Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of All That Chat. My name is Daz Gale, the Daz in All That Dazles, and this is your one stop shop for all things theatre. This week, I'm joined by one of my favourite people, the wonderful Rob Madge. We'll be talking about their amazing career so far, and then we'll be sticking around to talk about the importance of Fringe and Regional Theatres in this week's Hot Topic. In this week's reviews, I'll be covering the current UK tour of a major musical, and a West End transfer of an acclaimed play that was years in the making, among others.
Before I get into all that, let's go over the latest news in theatre. Gather round old sports as the casting for one of the most hotly anticipated new musicals of the year has been announced. After wowing audiences on Broadway, The Great Gatsby is bringing the party to London for a limited run at the London Coliseum from April, and the cast is stacked. Jamie Muscato leads the pack as Jay Gatsby, alongside the always amazing Frances Mayli McCann as Daisy Buchanan. Sound impressive?
That's only the start. The cast also includes Rachel Tucker, John Owen Jones, Jon Robyns, Amber Davies, Joel Montague, and Corbin Bleu, as in High School Musical star Corbin Bleu, making his London stage debut. I went along to a launch event last week as the cast were announced, and was treated to two songs from the show. Let me tell you, my mind was blown. Jamie Muscato singing for her is a gift from God.
This show has just become the one I'm looking forward to most this year. With a bit of luck, you'll be hearing a lot more about Gatsby on the future all that chat. I'm just waiting for the green light. Gatsby isn't the only bits of Broadway crossing the pond, as the Tony Award winning Aaron Tveit will be blessing London audiences with his talents once again, performing two concerts at the iconic London Palladium on April. Last seen in The UK for a fleeting appearance at My Favourite Things, the Rodgers and Hammerstein eightieth anniversary concert back in 2023.
His credits to his name include Wicked, Moulin Rouge, Next to Normal, and Sweeney Todd. So expect to be treated to some musical theatre classics and be wowed by his phenomenal voice. That's not the only concert announcement this week. Disney fans, get ready to ring the bells in celebration as the Hunchback of Notre Dame is heading to London for the very first time. For two performances only, the musical will take over the Prince Edward Theatre, usually home to MJ the Musical, though don't expect to see Quasimodo moonwalking across the stage.
Although if producer Jack Maple is listening, there are worse ideas. You can catch the concert on the August 17. Casting is to be announced, but tickets are already running low out there. If you're wondering when I will stop trying to shoehorn song titles in at a desperate attempt of a pun, the answer is someday. The What's On Stage Awards took place last week.
Now in its twenty fifth year, it was held at the London Palladium hosted by sisters Gina and Maz Murray, who proved absolutely hilarious throughout. The chemistry between them was every bit as fantastic as you would expect. I will be needing them to get their own show soon. They did mention how much they'd love to star in Deck becomes so when it inevitably makes a leap to London, and I would be here for that. It wasn't just about Gina and Mas Mari, though.
The night saw performances from Mean Girls, who took the prize of best new musical, as well as the return of five concerts from the past year for encore performances in an extended medley, including Something Rotten, which won the category of best concert. That led to its writer asking if we wanted to see the show in the West End. Yes, please. It really was an amazing concert as I think I've said on this podcast before. The standout performance though was the first Taste of Dishes open air theater production of Shucked with a performance of Independently Owned that nearly took the roof off the Palladium.
If you haven't seen it yet, I've posted that video on all my socials and it is worth watching. That production is going to be special. The big winner of the night was Starlight Express, winning seven awards over the night. Even if Andrew Lloyd Webber did announce on stage, it wasn't the greatest musical, Not a thing you should really say when you've won an award, but that's Good Old Andy for you. Chichester Festival Theatre have announced their upcoming season, and it's pretty good.
Would you expect anything less from the theater that has given us incredible productions of Oliver, Crazy Few, and South Pacific in recent years? One of the highlights of the season is a brand new production of Irving Berlin's Top Hat, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. It's not the only musical this year, though, as Rachel Joyce's best selling novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Howard Fry, has been adapted for the stage with music and lyrics by Passenger, who's perhaps best known for his huge hit single, Let Her Go. Mark Addie and Jenna Russell star in this world premiere. Other highlights in the season include Tom Rosenthal starring in The Government Inspector, Natalie Dormer in Anna Karenina, Giles Torera in Hamlet, and a new play called Safe Space written by Jamie Bogueo, who is perhaps best known for originating the role in Christian in the West End production of Moulin Rouge.
This week's guest is someone I absolutely adore. You may have seen them when they were a kid in shows such as Les Mis and Oliver, not the current production obviously, but most of you will know them from their incredible show, My Sons Are Queer, But What Can You Do? As well as their terms in the Palladium pantomime and their always hilarious videos on social media. It's of course the one and only Rob Madge.
What a marvelous introduction. I tried. Thanks, Daz. Lovely to be here.
Yeah. Nice to see you as always. Likewise. So I'd like to start with a quick fire getting to know you. So could you start by telling me nothing to be scared about, don't worry. Could you start by telling me the first show you ever saw or remember seeing, your favorite show, and your favorite show tune?
The first show I have like hazy memory of it was either Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at London Palladium in 02/2002, or it was a panto at the Birmingham Hippodrome. I'm not sure what came first, the chicken or the egg, but either way, both were cool because the pants, I think, had Julian Clary in it or it was at the Palladium and I've ended up, doing both, not doing either of them. But
that's what we say. Full circle.
Yes. Yeah. So it was, it was one of those two. Okay. What was the other one?
Oh, fit your favorite show and your favorite show tune.
Favorite show is acorn antiques, the musical. And if you don't know what that is, it's all on YouTube, and I would highly advise researching Victoria Woods Acorn Antiques musical if you are interested in comedy. It's a masterpiece. And my favorite show tune, I really love that the final song in Sister Act. What's that one called again?
Oh, god.
My favorite song, and I can't remember the type. Spread the love around. Oh, it's lovely. I think the Sister Act soundtrack and the Legally Blonde soundtrack are some of the finest examples of contemporary musical theater.
