Colm and Thos conclude the MusicalTalk in-depth review of the 2024 EdFringe by looking at three of the most diverse and different shows that you could have seen in Scotland this summer - Mary Mary Quite Contrary, a spoof musical about 1960s and 70s moral campaigner, Mary Whitehouse; Behind the Curtain, a hugely charming youth musical giving us a co…

Join Nick and Hannah as they dive into the movie adaptation of Wicked! They share their thoughts on how it stacks up against the beloved stage production and debate the decision to release it in two parts. Then, they take a sharp turn into Neverland with a glittering review of Peter Pan by Tuckshop. This fabulous drag pantomime is playing every Mon…

Four songs, three shows, two full EdFringe musicals on YouTube, one discussion but not quite yet a partridge in a pear tree. Instead, Colm and Thos discuss a disturbing trend at the 2024 EdFringe relating to straw men and amoral behaviour, before turning their attention to three rather impressive new musicals - Crispr! The Gene Editing Musical, A J…

Songs! Reviews! Insights! Exclamation Marks! All these things can be yours in this week's episode of MusicalTalk as we continue our in-depth look at some of the best musical theatre offerings from the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In this punctuation-filled episode, Thos chats to Colm about some of the shows that caught their eyes (and ears) this…

MusicalTalk continues its unrivalled analysis of some of the best of the 2024 EdFest musicals as Mike and Thos look at two very different shows linked by questions of status - A Jaffa Cake Musical and The Greatest Musical the World Has Ever Seen by Randy Thatcher. Hear songs and discussion and find out if writing a show within constraints can actua…

Hoorah! It's time for MusicalTalk's annual in-depth delve into the wonderful world of EdFringe musical theatre, and this week Thos and Mike look at three hilarious, touching and intriguing musicals that you could have seen at this summer's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Under the microscope this week are: The Emu War, the Wellbrick Centre on Roswell Dr…

In this insightful episode of MusicalTalk, Nick and Hannah gaze into the crystal ball of musical theatre to explore where the industry is heading. From emerging trends in storytelling and musical styles to the impact of rising ticket prices, they dissect the forces shaping the future of the stage. Will immersive experiences take centre stage? How m…

Stop the World! It's time for another edition of MusicalTalk! And as Come From Away continues its successful national tour of both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Josh and Thos sit down to discuss the recent London production, which clocked up over a thousand joyous performances and sent scores of people home with a smile on their f…

With everyone's favourite, uplifting and joyous Canadian musical, Come From Away, on national tour, Thos chats to David Kingsmill about what makes this show so successful - and international - whilst retaining a distinctively Newfoundland flavour (and we don't mean when you kiss a fish).Af www.musicaltalk.co.uk

In this special episode, host Nick Hutson revisits an exclusive interview from the archives with the late Gavin Creel, recorded during his time starring as Bert in the West End production of Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre. With Gavin’s recent and unexpected passing at the age of 48—an event that stunned the theatre industry—this intervie…

Josh and Thos are back with another look at two more shows that were part of the amazing 2024 summer of musicals in London: this time, both shows are linked by railway connections but with completely different styles and tone - Hadestown and Starlight Express. How far do these shows rework their original source material of Orpheus and Eurydice and.…

It's been a summer of blockbuster musical theatre shows in London, and this week Josh and Thos take a close look at just two of the amazing productions on offer. In this episode, it's time to concentrate on two shows named after significant female characters - with Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate and Jerry Herman's Hello Dolly under the microscope. Can …

In this bumper episode of MusicalTalk, Nick and Hannah dive into the magic of Matilda the Musical, reflecting on its ongoing success at the Cambridge Theatre and exploring why it continues to captivate audiences of all ages. They also discuss Why Am I So Single – the brand-new musical from the creators of Six, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. Meanwhile, …

The Boys Are Back In Town! With Rodgers and Hart's effervescent 1938 musical, The Boys from Syracuse packing 'em in at the Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre in Highgate, Thos and Benjamin Levy continue their wonderful conversation about the role of the Musical Director and how to orchestrate a classic-era show. But with Benjamin's view that "Lorenz…

With Rodgers and Hart's sparkling 1938 Golden Age musical, The Boys From Syracuse, returning to London at the Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre in Highgate, Thos sits down for a wonderful conversation with the production's Musical Director and Orchestrator, the very talented Benjamin Levy. Learn why it's important for the MD to "push hope through i…

Hoorah! Harooh! The golden era of musical theatre returns to London with a revival of 1938's Rodgers and Hart's classic musical comedy, The Boys From Syracuse, opening at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, in Highgate in September 2024. In a three part in-depth look at the show and its solid gold score by one of the greatest songwriting teams of the twenti…

