Study into effects of COVID on British theatre
Release Date: 12/04/2025
Allan Stewart: fifty years in pantomime
British Theatre Guide podcast
BTG’s Panto Editor Simon Sladen spoke to Allan Stewart, who marks an extraordinary milestone of 50 years in pantomime. Allan reflected on his early start as a teenage club performer, his unexpected first role as Buttons without ever having seen a panto and the lessons learned from mentors such as Jack Radcliffe and producer Paul Elliott. He shared stories from working alongside stars including Les Dawson, Danny La Rue and Frank Bruno and offered insight into the craft of comedy and the traditions that make pantomime unique. Simon and Allan also discussed his long-standing partnership with...
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Big Tiny pantos across the North West
British Theatre Guide podcast
The Big Tiny Productions Ltd, founded in 2019 by Will Cousins and Ben Richards, is producing four shows in the North West for Christmas 2025, three of which are pantos written by Ben and designed by Will. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to them both, with a few contributions from their dog, Toby, about the company and this year’s shows, as well as about the changing nature of panto, the balance between tradition and innovation (it’s like a lasagne…), choosing panto stories, Northern v Southern humour, funding spectacular shows in small venues and Ben’s panto-related PhD, amongst...
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Study into effects of COVID on British theatre
British Theatre Guide podcast
The British Theatre Consortium, headed by playwrights Dan Rebellato and David Edgar, has followed up its reports on the state of the British theatre repertoire in 2013 and 2014 with a study into how things have changed in the industry between 2019, the year before the COVID lockdowns began, and 2023. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Dan Rebellato about the findings of the report, what it tells us about the problems, vulnerabilities and stability of British theatre over those four years and how it was changed by the pandemic. The report British Theatre Before & After Covid was published...
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Playwright David Ireland: from 'The Troubles' to romantic comedy
British Theatre Guide podcast
David Ireland is an Irish playwright with a reputation for writing hard-hitting drama such as The Fifth Step, Ulster American and Cypress Avenue, but director Max Elton is reviving a very different play by him, Most Favoured, which can be seen at Soho Theatre in London over the Christmas period. BTG David Chadderton spoke to David about the play and his influences as a writer, as well as how his love of Shakespeare began in a Blackpool guest house at the age of 9 and why he wants to write romantic comedies and feels he couldn’t face watching some of his earlier plays now. Most Favoured,...
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Inaugural production of new company honouring Buzz Goodbody
British Theatre Guide podcast
Buzz Goodbody was the first female director at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford where she was instrumental in setting up the venue The Other Place. She died just 50 years ago at the age of 28, and her nephew, Adam Goodbody, has created a new theatre company, Buzz Studios, in her honour. The company’s first production is Petty Men at London’s Arcola Theatre. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Adam and his co-writer and fellow performer, John Chisham about the play and its creation, adapting Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to create a modern piece, the importance of theatre and...
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Watford gets giant Stephen Fry in panto
British Theatre Guide podcast
Steve Marmion is currently in his second season as Chief Executive and Director of Programming for Watford Palace Theatre, but he also ran Soho Theatre in London for eight years and founded PantoCo Ltd. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Steve about the upcoming panto production of Jack and the Beanstalk with the voice of Stephen Fry as the Giant, but he also spoke at some length about the value of panto in general, the challenges of running and programming theatres for diverse communities, why theatres need to conquer TIkTok and how his social media reels resemble Sunday Night at the London...
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Rebecca and Louise present Evita... the sequel?
British Theatre Guide podcast
Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole, as Sh!t Theatre, have been making theatre together for fifteen years. They will be spending the 2025 Christmas season at London’s Southbank Centre with their new show Evita Too, set in the presidency of Argentina, like the other Evita, but they are looking at the perhaps more interesting story of Juan Perón’s second wife, Isabel, who became president after his death. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Rebecca and Louise about their discovery of the story of “gogo-dancer-turned-president” Isabel, how they turned this into a show and their...
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30 years of Border Crossings—and Bruford online BA
British Theatre Guide podcast
, a UK-based theatre company that collaborates with artists from around the world, is celebrating its 30th anniversary, formed in 1995 by Artistic Director Michael Walling. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Michael about the history, methodology and extensive catalogue of work of the company over three decades and what he views as the increasing urgency of bringing together people from different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds through theatre. David and Michael both teach on the online BA in Theatre Studies from UK drama school (David was in its first intake of students in 1996,...
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Flat earthers look for the edge of the world in Antarctica
British Theatre Guide podcast
Jessica Norman is a playwright and screenwriter whose play This Little Earth, which was long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, will debut at this autumn. BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Jessica a couple of days before the production opened about the play and its development, conspiracy theories and those who believe them and about writing in general. This Little Earth runs at the Arcola Theatre in London from 22 October to 15 November 2025. A post-show discussion with Jessica and journalist and author Gabriel Gatehouse, Emeritus Professor of Anomalistic Psychology Chris...
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Night Waking on Mull
British Theatre Guide podcast
Rebecca Atkinson-Lord was Director of Theatre at London’s Ovalhouse (now Brixton House) until 2016, but has since moved to the island of Mull in the Scottish Hebrides as Chief Executive and Artistic Director of . BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Rebecca while she was in rehearsals for a stage adaptation of Sarah Moss’s novel Night Waking, adapted by Shireen Mula. She explained about the play and the process of adapting and rehearsing it, as well as the challenges of touring to rural venues and to theatres where some of your audience comes by boat and what she misses about working in...
info_outlineThe British Theatre Consortium, headed by playwrights Dan Rebellato and David Edgar, has followed up its reports on the state of the British theatre repertoire in 2013 and 2014 with a study into how things have changed in the industry between 2019, the year before the COVID lockdowns began, and 2023.
BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Dan Rebellato about the findings of the report, what it tells us about the problems, vulnerabilities and stability of British theatre over those four years and how it was changed by the pandemic.
The report British Theatre Before & After Covid was published on 26 November 2025 by the British Theatre Consortium based on the work of a research team led by Catherine Love-Smith. The full 143-page report can be read at or downloaded from the BTC web site.