I mean, you tested me then because I love Sister Acts, but I did I could not name the final song for the for the life of me. I know Sister Act is near the end, but
It's one of those songs that you watch it and you feel moved and it's not a sad song, but it's just so uplifting seeing all the nuns in their little rhinestones, wimples. Gosh. What a time to be alive.
Now I wanna see that show again and it's not on anymore. Sure. Go back.
Go to Australia. It's on an Australia.
We'll just get Beverly now once a year. Just come back as part of the contract. Just come back once a year, do it for a couple of months and that's it. Just give it to you.
You can put a word in it. The Olivier, she's hosting it. Isn't she? So make sure that you're assisting. From my
seat in the gods, I shout, I'll heckle her. I'll shout it out.
Yeah. Beth, give us your Dolores. Yeah.
That way, I don't know where that was gonna go then. So we know that your love affair started at an early age. How did you first get into theater?
I first got into theater by my, the hobby that I had as a kid was, was dressing up simple as I just liked wearing fancy dress and I do little shows at home, but I didn't even think there was shows. It was just playing. It was my version of play. And then my parents thought that maybe that's clearly what I was most interested in. So they, they got me into stage coach.
And, and I went to stage coach for a few years and then I got an audition for Mary Poppins, the musical. And, and then I was, I was being a precocious little child actor from 02/2005 onwards.
So as a kid, you did Mary Poppins, Oliver, Les Mears and Matilda. Did you have a favorite?
Mary Poppins will always be the most special. They didn't even tell the kids how the magic worked. I still don't know how that carpet bag did what it did, to be totally honest. So so it was very special. They preserved a lot of the magic and the joy for me as a as a little nine year old. But, the best part is Gavrosh gets the best death, but always gets cut. The death always gets cut in, you know, concert versions. I'm not better, but when I did get to die, woah, what a moment.
I mean, does it not as a kid dying on stage every day? Does that not mess you up a little bit or you just loved it?
It makes a lot of things make sense. Now
it's fine. We die as kids so that we, you know, we deal with it as adults.
Exactly. Or do we, Some people deal with it. No.
Are there any roles in any of those shows you'd love to go back to as an adult?
Well, Dodge is played by an adult now, isn't he? I say adult, is he 16 or 17 or something? He's an
adult but he looks very, very young.
So you're saying that there is no chance in hell for me?
You you still have your youthful looks, Rob?
K. A baby with the ball, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Would I like was there anything I would love to do Poppins again, but I don't know why I play in it. Maybe the Butler Roberts and I, I just love that show. I think my problem is such a beautifully constructed piece of theater. So, yeah, I'd love to do that again, but, I can't tap dance very well, so I don't think I'd make a very good bet. Maybe I could be banks in ten years or maybe I could do now. I look like I'm a adult banker. So
I mean, what does that make me? How like Dick Van Dyke now? Probably
woman
That's from you. I'll take that as a compliment.
That's a joke, darling. You'd be a wonderful you could be Winifred. Why not?
I mean, me and Petunia Clark are two piece in a pod.
Yeah. Absolutely.
Lockdown seems to put you on a new path here to wise for those that don't know, can you talk about your home videos?
Yes. If you don't, if you don't know, congratulations because, because I envy anyone that hasn't been subjected to them at this point. I'm so sorry to the people that I have subjected them to. I, put on all these shows when I was a kid, they were all documented on home video and over lockdown, I started sharing the home videos there from, like, 02/2002 to about 02/2009. And I just wanted to make people laugh freely in the pandemic, and I also missed theater.
So seeing me put on shows in my living room as a kid, I think, reignited my love for theater and, and wow, I've, I've always loved doing this and what a shame we can't do it now because we're all stuck in our homes. So I think that, I think that's, that's, that's why I started sharing them really just for a giggle. And then the show, my sense of queer came as a byproduct of hosting those videos. I never intended to make a show out of them really.
So when, when the idea that started to come to make a show, how was the creative process and putting it all together until it got to the stage?
It was it was quite long. I started writing it in August 2020, and then we had it on in June 2021. It's actually not that long when you consider how long some shows take to develop, but for a solo show, which I thought was very clear in my mind, I thought easy. I'll I'll write a a draft and and put it on its feet, but the pandemic kept, you know, the tier system came in, and we thought we we could open theaters and then theaters closed after a week or so of of shows. So it was that time when we kept nearly doing it and then stopping.
But, Yeah. League Shepherd was and is the director of the show and he really made it the the show that everyone sees now. He's made it so much better than what was on the page in the first place. So once I got him on board, it became really collaborative. And then PIPA, of course, PIPA Cleary, the best songwriter in the world. I'm not biased, but I love it to get D she, she just lifted it entirely when she put songs to it. Yeah. And then it ended up happening in June 2021.
Yeah. And it was opened at the turbine feature in Betsy. I've got less time for that first run, but it was so many runs of it. I was like trying to get, get what we ordered together.
I know. I'm trying to think of how many times I think I've done it Five, five separate runs now.
Because I see a two West End. Was it two tours as well?
No. Anyone taught two then to hang on. Two West End, one Edinburgh Turbine tour. And then we did like a brief stint in Norwich in 2022, which was like separate to anything. But about six times, I guess we could say. I mean,
it's like the it's like the little show that could send us and it just kept going.
Yeah. Should have been seven, but we'll settle with six.
We won't talk about that yet. Did the response to the show surprise you?
Yeah, massively. I never ever expected people beyond my target demographic to come. I target demographic at the time being people who'd seen my TikToks and, you know, theater fans, really that's who I wrote it for and who the only people that I thought would come and see it. But then they started bringing, you know, their parents and then their parents would bring mates of theirs from the local pub. My favorite time we've done it, I think is the last tool that we did because we were London, such an echo chamber.
But when you take it to, you know, my hometown and, and, and, and seeing how queerness is part of the fabric of our country in every, in every single corner of the country. It's not just London. It's not just the West End. That was really special. And yeah, when I first wrote it, I never imagined that that would be the case.
