrestingly titled (and genuinely brilliant) The Real Housewives of the Zombie Apocalypse!  Join Thos as he figuratively feasts on the brains of John Paul Liddle and Hugh Moore, the people behind this amazingly funny, clever, literate, satirical and tuneful modern masterpiece of a musical to find out how it came...

This week on MusicalTalk, Nick and Dom sit down to celebrate one of British musical theatre's most brilliantly bonkers gems: Acorn Antiques . With the recent Hope Mill Theatre production bringing Victoria Wood's cult favourite back into the spotlight, they explore how this new staging honours (and occasionally reimagines) Wood's unmistakable wit, warmth and musical mischief. From the show's origin...

✨ Pop nostalgia meets festive cheer in this lively, laugh-filled episode of MusicalTalk! ✨ This week, Nick and Andrew take a nostalgic step back to the '90s as they discuss  HERE AND NOW — the brand-new Steps musical currently touring around the UK!  Plus, Nick introduces a new voice to the MusicalTalk team — Emily! Emily joins to chat about ELF at the Aldwych Theatre — a festive favourite that...

Join Thos as he revisits a conversation with celebrated songwriter Sue Casson about her seminal musical masterwork, Dreams of Peace and Freedom, currently on a national tour, and learn how this piece has become part of a multiplatform experience entitled Songs of the People.  From Magna Carta to Victorian Scottish land clearances, via the Nuremburg War Trials to Southwark Cathedral in 2025, Songs...

In this reflective episode of MusicalTalk , Nick sits down with Thos to revisit his musical adaptation of Richmal Crompton's classic British short stories:  Just William , first written as his examination piece twenty years ago. Together, they explore how two decades of experience — and a world of new technology (along with nearly 20 years of MusicalTalk !) — have transformed Nick's process as a c...

A digital disaster leads Thos to dig out his old CD collection — and rediscover a world of musicals he'd long forgotten. Nick joins him for a nostalgic spin through the golden age of discs, cassettes and vinyl, celebrating the physical joy of pressing play, turning pages, and uncovering songs that time almost buried. It's a charming conversation about rediscovery, memory, and the music that never...

Join Colm and Thos as they again look at some of the shows you could have seen at this year's EdFringe - including the Queen is Mad, Hot Mess, Annie, High School Musical and Sense - A New Musical About Dementia to name but a few.  With two fabulous songs from the brand new original Edinburgh Cast Recording of the five-star musical The Queen is Mad, you'd be mad to miss it!

Well, how about that? MusicalTalk reaches its 900th episode (and it's 19th birthday)!  Not only that but we're Britain's oldest showbusiness podcast!  To celebrate, we've got a special bumper double-length episode of songs, songs, songs!  Join Thos as he looks into the history of British podcasting, and MusicalTalk's suprisingly important place in it, and then lie back and listen to twenty wonderf...

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 is dead! Long live the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026! But whilst we're waiting, it's time for MusicalTalk to begin its celebrated coverage of all the best musicals you could have seen this August at the world's largest arts festival.  In this episode, Thos and Colm begin with an in-depth appreciation and analysis of two very different but excellent new musicals...

This week, Nick and Hannah lift the silver cloches on a brand-new way to enjoy The Phantom of the Opera — in edible form! They take their seats at the Sofitel London St James's Rose Room to sample the official Phantom of the Opera Afternoon Tea . Join them as they nibble their way through pastries inspired by characters, sandwiches worthy of the Paris Opera House and enough cakes to make even Carl...

Nick and Hannah sit down for a lively discussion spanning three landmark moments in musical theatre history. They celebrate the outrageous brilliance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on its 50th anniversary, reflect on a decade of Hamilton  and share their delight at finally seeing Disney's Frozen captured in a dazzling Pro Shot on Disney+. www.musicaltalk.co.uk  

With all the fun of EdFringe now in full swing, what better way to celebrate the world's biggest arts festival than with another delicious slice of conversation between Thos and Zach Burns, the multitalented perfomer, writer, actor, musician and Fringe veteran! In this fantastic episode, they discuss the eponymously named Fringe! The Musical, the nature of formal musical theatre training, and Zach...

It's EdFringe 2025 time - and in this week's hilarious episode, Thos sits down with the multitalented and very funny Zach Burns to talk about some of his EdFringe experiences including his roles as actor and musical director for (hardy) perennial Fringe favourite, Potty the Plant! There's also insightful discussion on the differences between formal and informal musical training and all types of mu...

In this illuminating episode of MusicalTalk , Nick Hutson sits down with esteemed theatre scholar Professor Robert Gordon to delve into his fascinating new book, The Theatre of Kander and Ebb . Together, they explore the groundbreaking legacy of one of Broadway's most enduring and influential songwriting duos — the brilliant composer John Kander and the incisive lyricist Fred Ebb. From Cabaret to...

With the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe fast approaching, join Thos as he talks to the talented composer and performer, Richard Lewis, about his two hit shows, More Songs for a (Brave) New World and Liberace In His Own Words which are coming back to the Fringe this year after great success in 2024.  They also talk about Richard's role as musical director for other shows, and discuss the time Richa...

As the hit musical, Pop Off Michelangelo, follows its impressive London run with a return to the Edfringe in August 2025, Thos carries on his latest conversation with composer, writer and  modern renaissance man, the hugely talented Dylan Marcaurele.  In this fascinating episode, they discuss the unexpected phenomenon of cultural differences in orchestraton - what exactly makes an orchstration Bri...

Join Thos as he sits down again with Dylan Marcaurele, the talented writer and composter of hit musical, Pop Off Michelangelo! In this illuminating chat, they explore how this wonderful show has changed and developed as it moved from the EdFringe to London and discuss how you give an American show a very British sensibility! Like the lyrics of the opening number say, this is a show which is very i...

Join Thos as he continues his in-depth conversation about the evergreen cult musical favourite, Potty the Plant which opens at the Wiltons Music Hall in East London this week.  With songs from the show and insights into this darkly hilarious musical, as well as more on its sister show, Fringe! the Musical, this is an episode that'll grow on you!

Hoorah! Potty The Plant, which was MusicalTalk's Pick of the Fringe at Edinburgh in 2023, is coming to the legendary Wilton's Music Hall in London in June!  So join Thos as he talks to the people behind this cult comedy musical, Baden Jack Burns, Sarah Burns and Aeddan Sussex, as they discuss how the show has developed in the last few years, as well as their touching but satirical swipe at all thi...

In this week's episode of MusicalTalk , Nick and Hannah share their thoughts hot off the heels of the very first preview of Disney's Hercules , now making its West End debut at the historic Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. From gospel muses to gods on high, they dive into the show's music, staging, and how it adapts (and evolves) the beloved animated film for the stage. Does it go the distance? Has Alan...

MusicalTalk continues its two part tribute to the late Charles Strouse, the legendary composer of Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, I and Albert, All American, Charlotte's Web, All Dogs Go To Heaven, Minsky's, Mayor, Marty, Nick and Nora and so many others! In this episode, Thos and Charles enjoy a charmingly inimate, detailed and honest look at his works and career which paint a perfect picture of...