In this special episode of MusicalTalk, host Nick Hutson takes you behind the scenes with the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT), a prestigious organisation that has been nurturing the talents of young performers for over four decades. Founded in 1976, the NYMT has a storied history of launching the careers of some of the UK's brightest stars in m…

In this delightful episode of MusicalTalk, Hannah takes us on a magical ride through her recent experience of the UK tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Torquay... but how does it compare to the original production at The London Palladium? Nick, who saw the show in its West End heyday 22 years ago, joins the conversation with his nostalgic reflectio…

Welcome listeners! It's so nice to hace you back where you belong! In this episode, Nick and Hannah dive into their first-ever experience of the classic musical, Hello Dolly, sharing their fresh and vibrant takes. But that's not all—Nick had the exclusive opportunity to attend an open rehearsal of the buzzworthy new musical, WHY AM I SO SINGLE?, br…

Nick and Hannah dive into the world of musical theatre, each sharing their unique experiences with two iconic shows. Hannah recounts her thrilling first-time experience of seeing the cult classic "Little Shop of Horrors" on stage during its UK tour. Meanwhile, Nick takes a trip down memory lane as he revisits "Starlight Express" now playing at the …

It's the last episode of our three part look at the role of melodrama in musical theatre, and today Josh joins Thos to talk about the show that explicitly takes the tropes and characters of melodrama and turns them topsy-turvy - Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore, and specifically a recent production at London's home of Victorian musicals, Wilton's M…

With the recent acclaimed revival of Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls (subtitled "The Victorian Melodrama") in London's atmospheric Wilton's Music Hall, join Colm and Thos as they continue their exploration of the history of melodrama and how it informs modern musical theatre in a multitude of ways. In this episode they dissect the original Sw…

Did melodrama die with Queen Victoria - or has it sneakily survived into 21st century culture? Join Thos and Colm as they look at the unexpectedly wide scope of melodrama in musical theatre both historically and today: concentrating on the recent revival of Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls at the Wiltons Music Hall in London, we take you on a …

Moulin Rouge! The Musical - Hits and Misses Join Nick and Hannah as they delve into the vibrant and glittering world of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. In this episode, our hosts discuss the highs and lows of this stage adaptation, starting with its lavish visual elements and captivating tangos that leave audiences spellbound. However, not everything th…

Thos sits down to talk with award-winning bookwriter, lyricist, composer and playwright, Jenny Stafford, about her poignant one woman musical, Color Inside the Lines, which won Best Solo Show at the Denver Fringe and impressed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2021 and 2022. With songs from the score and in-depth conversation about the creative p…

In this week's episode, you can enjoy songs from Jingle Street, the five star hit musical from the 2023 EdFringe, and hear insights and observations from its writer, lyricist, producer, director, choreographer, assistant director and one of the lead actors on what it takes to create and develop a show for the Fringe and beyond, particularly as a ne…

It's songs galore and laughs aplenty as Thos talks to the talented people behind Chordstruck Theatre about their hit shows, On Your Bike (Winner of the Best Musical at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2021) and Jingle Street (Five Stars from MusicalTalk, EdFringe 2023). It's a lovely, insightful and fun filled conversation about the collective crea…

Join Thos as he talks with Shaye Poulton Richards, the talent behind the EdFringe success, Lies All The Way Down - a New Chamber Musical, a show that uses polyphonic sounds beyond the usual soundscape provided by a quartet to create the intense atmosphere needed for a pyschological thriller exploring the friend we make and the lies we tell. And hea…

Wicked has been playing in the West End for over 15 years so Nick thought it was about time that Hannah sees the show - so they did. With the film coming out next year it seems the right time to discuss the show, its legacy and - more importantly - what it's like seeing it nowadays with very little knowledge of it! Does it live up to the hype? Is i…

Nick and Hannah discuss a myriad of musicals that they've seen in the last year including The Witches, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Book of Mormon, Aladdin and more!