I thought, oh, we'll, we'll do this secretly in a little off West End venue in Battersea where some TikTok towns can come and watch it. I didn't think we'd be performing it to, you know, groups of teachers and Liverpool, for example. And yeah. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's wonderful and very unexpected.
Now when I was one of those people, I came to review it at the turbine and I came out of there crying, I think I was, crying to Paul, just saying about how beautiful it was as a show. Then I took when it was in one of the West End runs, I took my mom so she could experience it. And it is it's just this beautiful show, just about acceptance and love. And not everyone's as lucky to have a family as accepting, you know. So it was just such a beautiful thing to see.
Yeah. Well, thank you. And I'm I feel very lucky to have been so uplifted and supported by the theater community with it. I feel like they really embraced me and my family when my family come to these theater events of which, you know, they're not part of that world, really. They are now kind of, but my dad's an electrical wholesale supplier.
My mom was a dinner lady at that. They're not fair to people at all. I don't know where I got it from, but the way everybody embraces us is really special. And thank you for always being so supportive. It's thanks to those people that came at the turbine that really, you know, gave it. It's applaud. It's really that we've ended up being able to convince people. Can we maybe do it in the big upside down cow in Edinburgh? Can we maybe do it at the Garrick? So thank you for always championing it.
It's massively appreciated.
I mean, it's easy to do when it's a good show, but, you know, I've seen some stinkers recently, but we're not championing Electra.
Oh, yes. Well, I have nothing to say. I'm yet to see it.
Yeah. You're lucky. I mean, with with your parents, I think I said they were sat behind me at one of your shows last year, and I feel I was starstruck. Like, the people I talk to, you know, I talk to anyone, but I just felt like, god, that that's the Majors. And it was just like, I just wanted to say, just amazing what they've done.
That's so that's so funny. Bless them.
I mean, it's not really a thing like congratulations on having having your kid because, you know, is that not a little bit creepy?
Well, it's it's crazy that unconditional love from a parent ought to be congratulated. That's sort of how I try and frame it in my mind that the weirdness and the insanity and also the accuracy of of saying that I'm a lucky kid. Isn't that wild that we consider unconditional love from your parents to be luck? Shouldn't that shouldn't be the case in my opinion. But what do you do?
I didn't get kicked out or rejected by my family because I'm queer, you know, which is the case for people. So I do acknowledge that, yes, that makes me lucky. But, wouldn't it be nice if that was just not that that it was just normal to love your kid, whatever, and that's what my parents did. So God love them.
I mean, if if we were doing this conversation six months ago, I'd probably say, yeah, everything's getting better at least. So there's so much more acceptance, But recent events, it feels like we're going backwards in certain respects. So
It's, very frightening, really. Life is a cabaret. Oh, come. It's how it really does feel that that way at the minute that the world is quite literally burning around us, but we're put on joyful shows and sing and dance for an hour and a half, two hours in in a safe space. Then we have to leave that safe space and deal with the reality that non binary people are no longer recognized in The United States and the Kennedy Center is going to be off limits to drag performers.
And, you know, it's absolutely crazy, but they can't prevent our existence, unfortunately, unless they go to means that are inhumane, you know, so we'll still be, we'll still be here. And so,
Well, most of us are very glad that you are still here because we're, you know, we're on the right side of history basically.
We are. We are. We've got to stick to our guns, but it's scary out there. So look after yourselves everybody. Do what you need to do.
So back so back onto My Sons Are Queer, it's such a deeply personal show. Did you have the sense that you want something special with it? I
don't know. I don't know, really. I never it just evolves so much that I don't really know what I had intended for it by the time that I opened. I knew when I started, I wanted to just make people giggle. I wanted to do a kind of standup thing where I sort of take the piss out of my old, my childhood, which I still do within the show.
But then Luke came on board and said, there might be something more profound to say about, childhood and the relationship between families and, and, and queerness. And, and then PIPA wrote, broke the songs. And and then by the time he opened, I thought, oh, this isn't really what I thought we'd end up doing. But, what yeah. It it exponentially improved the piece, all of those collaborations. So, yeah, I don't know what I intended for it to be
in the
end, to be honest, but I'm glad people are like it.
Why do you think it resonated with so many people?
I think because despite the title, it's a universal story of love. It's not actually, purely about supporting your LGBTQ plus children. That's not what it is in the end, at the end of the show. That's not what it means anymore. It just means about supporting one another and having empathy for anybody that might be different to yourself.
That's sort of what it means to me, and I approach that narrative from my personal experience, which is being queer. But, actually, the story is just about accepting variance of the norm, whatever the norm might be to you. Queerness becomes a substitute for the word queerness. I mean, becomes like a substitute for oddness, strangeness, difference. So my son's different, but what can you do about it?
Not very much, actually. So get on with it. So I think that's why it will always appeal to the empty fans because there's many an empty reference. But even if you don't understand the odd six joke, you will take, you understand the overall message. I hope so.
So it's obviously had multiple runs. Do you think that's it now or is there any plans to bring it back at some point?
Oh, I I couldn't tell you. You know, I'm always very open to any future life suggestions. I I'm not sure. I'm really, truly not sure. I I feel like I've done it twice in London now, so maybe I'll give London a rest from it for a bit.
But, you know, I I'd happily, spread the story because cause I think it's very important and I think it's, it's, it'd be a massively important story to tell in, in The States right now, but that doesn't look likely for many, many, many, many reasons, you know? But I don't think there'd be a more urgent time to do it than right now. I just don't know where or when. So stay tuned, but it's something I will always have in my back pocket. Definitely.
So you brought it up and I won't dwell on it, but obviously there was a planned run for the show that didn't happen. But this led to what I think for me is your finest moment yet regards to Broadway. So we've talked before how how much I love that show. For those who didn't catch it, it was one day in the West End, 2 performances. Can you just explain what it was about?
