We talk to Janique Charles, Disney’s The Lion King’s new Nala, to find out how she got the role, what it’s like to work for Disney and, ultimately, how it feels to be part of the world’s most successful musical.
Category Archive: Interviews
For all the latest theatre gossip and exciting news stories from the people closest to the action, you’re in the right place!
And How To Ask The Big Questions Via Science Fiction Musical Theatre.
Astronaut John Spartan has finally made it into space…
Scenes From the End is a powerful solo opera starring the virtuosic Héloïse Werner. Described by Classic FM as “extraordinary” we were dying to know more about this gifted performer, so we met Héloïse to delve deeper into the highly unusual world of opera-for-one, and discovered a truly unique talent with a flair for the dramatic and a gift for communication.
Hi Héloïse. How would you describe your style of performance?
West End stars of This House, playing now at the Garrick Theatre discuss their characters, which MP they’d date and their post-Brexit hopes and fears
We stepped out with Angela Griffin and Tracy-Ann Oberman and asked them to share their dance secrets with us before opening night!
We ask the stars of West End hit Peter Pan Goes Wrong to share their on-stage, backstage and real life disasters!
When Ruth inherits her Aunt’s hair salon, she gets more than she bargained for: Belligerent blue-rinsers demanding their weekly shampoo & set, an untimely visit from Health and Safety and a snooty judge from FAB HAIR all pale into insignificance with the discovery of a dead body under the drier!
Have you ever thought about writing for children? Do you have a Fantastic Mr Fox, James and the […]
Mark Dooley is an Australian Film & TV Producer who has worked on shows ranging from I’m A Celebrity to Gogglebox. Mark’s new documentary, Repeat Attenders, delves deep in to the world of Musical Theatre Superfans: fans who take theatregoing to a whole new level.
In the latest of our interviews with the UK’s top theatre bloggers, we asked Ian Foster who writes the excellent oughttobeclowns blog to share his thoughts on blogging for theatre.
Ring the buzzer of a little black door just off Leicester Square, climb a flight of stairs and you may just glimpse the future of Musical Theatre: Perfect Pitch, a UK Theatre Company dedicated to the creation and development of the New British Musical. The passionate and focused team behind Perfect Pitch is husband and wife Andy and Wendy Barnes – and if you’re serious about British Musicals you’d do well to remember their names.
Hi both. How did Perfect Pitch begin and how did you meet?
If you’ve ever wondered how a West End Musical makes the leap from the page to the stage, then you’ll love our interview with Olivier Award winning writer, David Wood. From Goodnight Mister Tom to Fantastic Mr Fox, David’s career writing & adapting for Theatre and Children’s Literature spans six decades. His latest show, The Go-Between opens next week at the Apollo Theatre starring Michael Crawford.
Hello David. Can you tell us how The Go-Between became a West End musical?
Ever thought about writing a theatre blog? In the past, we’ve chatted with top bloggers Mark Shenton and Libby Purves OBE about how they got started. Now, Matt Trueman, regular contributor to The Guardian, New Statesman, Time Out and The Stage has agreed to share his insider tips with us!
- How bloggers get started?
- How long should a review be?
- Which blogs do the bloggers read?
- How long do bloggers spend blogging?
- Why it’s not always about the big hit shows.
Hi Matt! When did you start writing a blog and what do you wish you’d known then?
One Singular Sensation: The secret that could have saved the Dinosaurs has just gone viral. We met the man behind an instant Jurassic Classic – The Dancing T-Rex!
*Update – The Stage Review recently announced that Michael will be reprising the role of Joe Gillis on Broadway in 2017*
It’s the role every West End leading man wanted: On 1st April 2016 Michael Xavier will step onto the stage of the London Coliseum to play Joe Gillis opposite Hollywood Icon Glenn Close in Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Sunset Boulevard. We joined this most charming of West End heart-throbs for lunch to talk Hollywood legends and life-changing moments.
Cassidy Janson is currently blowing audiences away as Carole King in hit West End musical Beautiful. Appropriately, we met Cassidy on one of the windiest days of the year!
Cassidy, thanks for making it through a tornado to talk to us. You must be up to your eyes in Beautiful’s first birthday celebrations?
Yes, everything happens at once. It’s blowing a gale outside…and of course it’s today that both the washing machine and the TV decide to break down!
Ever thought about writing a theatre blog? Even seasoned bloggers sometimes need some expert guidance, so we were utterly thrilled when BBC broadcasting legend and theatre critic Libby Purves OBE agreed to share a few of her insider tips with us.
Tips like:
- How bloggers get started?
- How long should a review be?
- Which blogs do the bloggers read?
- How long do bloggers spend blogging?
- Why it’s not always about the big hit shows.
In the first of a series of interviews with the West End’s top Theatre writers and bloggers, we meet Mark Shenton. Mark co-founded MyTheatreMates.com with friend Terri Paddock, a site which is building a big network of great bloggers and has some terrific contributors.
Mark is associate editor of The Stage, as well as joint lead critic. He has written regularly for The Stage since 2005, including a daily online column.
Hi Mark and thanks for the interview. When did you start writing a blog and what do you wish you’d known back then?
This week we met the enchanting Gemma Sutton who has been wowing audiences in hit West End show Gyspy as Rose’s daughter June and now takes over from Lara Pulver in the role of Louise, a character who undergoes a chrysalis-like transformation to become the complex and eponymous Gypsy.
There’s still time to catch Chichester Festival Theatre’s jaw-dropping West End transfer of possibly the greatest of all American Musical, Gypsy. The show is booking until 28th November at the Savoy Theatre and features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Hi Gemma. You’ve been playing June since Gypsy started – when did you take over the role of Louise?
When we last met Murray Lane he was stuck in a lift with Patti Lupone seconds from disaster in Sunset Boulevard. In the second part of our exclusive two part showbiz interview , we talk to the man who dressed Lee Evans in The Producers, once revealed a nearly naked Oliver Thornton in Priscilla, and is now leaving Oompa-Loompas in stitches on a nightly basis at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Hi Murray – tell us about your current show…
Right now I’m working on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – I can’t believe it’s been two years! I actually started 3 weeks after the show opened. Before that, I was on Viva Forever!