In 2020 Coronavirus threatened to kill opera! By 2022, only one man could save it - using his one person production of La Serva Padrona - where baroque meets 1970s funk in a new English version of Pergolesi's 1733 comic masterpiece. Thos joins the extremely talented musical academic and performer, David William Hughes, to discuss the third of his h…

Nick has a large collection of theatre programmes which acts as a wonderful topic generator! Nick digs through it to discuss, with Hannah, many shows from the past. Shows discussed include Let it Be, Forbidden Planet, Riverdance, Derren Brown, Saturday Night Ever, Mary Poppins, Rock Hamlet, Grand Hotel, Sweeney Todd and others!…

What is musical theatre? It's a big questions and Thos is asking it. Can a show be a musical without words? Can a show be a musical without music? Is there any point in actually trying to define what makes a musical anyway? And as an illustration of how wide musical theatre can really be, Thos talks to the talented people behind five-star EdFringe …

Join Nick Hutson as he sits down with composer Alan Menken to discuss Hercule's current production in Hamburg, Germany. Learn about the new songs, direction and history of the show. You can also hear Alan talk about collaborating, processes and the legacy of the late Howard Ashman

In this episode, Thos talks to the multi-talented actor, writer and composer, Asher Muldoon, about his wonderful five star show, Mine - A Solo Ghost Story Musical - a multi-layered masterpiece of musical story telling. How do you make a ghost story also function as a comedy? How do you read an audience to amend your performance? And how do both Son…

With the joyous news of the return of Potty the Plant to the EdFringe in 2024, join Thos as he talks to the three people behind this quirky, subversive and hiliarous musical to discuss all things Potty. Find out about its journey from short film to five-star theatre musical cult and what made it the MusicalTalk's Pick of the Edinburgh Fringe in 202…

Join hosts Nick Hutson and Hannah Budd on a captivating journey through London's theatrical landscape as they dive into the vibrant worlds of Opening Night at the Gielgud Theatre and Priscilla: The Party at the Outernet Venue. In this episode of MusicalTalk, Nick shares his first impressions of Priscilla, delving into the glitz, glamour, and unexpe…

Join host Nick Hutson as he delves into the soul-stirring world of gospel music in musical theatre, in a captivating conversation with renowned YouTuber and gospel enthusiast Jaron M. LeGrair. In this episode of MusicalTalk, they explore the powerful impact of gospel music on various Broadway shows, from the unexpected twists in "Little Shop of Hor…

So, here we are with our long awaited conversation about Sondheim's last new musical (probably), appropriately called "Here We Are" and the big question is - is it a success? Thos chats to MusicalTalk's resident Sondheim expert, Colm, who saw the show twice in New York at its off-Broadway venue, the Shed, and who certainly thinks so. But is absurdi…

It's time to walk in the joint to see what those big spenders, Tom and Thos, have to say about the evergreen musical, Sweet Charity, and in particular the 1969 big screen version directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse - all part of their in-depth delve into his amazing career. Is the Rich Man's Frug the most Fosse-esque dance sequence ever committ…

What good is sitting alone in your room when you could do it in the company of Tom and Thos? This week, they continue their in-depth look at the career of the legendary Bob Fosse, movie musical director and choreographer, by looking at his amazing 1972 film, Cabaret. Why is it so different to the original stage production? Who is the film really ab…

Join Tom and Thos as they take an in-depth look at the career of the legendary movie musical director and choreographer, Bob Fosse, through the lens of his three musical films - Sweet Charity, Cabaret and All That Jazz. How far did he take the ideas behind his choreography and then use them to inform his directorial decisions - and does it work? In…

Nick and Thos chat about their theatrical experiences in 2023 - featuring talk on Mrs Doubtfire, Groundhog Day. The Great British Bake Off, The Wizard of OZ, The Peter Pan Palladium Pants,

Nick and Thos chat about their theatrical experiences in 2023 - featuring talk on The Witches, Crazy for You, Mamma Mia - The Party, Guys and Dolls and Immersive theatre as whole!

Nick and Thos chat about their theatrical experiences in 2023 - featuring talk on Newsies, Sunset Boulevard, Old Friends, The Time Traveller’s Wife.

As we wave the year goodbye, it’s time for our traditional MusicalTalk festive quiz. So leave your turkey in the fridge, turn off the irritating round of Christmas songs and leave a “go away” sign for any carol singers, and then enjoy this merry mix of quirky questions and superb songs compiled for your diversionary pleasure by that ridiculous old …

Nick and Hannah discuss THE WITHCES - now playing at the National Theatre. Based on the classic Roald Dahl novel - how does it live up to various adaptations? Please note - this episode was recorded in early November and, therefore, discusses a very early preview production.

In this song-filled bumper edition, the talented John Paul Liddle chats to Thos about his love for the wonderful musical, No Way to Treat a Lady, by Douglas J. Cohen, and also the latest version of his five star EdFringe hit, Vote Macbeth. You’ll be laughing all the way to the Banquo!

It’s time for part two of Thos’ chat with the talented Sam Cochrane and Alex Prescot, the people behind Runesical, the 2022 EdFringe hit about its ingenious new online “make your own adventure” Youtube musical version that you can watch now.