Yeah. So it was this time last year for the one year anniversary actually of me getting the worst news of my life, which is that my my son's career was meant to go to Broadway. And then a couple of weeks before its opening date, it got postponed. So I was obviously quite devastated and didn't really know what to do because my whole world had turned upside down. So what I do in those situations is I make comedy out of it, very bleak comedy, I guess.
But, I I got an offer to do a one day concert at the Garrett Theatre. And as I was trying to put, like, a set list together of songs, I would be writing anecdotes around certain songs, and all I could write or talk about was that situation. Nothing else was coming out because I was clearly still very heartbroken. So I just thought, well, write what you know, and I ended up ditching the idea of a concert. And I I did a kind of cabaret play, play with songs that still kind of stand up, I guess, call, regards to Broadway, which, I thoroughly enjoyed doing, and I would love to do it again.
I just feel like its moment might have passed, but may may maybe something else I do will get canceled and then I can do another, another version.
I mean, we don't want to hope for that.
Yeah. That would, that would be my new brand regards to x, whatever has gone wrong in my life.
I think why I loved it so much, and obviously My Sons Are Queer has such a special place in my heart, but obviously it's got a very, like, different format with all of your videos. So when you took that away and just had you and nothing else but you, I just thought it was such an incredible show and just showed your natural humor and just how craft craft ships are just to put it together. And it's pretty true.
Yeah. It was daunting to do it without the the bells and whistles, but I wanted to do it as a test for myself truly to see whether my material does stand up on its own without all the airs and graces. And it's made me much more confident in my writing and much more assured in, in my comedy, which I think before I was always a little bit anxious of, but, and I was, you know, self doubt, second guess. But now I'm a lot more I'm a lot more proud of the stuff I put out there. And, yeah, so it was a good it was a good test and I'd love to do more standup kind of things actually.
And I'm doing kind of hosting gigs every now and then these days as well. And I'm really enjoying doing that kind of stuff, which is something I never thought I'd end up doing when I was doing a musical theater course. I never thought I'd end up hosting and like crowd work and all that kind of stuff. It was never my thing, but, never say never. I'd like to do more of that.
I think comedy is something you obviously do incredibly well. How do you manage to find the funny in everything?
I think I think it boils down to growing up, near Birmingham with a very, for one of a better word, normal family, who are there to types. They instilled in me such a great sense of humor from a really early age. And they introduced me to comedy greats at Victoria wood and Carolina Hearn, not personally just on the telly, and, I'm more common wise. And I just remember feeling disillusioned at one point in theater because I couldn't bear how seriously some people were taking it to the point of absurdity, like throwing tantrums because the smoke machine has ruined it to to or whatever it was on, you know. And I just thought these situations are so funny.
And of course we take it seriously, but that's where the comedy comes. The comedy always comes in like truthfulness and sincerity. If you're playing things for a laugh often, it won't get one. But if you're playing the, the, the fury of your your wig being prepped wrong or whatever, then then it will be funny because you're just pointing out the absurdity of when, you know, there's so many worst things going on in the world, which was the key to regards to Broadway. For me, there are so many worst things going on in the world, but this is just this one piece of news is devastating.
I mean, that's funny because it's obviously it's so far removed from normal life that it's such an unrelatable topic for someone's Broadway debut and solo show about their family to get canceled on Broadway. Isn't this a relatable sort? Story? Of course it's not. So you link you you put the opposite of relatability and and unrelatability together. You put them in conflict with one another and then you get great comedy.
So every time you post a new video online or perform a song with Tweets lyrics, you never fail to miss. I think my favorite was your take on Matilda, which probably if we want to keep this PG we don't say the words, but What? You, you did naughty. I think it was at awards.
At roles will never play, yes.
I think I did it a couple times. I I filmed it. I know I filmed it somewhere.
Yeah. I did it the once at roles never play.
I mean, I remember filming it. Oh, and it was Rose. Yes. You know better than me.
It was at the Clapham Grand. Yeah. Yes. That was, that was probably my favorite as well. Well, we were we were fresh off of, the news of of of of Rishi Sunak saying that, you know, trans women weren't women. He he had publicly said that. And then a couple of days later, I was given the opportunity to to stand on a stage on my own. So on your head's be it if something like that comes out in the news because I'll use it to my advantage even within Matilda.
I mean, maybe they should add that into Matilda. I don't know.
Well, after the Tories, sometimes after the Tories show.
I mean, there's worse than the Tories. You're basically, you know, abusing children, so why not?
Yeah. Well, I get the whole thing is about, standing up against, an authoritarian regime, isn't it?
And I feel like trunchbull would definitely be a Tory.
Oh, trunchbulls trunchbulls reform.
Oh, yeah. That's the point. Yeah. Let's move away from politics before people switch off. If you
don't agree, then if you don't agree to perform our role, then I put you through listening to me in the first place. Continue.
Well, we know we're on the Zay page. So to touch on some other roles you've done, you were a fish in bedknobs and broomsticks. And last year, you worked in Barbara Streisand's basement. Oh, yeah. I yeah. Tom, I reminded you of that. Yeah. You are.
Last year was a blur.
Oh, but but but so that was in buyer and seller, and that showed a different side to you. So how was performing in that show for you?
Yeah. Really, really challenging because talk about no airs and graces. I had nothing in this one. I didn't have a single prop except a book, which I used in the first five minutes and never again, a book in a chair. Oh, and a lovely wig. But other than that, it was me. No songs. Nothing. Just from never left the stage, but a hundred minutes. And that was tough.
And, you know, playing all the different characters and trying to differentiate them and distinguish them. I felt like an actor again, which was lovely because I suddenly felt like, oh, it's been a while since I've sort of stretched these these limbs that aren't just me talking about my childhood on stage. So I I really enjoyed it and I liked dipping my toe back into that world and I've got gladly do more more plays. It was great to do a play because I, I don't wake up on the morning instantly panicking about whether I'll be able to hit the high note in, in the song, you know? So that was lovely.
