MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast

It's time to look at two of the big name shows at this year's EdFringe in detail, so join Thos and Josh (and another Josh to add to the fun) to discuss returning classic, Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder, and also new show, Hello Kitty Must Die!   

The 2023 EdFringe has just closed but Thos, Colm & Josh were there to catch as many musicals as they could!  With songs, sounds and extracts of interviews with writers, composers, lyricists, performers, directors, choreographers and so many more creatives who brought musicals old and new to the largest arts festival in the world, here's a digest of the best of the Fringe for lovers of musical thea...

Nick is joined by Robert to discuss The Wizard of OZ and Mrs Doubtfire.  

Thos sits down with Becky Owen-Fisher and Tom Fox, the creative minds behind Lamphouse Theatre, to discuss their "brilliantly bonkers" comic show, War of the Worlds (On a Budget) – an entirely new musical version of the HG Wells science fiction classic.  Ulla! (note: episode may not be suitable for martians!).

Thos chats to the people behind last years EdFringe success, There's No Mystery in Murder!, about their show and the difficulty of writing a musical which is also a whodunit.

Thos chats to John Paul Liddle about his amazing new musical take on the famous Shakespearian Scottish Play, called Vote Macbeth! which reimagines the story as a contemporary political thriller.  Fifteen years in the making, hear how this interactive show invites you to decide who should rule – the strong but murderous Macbeth or his arch rival, the flamboyant Fleancé.   And there's a chance to he...

Andrew Edwards sits down with Rob Bagnall - who's one of the biggest fans and experts on the Rocky Horror Show to discuss the show.

Nick shares his thoughts on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - that's currently touring around the UK and Ireland! 

Nick and Dom share their thoughts on every episode of Apple TV+'s wonderful musical series "Schmicago" - the second series of Schmigadoon! 

Thos chats to Sam Woof and Màth Roberts of Goya Theatre about their wonderful - but very different musicals – the (deliberate) musical catastrophe "Don't Say Macbeth" and the Generation Z musical, " Sex With Friends   (And Other Tiny Catastrophes)".  

Thos chats to Melanie Gall, biographer of Deanna Durbin, about her one woman show "Ingenue: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and the Golden Age of Hollywood" to learn how "Winnipeg's Sweetheart", Deanna Durbin, became the biggest star of musical films in the 1930s, surpassing even her occasional co-star, Judy Garland, but also how she deliberately disappeared completely from view – and from memory.

Nick, Thos, Dom, Jonathan and Harrison are presented with a musical from each decade by AI and are expected to talk about it...  so expect a lot of chat about a lot of shows, a lot of arguments about a lot of shows, a lot of questionable facts about a lot of shows and, most importantly, a lot of fun talk about a lot of shows!

Join Thos as he talks to Ilona Sell, the director of the wonderful new show, Living With Sin – a thoroughly modern story with a contemporary take on the fabled Seven Deadly Sins.  There's a chance to hear songs from the score and to hear a wonderful conversation about the sins being less deadly than you might think…

Thos chats to the directors, producer and star of the rather brilliant 2022 EdFringe production of Sondheim's Company and in particular about how they approached this versatile and ever changing show. With an in-depth discussion about the different ways that the main role can be characterised and made to escape from their 1970s origins to be relevant to 21 st Century attitudes, Bobby, we've been t...

MusicalTalk heads for the centre of the musical theatre universe this week as Thos chats to Colm about his recent trip to Broadway – and the many shows he saw there.  You'll get a lot of " hi-de-hi and boopah-doo" in this lively discussion on the Great White Way.

Nick is joined by Robert as they talk about  STANDING AT THE SKY'S EDGE and SYLVIA plus tributes to Barry Humphries and Paul O'Grady.  Nick and Harrison share live thoughts on AIN'T TOO PROUD - now playing at The Prince Edward Theatre. 

Carrying on with our tribute to the Polka Theatre for Children - Nick sits down with associate director Roman Stefanski.  Hear his thoughts on the show he's directed over the years, writing and directing for children and how important this theatre is to him and everyone else! 

As the BFI retrospective of the wide career of Gingers Rogers continues, here's a chance to hear the second part of a conversation between Thos and Miles Eady as they discuss the series of ten Ginger and Fred musicals – in particular the Gershwin masterpiece, Shall  We Dance (1937), and their last "reunion" film, the Barclays of Broadway (1949) – and exactly why Ginger was a creative force in her...

As the BFI launches a major retrospective of the career of Gingers Rogers, Thos talks to film writer, Miles Eady, to discuss this versatile and talented actress who became legendary in the 1930s for working with Busby Berkeley, Fred Astaire, George Gershwin, Dorothy Fields, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and many others in the most important musical films of the first musicals golden age, the 1930s.

Nick talks to Helen and Lynette from the Polka Theatre for Children and takes you on a virtual guided tour discussing its history, future and re-development.  Hear what makes this theatre so important for so many children in London! 

Join Thos and Tim for an in-depth conversation about the wonderful 2019-20 UK National Tour of Curtains and what precisely makes this show so impressive. You could say that it's the Kander & Ebb show that's about Cioffi - but not in a cardboard cup!

It's time to join Thos as he surveys one of the best musical comedies of the last two decades – Kander & Ebb's wonderful Curtains.  This week he chats to the people behind the fantastic production which could be seen at last summer's Edinburgh Fringe to get a sense of not just the nuts and bolts of putting on a demanding spectacle of a show but also how they interpret the text in hand: In short, i...

Nick talks to Jonathan Rockefeller about his production of Disney's Winnie the Pooh that's soon to open at the Riverside Studios before embarking upon a UK tour! 

Nick chats to Natasha Hodgson, Zoe Roberts, David Cumming and Felix Hagan about their musical "Operation Mincemeat" that will soon be opening at the Fortune Theatre in London's West end.  Hear how a show about a young group of people taking a risk was created by a young group of people taking a risk! 

Thos again pays tribute to the late Kit Hesketh-Harvey, one of Britain's most talented and eclectic theatrical personalities. In this episode, we hear Kit talking about the more serious, passionate and romantic side of his nature as he discusses his modernised version of La Traviata which wowed the critics in 2012.