Episode 934: Going Wild! – Craig Crowton and The Animal Guyz

Time again to join Mike, Alison and Thos as they enjoy a bit of in-depth analysis of some of the wonderful new musicals you could have seen at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2026.  In this week's Fringe round-up episode, they look at Girlhood in the Bathroom and Apparently Ugly: A Stepsister's Story.  Do we live in a world of Cinderella-style happy endings and Prince Charmings, or is there more going on?  Find out in this thoughtful conversation - and for good measure hear the world's most formal pick up line.

Fancy some reviews of some of the best or most interesting shows at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe? Yes! You do? Well, you've come to the right place as MusicalTalk continues its celebrated coverage of the Fringe's musical theatre offerings. This week, Thos joins Mike and Alison to discuss three eye catching new musicals - A Perfect Match, Mother Earth and the Shocking Truth About Flat Earth.  Add insights, laughter and a song as well and you'll find it's an elemental pleasure!

EdFringe 2026 is in full swing so why not join Thos as he sits down with the talented Tom Rolfe, the man responsible for returning Fringe Favourite, The Detective's Demise, as well as three other musicals at this year's festival - Milly's Musical Adventure, Charming! The Musical and Escape Room: The Musical.  That's a lot of musicals packed into one episode!

It's time to join MusicalTalk at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 for another episode featuring some of the best and most interesting musical theatre offerings to be found at the world's largest and greatest arts festival. This week, Thos sits down with Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hooper, the creative force behind the hilarious Hole!, a musical so large in scope it is literally (and we mean literally) out of this world! Let the Great Sucking commence!

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 is here! Hoorah! It's the biggest arts festival in the world and MusicalTalk is there - as always - to see what's on offer for the lover of musical theatre (that's you!) and to provide extensive in-depth coverage of the best shows. This week, we look at the revival of War of the Worlds (On a Budget), the multi-star winning hit musical giving a unique, hilarious and brilliantly song-filled take on HG Wells' famous story.  Cue the cute martians....! 

Nick and Hannah head to the theatre for two of the biggest musical revivals currently touring the UK—but come away with very different reactions. It's sunshine, optimism and red-headed charm as they celebrate the UK tour of Annie, asking why this classic musical continues to captivate audiences nearly fifty years after its Broadway debut.  Then, things take a decidedly darker turn as they tackle the West End production of Beetlejuice. With a hit Broadway incarnation and a devoted fanbase setting sky-high expectations, why does this London production leave them feeling so underwhelmed? Is it the direction? The performances? The staging? Or does the transfer simply lose the anarchic magic that made the original such a phenomenon? Nick and Hannah discuss why a musical with so much potential can end up feeling surprisingly lifeless.

In this episode of MusicalTalk, it's time to join Thos as he stomps at the Savoy - and perhaps not just stomp!  So take a sophisticated interwar sensibility, some reworked and reminaged songs from European operetta, spiced with an uber-modern take on the world of relationships, and you have the heady, intoxicating mix that makes the hit cabaret show, Savoy! Everybody's Doing It! so delicious.  When it comes to love, relationships, and sex, it seems that everybody's doing it (and always has done). So, why not join them in this enticing episode?! 

Edward Easton never imagined his next role would see him leading a musical. With no previous musical theatre experience, taking on One Man Musical was a genuine leap of faith - but one that quickly proved to be worth it.  Nick and he chat about learning the music, finding confidence in a new genre, working with Flo & Joan and making an established role his own. You can see Edward in the role of portraying the superstar Lord (and we don't mean Jesus Christ) at the Edinburgh Fringe! 

What do you get when you combine theatre, spectacular puppetry, conservation, comedy and a whole host of incredible animals? Nick Hutson finds out as he chats with Craig Crowton, the creative force behind The Animal Guyz. Craig discusses how the show evolved from a passion for wildlife into an exciting theatrical experience that has delighted family audiences across the UK. Discover how larger-than-life animal puppets, music, audience participation and an important environmental message come together to create an unforgettable live event. Nick and Craig also explore the challenges of touring, creating believable animal characters for the stage and why entertainment can be a powerful tool for inspiring the next generation of conservationists. Check them out at www.theanimalguyz.com  

MusicalTalk continues its exploration of the many and varied ways that war and conflict can be portrayed in the world of musical theatre.  This week, Thos revisits a remarkable piece of verbatim musical theatre (itself a rare and unusual form) created to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, which explored 100 years of the British involvement in battle through the musicalisation of real testimony from actual participants.  And as the video of the show remains viewable on YouTube, it's a musical you can still watch as well as hear all about.