And it was, yeah, it was, it was a great comedy, Love doing comedy. But it was a brilliant play. I recommend it by our seller if ever comes back.
And then the other thing many people would have seen you in is the Palladium pantomime. So you've done three in a row now being part of the furniture along with Nigel Heathers. Is it as fun as it looks?
Yeah. It's, it's the best time of year. It really makes my Christmas. It's like, it's like Christmas tradition for me Now I'll be gutted if I if I didn't get to do it again at this point, I'd be like, what do I do in the month of December? And I think the audience feel the same way.
It feels like part of their Christmas. You know, you get you get a lot of the same lineup, you know what you're coming for. And it's like catching up with old friends in a way. And it's part, like you say, it it feels like part of the furniture, part of the fabric of the festive period. I'd be gutted if I didn't get to do. I love doing it. It's my absolute favorite. Yeah.
I mean, I go every year. Usually I try and do the first day. Usually the same seats in the front row and every year I regret that.
Well, you on your head, be it. You're you're putting a target firmly on your head. You may as well have a t shirt that says Julian Clary, please pick on me.
I mean, when he started with me last on the last one in December, he was, like, when he asked my name, he said I've picked on you before, haven't I? And then moved on. And so
Part of the furniture at this point.
Yeah. I mean, I am the new Nigel Havens. I have to get me on stage. I can I've replaced Gary Wilmot. It's fine.
Oh, okay.
I loved as well that there was a different, like, king and queen there every night on the last run. Did you know in advance, like, who those guests are? Because some of them were amazing.
Yeah. We we had a we had a list of of who'd accepted the offer. We did but I didn't know when or where. So every day, it would be a nice little surprise when Julian would introduce them and, like, oh, it's Beverly night today. That's lovely. It was fabulous. Yeah. What a what a treat.
And you do that you get to express your own creativity in it. Is it you work on some of the lyrics in the panto?
Yeah. So last year I think I wrote all of my stuff that that wasn't, you know, part of a big production number because that's all preset. But say, for example, I have to come on and and do a bit of patter. I'll write that. And, and and the song, Michael Harrison, the producer director, is very generous in in trusting his company.
He he knows what we each can do and bring to the table. So he he says, go on, go and I'll give you free rein. If you wanna do a song in that tape, you let me know what what, what you'd like to do. And, yeah. So, so then I, I saw hello Dolly in summer and I thought if the Melba Staunton is going to sing hello Dolly at the Palladium, I'm going to copy her. So then I did a, a parody of hello Dolly, which was silly and cute. Yeah.
I'm guessing this year, if you, if you're back, it will be Evita.
Yes, it will. I can confirm. I will be either her on in the new Evita revival. Ariana. So
Well, Ariana's loss is your gain.
Yes. Exactly. What's not meant for you what's meant for you will not pass you by. And clearly, there was always gonna be Eva Perron in Jamie Lloyd's new revival.
I can't wait to use the tagline. Rock Maj did the thing.
Five star please.
One of my favorite things, you always get five stars from me. Not like it's bias. I think on bias say we went four, we don't talk about that. They're still good.
Bribing you.
You don't need to bribe me. I'm just I'm honest. I mean, Brie Larson couldn't get a second star out of me. So, you know, what could what do we do?
Oh, my goodness.
One of my favorite things you've ever told me is the story of your Tinkerbell costume in Peter Pan. Would you mind sharing your input in the design for those listening?
Yes. I can. So like I say, they're very generous and they sort of let you even tailor the costume to how you'd like it. So when I was asked to be Tinkerbell, I was, they asked me kind of what color palette I'd like. So I subtly suggested some baby pinks, baby blues and light and light white.
They said, sure, why not? And then they designed this beautiful outfit and then they sent it back to me and I'm like, I don't know whether they know or not. They might have done to be honest. I might be underestimating dress made to everybody, but they have definitely designed the costume with the color of the entirely the colors of the trans flag. He he he he he.
And there's nothing I can do about it anymore. I mean, I'm sure they would have anyway, if I'd have just said, can we make it the colors of the trans flag? They wouldn't have said no. They're brilliant. But I I I thought that was that was really special to wear that.
And as silly as it sounds, it's a I'm only playing a fairy and a panto, but I, I obviously have many, many trans pals and they're put them in my community and, and, and they come and watch the pants. So, and they go, well, that costume was that, was that, that was our colors. I was like, yes, it is. So what what I took away from that is that, like, if you're not if you don't know what those colors represent, you'll just look at it and go, what a lovely pink and blue white costume. So you're not affected.
Like, we're not shoving anything down anyone's throats as it were. You know, if if you don't know what it is, you you just don't know and you get on with your day, but those that do know what it represents, see it and they feel kind of seen and that's special to me, you know? So I love doing that. Yeah. More of that, more, more slowly converting all of antomime into gayness.
I always love I love how passionate you are in standing up for what's right. I think we need more of Rob Majes in this world.
I mean, it's just silly. Like, it's not anything huge. It doesn't make a big difference, but it's it's just a tiny little tiny little acknowledgement for the people that need it. You know?
So, I think you're gonna stick around to talk about our hot topic for this week, which is the importance of fringe theaters and regional theaters. But for now thank you you're always such a refreshing light in this industry and I love seeing everything you do. I can't wait to see what's next.
Thanks so much Jazz.
Oh my God it's back again. Though it closed in the West End in 2023 and Juliet is still playing to packed audiences on Broadway and is now back in Home Shores embarking on its first tour of The UK and Ireland. I caught a production in Wimbledon A Couple Of Weeks ago, and it was every bit as fabulous as when it was in the West End. Telling the story of Romeo and Juliet if Juliet didn't die at the end, it sees Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway, not that one, battle to rewrite the story to give Juliet the ending she deserves, all the while playing against songs by Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys, as you do. On paper it really shouldn't work, but you just can't stop the feeling of joy you get watching the show, and the ingenious way they insert these classic pop tunes into the story.
