Following a performance of ANIMAL at the Park Theatre, I was joined by star Christopher John-Slater, playwright Jon Bradfield, cast member Matt Ayleigh, and Joshua Hepple, whose brilliant initial idea made the whole thing happen.
VIDEOS & PHOTOS: ABBA, friendships, the joys of fandom & paying tribute to Paul O’Grady – Terri Paddock hosts a The Way Old Friends Do post-show Q&A
Following the news of Paul O’Grady’s unexpected death, this specific performance of The Way Old Friends Do at London’s Park Theatre was dedicated to the comedian and drag legend, whose voice opens the show. Writer and star Ian Hallard paid tribute to O’Grady before curtain-up, and we started the post-show talk with Ian and director Mark Gatiss recalling how enthusiastically O’Grady recorded his voiceovers – despite not loving ABBA.
VIDEOS & PHOTOS: From Feydeau & farce to internationalism and inclusivity, there’s lots to discuss in the A Tailor for Ladies post-show Q&A
This new production of Georges Feydeau’s early 1886 farce A Tailor for Ladies, which Penny Tomai has translated and co-adapted with director Lee James Broadwood, marks Medley Theatre Company’s debut, with a two-week season at London’s Cockpit Theatre where an international ensemble switches up halfway to allow actors to take on different roles.
VIDEOS & PHOTOS: Clever parallels revealed in Terri Paddock’s post-show discussion at Southwark Playhouse Elephant’s opening show The Walworth Farce
For the first full production at Southwark Elephant, artistic director Chris Smyrnios has cleverly programmed this slick revival of leading Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s The Walworth Farce, which is set nearby, in a council flat on the Walworth Road.
VIDEOS & PHOTOS: Terri Paddock negotiates her way around her post-show Q&A with Winner’s Curse creatives Clive Anderson & Dan Patterson
Winner’s Curse at the Park Theatre, conceived by former diplomat and veteran of countless Middle East negotiations Daniel Taub, is a highly topical piece. It not only lifts the lid on what happens behind closed doors during peace talks but also educates the audience on negotiation theory and allows us to put some of that theory into practice.
VIDEO & PHOTOS: Terri Paddock hosts the One Who Wants to Cross post-show Q&A & asks how migrant matters are being manipulated
A note in the programme for One Who Wants to Cross cites a sobering statistic: according to the 2020 IOM World Migration Report, the number of international migrants, as of June 2019, had reached almost 272 million. That’s 51 million more than were estimated nine years earlier in 2010.
VIDEOS & PHOTOS: Hamlet without the adults? Terri Paddock’s post-show Q&A with Lazarus Theatre explores the youthful version
How central are Gertrude, Claudius and Polonius to the story of Hamlet? If you remove those adult characters – the prince’s mother, uncle/stepfather and the father of his one-time girlfriend, respectively – and the scenes that revolve around them, what are you left with?
‘Typifies the magic of theatre’: Why the West End’s Life of Pi remains so captivating
Not long left to catch Life of Pi in the West End. If you possibly can, I recommend you beg, borrow or steal to get one of the last remaining tickets – or plan ahead now for the five-time Olivier Award-winning play’s 2023/24 tour.
VIDEOS & PHOTOS: A post-show Q&A for Wickies at the Park Theatre delves into one of Scotland’s most enduring mysteries
For the post-show talk for new play Wickies: The Vanishing Men of Eilean Mor at the Park Theatre I was joined by writer Paul Morrissey and his all-Scottish, three-strong cast: Jamie Quinn, Ewan Stewart and Graeme Dalling.
VIDEO & PHOTOS: Theatre & politics make for a thrilling Triggered post-show Q&A
One of the few things I enjoy even more than theatre is talking politics. So chairing a post-show discussion about a brilliant new political play, written and directed by a Westminster insider and lifelong activist, really is my idea of bliss. At the White Bear Theatre, I got to do just that for Triggered, Emma Burnell’s new play about a fictional deselection of a Labour MP ahead of the 2019 General Election.
VIDEO & PHOTOS: A devilish Q&A with the company of Lazarus Theatre’s Doctor Faustus
What might entice you to sell your soul to the devil? Fame? Riches? Immortality? World peace? A rent-free London flat? Four pints of Guinness? At my post-show Q&A for a production of Doctor Faustus, that was an irresistible question to pose to the company. But before that, we covered much else to do concerning adaptation and the creative process, with a lot of fun and laughter.
VIDEO & PHOTOS: A memorable night of both sadness & celebration with the cast & creatives of Proforca’s Flashbang
The death of Queen Elizabeth II was announced just before my arrival at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre. Like the rest of the country, the theatre staff had been braced for the sad news. So the world premiere of Proforca’s Flashbang was preceded by a public address and collective silence.
VIDEO: Exploring history onstage – The End of the Night writer Ben Brown & journalist Kurt Barling discuss how in Park Q&A
What is theatre’s role in exploring political and historical subjects? What echoes are there with contemporary events in Europe? Could The End of the Night be staged in Germany today – or in Russia? For this post-show discussion, Terri Paddock explores these issues with playwright Ben Brown and the award-winning journalist, author and academic Professor Kurt Barling.
VIDEO: How to do romcom in rhyming couplets? Jo & Sam Find Themselves in Woking post-show Q&A
Meeting the right person and starting a new relationship is hard enough, but when you also have to do it in rhyming couplets while searching for the meaning of your life… in Woking – well, it’s that much more challenging.
VIDEO: Who’s in charge in a toxic teenaged relationship? Bacon post-show Q&A
The spark of an idea for award-winning new two-hander Bacon, now in its extended world premiere season at London’s Finborough Theatre, came when playwright Sophie Swithinbank, then working as a nanny, witnessed a bullying incident between two boys in a park.
‘I was fascinated by the story behind the play telling the story behind the film’: THE SHARK IS BROKEN – West End
The Shark Is Broken is the brainchild of Ian Shaw who co-wrote it and stars as his own late father Robert Shaw. It is uncanny just how much Ian looks and sounds like his father.
VIDEO: How did RuPaul inspire a queer canine cabaret? Dog Show post-show Q&A
The premise for the new show is sillier than ever: set (loosely) at Crappersea Dog Pound, the pooches are putting their best paw forward in preparation for the Annual Rehoming Show. Which of them will find a human to accept them into their home?
VIDEO: Did Christopher Marlowe write the plays attributed to Shakespeare? Marlowe’s Fate post-show Q&A
More than four centuries after William Shakespeare died in 1616, aged 52 on his own birthday (23 April), questions remain about the authorship of his prodigious output – including nearly forty plays and more than 150 sonnets.
VIDEO: Can you spot real vs fake iambic pentameter? Doing Shakepeare post-show Q&A
As much as it was possible for anyone the arts, Northern Comedy Theatre had a very good pandemic. When all performing arts venues closed, rather than wrap up their work, they ramped up.
VIDEO: What are you willing to do for $1 million? Indecent Proposal post-show Q&A
More specifically in this story: would you have sex with a stranger if they paid you $1 million? And, for those in relationships, would you be tormented if your partner did?