The touring production also boasts a fantastic cast with Geraldine Sakhalin, a brilliant leading lady, as Juliet, and Sandra Marvin absolutely scene stealing as Angelique. The star of the show for me was Lara Denning as Anne, following in the huge footsteps of Cassidy Janson and putting her own spin on the role. Her That's the Way It Is was every bit as breathtaking as you would expect. The now iconic De Boyband sequence is now even more meta with The Wanted star Jay McGinnis bringing his own boyband past to take on Shakespeare. Last week's All That Chat guest Lee Latchford Evans is playing the role of Lance at some venues, but it was Doctor.
Ranj who took on the role at the performance I saw. I know what you're thinking. He's a TV doctor. Can he even act? To that I'll say, I can't wait to go back and see Lee in the role.
The perfect tonic for a miserable winter. This is a great example on how to do a jukebox musical in a way that is crowd pleasing yet refreshingly different. One of the breakout hits at London's Almeida Theatre last year was The UK premiere of the years, which now gets a West End transfer for a limited run at the Howard Pinter Theatre. You may have heard about this show from the regular showstops due to people fainting. It can get quite intense at times, with particularly graphic scenes some may find hard to watch, and it there was a showstop on the night I went to.
However, this play is absolutely incredible. It tells the story of one woman's life from the 1940s to the 2000s, using the idea of memories in the form of photographs to tell each part of the story. Five women take on the role of this one woman portraying her through various stages in her life. Funny at times, harrowing at others, the one thing that never wavers is the quality of it. The writing direction and sensational cast are all utterly perfect.
I loved At the At the At the At the At the At the Last year, but it is even better this time around. Still retaining the intimacy of its previous production despite its larger venue. Effortlessly articulating the very essence of life, it penetrates your soul with themes every living person can relate to in a show that will stay in my memory as long as I live. Speaking of penetration, Mike Bartlett's cock was hard to beat. Running in 2022 it starred Jonathan Daly and Taron Egerton, briefly.
Bartlett is now back in the West End with his latest play Unicorn. Sound less graphic and more family friendly than his cock? Think again. It gets pretty graphic at times, though who can say if it will give you the horn? Unicorn sees married couple Nick and Polly try to relight the fire in their marriage by attempting to form a thruple with Kate as their third.
It's not often you see these less common relationships portrayed in stage, so in theory this play should have been refreshing. The problem is in its execution. Though there are moments of comedy, all potential is squandered with seriously underwritten characters and situations that aren't allowed to breathe, leaving the sense of an underdeveloped and unfinished production. Its star cast of Stephen Mangan, Nicola Walker, and Erin Doherty are all fantastic in their own way, but are let down by material that takes any sparks that appear and fails to turn into a flame. With an overreliance on the foreplay in the lead up to the main event, it struggles to maintain momentum and ends up with a climax that is all too anticlimactic.
It's not a bad show by any stretch, but given how memorable the years is in comparison, this is all too forgettable. I'd say that a boring show is even worse than a bad show as I long to feel anything in the theater, even if that means I seriously dislike a show, shout out to Elektra. But with Unicorn, I just felt nothing. Eleven years after its Broadway debut, The UK finally got a chance to see If Then for two very special stage concert performances at the Savoy Theatre. The show tells the story of Elizabeth who gets a fork in the road moment that sees her life split onto two separate paths.
If Then gives us a chance to explore both of these possibilities as she takes on different versions of herself as Liz and Beth with wildly different results, including her love life and career. This was the first show I ever got to see on Broadway A Decade ago, and I fell madly in love with it. I've been playing the cast recording to death ever since and have been longing for London to get a taste of it throughout the years, and this production certainly didn't disappoint. Once again, taking on a role originated by the wickedly talented the wickedly talented Adele I mean, Idina Menzel. That's why you shouldn't ever try and say that.
Kerry Ellis showed what a phenomenal singer she is, receiving a well deserved standing ovation after her standout 11:00 number Always Starting Over. One of the all time great musical theater songs, if you ask me. If you don't know the song, have a listen to it after this podcast and thank me later. You've got Idina Menzel's version. They've also released a version of Kerry Ellis online.
Kerry was reunited with her Wicked co star Adam Garcia in a stacked cast featuring some of the best the Western has to offer. David Hunter, John Owen Jones, again, Carl Mann, and a particularly scene scene in Priya Kalidis gave UK audiences a taste of what they had been missing over the last decade. Let's hope the rapture's responses will lead to a full run either in London or anywhere in The UK in the not too distant future. You won't find an if then review on All That Dazzles as this show wasn't to review, but you will find full reviews of the other shows I've mentioned today, as well as many others from me and my team of Dazzlers around The UK. Head to www.allthatdazzles.co.uk to see them all, see all new reviews added daily.
On the podcast next week, I'll be telling you my thoughts on a double dose of Shakespeare as I review Tom Hiddleston and that winky prince himself, Jonathan Bailey. What do you mean those aren't the names of the shows? This week's hot topic is the importance of fringe in regional theaters. It's very easy to put your blinkers on and just see the major West End theaters, but there are so many more beyond that. Walking anywhere in London may take you to a theatre above a pub, and who knows what awaits you there, and then there were all the amazing theatres all over The UK.
Rob, obviously you have plenty of experience with Fringe and Regional theatres. Why do you think they are so vital to the industry?
Because if theater as an art form is restricted only to the capital, we are creating an elitist environment, which is the very antithesis of what theater is supposed to be in my eyes. It should be all encompassing. It should be there should be a a form of theater that everybody in the world can relate to in some way. Otherwise otherwise, we're just speaking into a bit of, an echo chamber and it, it, it's so important that theater is accessible across the country. Because otherwise, you know, it's, it's, it's an indictment on our industry if we don't make regional theater more accessible.
In my opinion,
It seems to have been that we've, we're copying the American pattern slightly where it wouldn't do more out of town premier. So we had like devil wears Prada in Plymouth.
Yeah. Everything is going to manage that. Yeah. Plymouth does quite a lot, which is, which is great to see because I think we have to invest in work shopping and trialing and not going all guns blazing, speaking as somebody who attempted that, and it went really hideously wrong, you know, with, with Broadway. I, I acknowledge that, we have to, but that requires a lot of time and a lot of money and care and due diligence to, to, to give the piece it's due.
You know, I've been developing a show for nearly two years now, and we're going into our second workshop a bit in a couple of weeks, which if you'd have told me two years ago that the show still won't be on, I would have been like, Oh my God, really? No, now, now, now, But because people are really taking the time to make sure it's as good as it possibly can be, you know, that that's great. That's really, that's really great in my eyes rather than just, you know, quick quickly doing it.
No, there are times where when I'm, when I'm seeing a show and writing a review, I comment it needed more workshopping. You can clearly see that, you know, it wasn't ready to be seen by paying audience when you've got paid workshops, which are a good thing as well, you know, get an audience in, get their feedback.
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I think, you know, the town tryouts are a great thing.
I mean, because if not, you get something like opening night is the example, which opens cold in the West End and was clearly not ready. And all it took was someone to say, no, that won't, that won't work, that won't. And so, I mean, it's a great, and it's great for everything because if you've got, you know, these shows opening all over The UK, people get to see it. It shouldn't be limited to London. Lose my voice. I
think about, you know, I was very apprehensive to take my son's a queer on the road because I think I got it into my head that it, oh, this is clearly a London story, even though it's set in, you know, in the Midlands. But I thought the nature of the show and that the the themes that it tackles would only really be appreciated by, you know, like minded theatrical people in in the heart of the Western. I mean, what a stupid privileged opinion to have. So I was apprehensive to take it on the road, and then some of the best places, some of the best responses we had were were in my hometown, in Derby, Coventry, Manchester, Liverpool. There's such a narrow mindedness about, well, there's such a sort of patronizing condescension, acknowledging my own flaw there of being like, oh, gosh, I don't think I can do a show about queerness in Derby because surely that doesn't exist.
I mean, of course it does. I'm from there. So I don't know. You can you can really fall into a trap of thinking theater, especially theater that tries to, I guess, say something, ought to be reserved for, you know, the the city centers. It's just not the case at all.
It's very patronizing to suggest that to suggest that people that don't live in London wouldn't quite be able to get their heads around what it means to be queer. You know, I was absolutely stupid in that respect, but, you know, proved wrong. And it just goes to show how important these places are.
But then similarly, you've got like shows about regional stories, which then, you know, they go to a mainstream audience, standing at the sky's edge. And Jamie were both about Sheffield, got Fisherman's friends and Benjamin Button's, like, Cornwall.
Yeah. You
know, who'd have thought that that would do so well in London. I mean, anyone that saw it knew it was a special show.
Yeah, exactly. You attract you attract your audience in the end. Don't you? I always believe that if it's the thing is great and people believe and the, you know, the rights of the director, the company believes in the piece, you can always, you can always tell when you're watching it and it attracts such a huge audience in the end. Word-of-mouth is a great thing, which is a great thing about fringe Edinburgh, especially we relied on word-of-mouth.
But I also think specificity creates this feeling of universality, you know, a specific story about Sheffield it because it is not generic. It will engender a larger crowd almost.
Yeah. And then you never know when you're seeing the next big thing. So when you take a chance on the new show at a fringe theater, you know, someone like Suffolk Playhouse in London where, you know, they can put on, they've, they had operation mincemeat and Benjamin Button. And now look at them both in the West End.
Yeah, exactly. New diorama as well. I mean, if you just take, yeah, that you're exactly right. You've got to sometimes, take take the plunge and go and see something that you wouldn't necessarily expect. There's so many hidden gems. Yeah.
I mean, a couple of the comments I got on social media when I put this out there. Libby said regional theatre is so important as it gives far more people access to the arts that wouldn't get it if it was West End only, which is what we've said. And then Will said regional and fringe theatre brings in audiences who may not be able to afford transport and hotels on top of rising ticket prices.
Exactly.
So it's all about accessibility.
Yeah. Ticket prices are, we know how we know our extortionate ticket prices are now, but it also comes with the, with the rise in production costs of running a theater, you know, simple, simple things like, extortionate electricity bills are gonna change the price of everything. We're just, we're just heading to a place where, you know, if you can't afford a theater ticket and you can't afford to turn the heating on that, these things run alongside one another, you know? So it it you kind of it's it's a it's a battle that we must buy, but it almost feels like a losing one. You don't know.
I I don't know what the solvers because if it theaters are so costly to run, of course, people have to charge more, but it's just it needs to change massively, massively. You can't be charging that much money to sit for two hours in a space. I don't care who you are. I don't care if you have the Lawrence Olivier back from the dead. It's outrageous. The money that is charged to see a show.
I think the other point was quality, like just, can you retain the quality that you get in a big West End production in a touring show or a regional show? I think it comes down to the budget, doesn't it? And where the, if they've got money for it,
I bet it's how you quantify quality. You know, what does that mean? If, if, I mean, I'm sure there are, there are definitely regional theaters that, that can put on the same standard of shows in terms of, you know, set and lighting. There are plenty of theaters, but, but quality to me also boils down to the the the writing, the the actors, the company, you know, you can you could say, for example, I don't know. Let's say for instance, Cabaret, I think, would be a good example of a show that could be done with an extortionate budget or it could be done with, very, a small company with very few set pieces.
But because the script is so brilliant and the songs are so brilliant, it could be performed either way. So and you can see far more exciting things on smaller budgets than things that where they're just thrown, thrown money to the wall and hope it sticks. You know, there's plenty of shows like that, which are spectacular. But if we're looking for heart and soul, sometimes it's the things that that aren't don't look as razzle dazzle and as expensive, you know,
I think the other thing I was thinking of was, when you've got a touring production, how it has to be adapted for each venue and then my own to get all the props on.
Oh, I have many a story on that. Yeah. Many. So I mean, bedknobs and broomsticks was, it was, you know, wow, that was a huge show. That was such a beast of a show.
And it was, there were many things that were going on during bedknobs Allah. We were one of the first shows back after COVID. So we were all still wearing our masks backstage. And people were a bit trepidatious to come back to the theater. So we were fighting against that anyway, but in some venues, it didn't, it didn't fit, you know, the, the full set didn't fit.
So then you're constantly adapting and it's kind of exciting though because we're all kept on our toes and that creates a bit of adrenaline and a bit more electricity and spark rather than everybody having sort of rest on their laurels. And not rest. Ever had to be being complacent. We were never complacent on that show, which I think ended up we ended up with a sparky, a show as a result. And I, the piece never lost any, it might have lost a door, you know, in South Bend, but it never, it never lost it.
It's it's heart and it's beauty. So it can be so adaptable. I think.
I think the most extreme one I saw was last year, Chitty Bang Bang, which was the London touring theater in Wimbledon. And I didn't even realize it was such comparatively small stage. The child catcher didn't have a van. Truly scrumptious didn't have a bike. She walked onto the stage.
Yeah, that all of that stuff can happen, can't it? And, and you don't ever want to be giving people a subpar version is the kind of debate I have in my head. You want to, I want to be giving people the same show that was promised that is in the EPK, but it's in the production photos. You want to give that everywhere. And when it's not possible, you have to try and make it out as close to, because everybody deserves the same level of quality.
I mean, I think you pay this. I actually, you probably pay different based on what theater it is in the country, but, you know, for the most part, everyone's paying around about the same, so you should aim to to deliver the same product.
I had a great insight from a performer who said, Downscaled tour productions can often miss the spectacle aspect and shows being crammed into the wrong size theatres can cause issues for cast and crew. Though he added that regional theatre is integral for working class families and sites his visit to a show in Bradford in high school kick started his career and his love for theater.
Yeah. I don't think, like we our tracks would change on bedknobs because the the show was push and pull for the ensemble, which means that the, the cost bring the set on, bring the props on, you know, there was no automation in that show. We would bring everything on ourselves. We would transform the space around us. That's what push and pull means.
So when, when you go to a venue and you couldn't fit a certain part of set in, right, our tracks would change. Our roles would change in that venue. So we'd always be kept on our toes. However, I would much rather be able to go to a smaller theater and give people an experience that they would, you know, they'd have to travel to London to see otherwise to bring theater to them. I would much rather that than say, now let's not bother with this one because I'm gonna have to come up from stage right rather than stage left.
Do you know what I mean? Our our issues kind of pale in comparison to the importance of still taking those shows to those places. I I never went to London until I was nine years old, really. I think, well, unless I went to see Chitty, but for the most part, everything was came to the Birmingham Hippodrome. And the shows you got there was was such, you know, West End quality if we're gonna use that term and and they would come to my doorstep.
And I remember being a kid and being like on a Saturday morning, oh, shall we go to the theater today? When theater, when tickets were a hell of a lot cheaper and, you know, you drive fifteen minutes and you're watching the lion king or it was, it was an amazing, amazing thing. And if, if that stops, then I think we're going to lose a whole generation of kids who won't fall in love with, with the art form. Cause they just, they, they won't go to the theater, you know? I mean,
have you got any, any favorite theaters around The UK that non London ones?
Yeah. Hippodrome will always be my, like my, my, my childhood theater. I loved loved home in Manchester, where we closed the son's acquittal, the Belgrade and Coventry, Liverpool playhouse everywhere where we went on tour was, was so fabulous. Yeah. I love the city of Manchester in general. I'm doing anything in Manchester. I've never worked at the theater in Brighton, but I'd love to, because I love I love Brighton very much.
That's nice to be today. Basically. I think I love the Haute Mill in Manchester as well. They put on some great shows. Curve. Curve Lester as well. Oh, mate. The productions are always amazing.
Yeah. Curve is such a, it just feels like such a brilliant creative place, which I know we'd say theater is naturally creative, but you'd be surprised. There are lots of places where it's very machine esque, but curve feels like a bunch of grown up kids being allowed to play. Do you know what I mean? Like everybody there is there to play and create and put something together and it feels organic and exciting and not many spaces like that around it.
Well, I'm sure there are, but they're hard to come by.
So I think to sum it up then, we agree regional theater is so important to keeping theater accessible to everyone and fringe theaters are the backbone of it all. So without it, where would the next big thing start? Opening coal in a big West End theater can often be a recipe for disaster. From my experience the magic and escapism is every bit as good as you will get in some of the biggest theaters, even if there are a few more safety pins holding it all together behind the scenes. Any final thoughts on this?
I totally disagree.
Paul, let's start again.
No final thoughts on that. You've summed it up perfectly. Big up Regional Theatre. It's the most important thing. Give them money. Give them money. Put more funding into Regional Theatre, please. Please, please, please. So important.
Well, thank you for joining me today. It's always such a joy to speak to you. So where can people find you online?
Oh, I'm still on I'm still on the platforms that are scaring us all away. I'm not sure how long I'll be there for, but I'm still on Instagram, Rob Maj o two o two because I made the account just after I was at the 02 Arena. Don't judge. And then, you know, Twitter or x or whatever it's called, Rob, Just look up Rob Maj there, and, and you'll find me loitering on TikTok for the childhood videos. Oh, man.
Alright. Well, that's it for another All That Chat. Please join me again next week for the next episode. Keep an eye on the website and my socials where I'll be revealing details of exactly who will be joining me and what the next hot topic will be. Please do send me your questions and comments in either by replying or messaging me on any of my social channels.
You can find me on X, Instagram, Facebook, threads, and TikTok at ATDazzles, as well as Blue Sky at All That Dazzles, or you can get your questions and comments in by filling in the form in the podcast section on the website. That's www.allthatdazzles.co.uk/podcast. And please subscribe wherever you're listening to this so you never miss an episode. Thanks for listening and being dazzled. Until next time, see you in the theatre.