Erica Whyman and Maggie O’Farrell

Playwright and director Isobel McArthur takes a break from rehearsals for The Fair Maid of the West to meet up with fellow Scottish playwright Gary McNair for a chat about breaking into the industry and dealing with unexpected success. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. This episode may contain occasional strong language. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Just as rehearsals were getting underway for our 2024 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, its director Eleanor Rhode and illusion director John Bulleid caught up to whisper about all the magic going on both on and offstage. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with artists who have inspired them. This episode may contain occasional strong language. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Fresh from her role as a witch in Macbeth, actor Amber Sylvia Edwards chats to RSC Associate Artist Greg Hicks about his 50-year career in theatre. Greg shares memories of his mentor Peter Hall, divulges which global superstar is one of the biggest backstage pranksters and admits the embarrassing story that led to him missing his debut with the RSC. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. This episode may contain occasional strong language. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Actor Anyebe Godwin meets film, stage and television actor Cleo Sylvestre. Cleo talks about breaking down boundaries by becoming the first black actress with a permanent role on a British television soap in the original series of Crossroads, collaborating with The Rolling Stones in the ‘60s and the time that Laurence Olivier knocked on her dressing-room door. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. This episode may contain occasional strong language. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Actor and RSC Associate Artist Alexandra Gilbraith talks to Adam Bambrough, founder of Wellbeing in the Arts, an organisation dedicated to providing mental health and wellbeing support for creatives and artists in the entertainment industry. They talk about mental health in the theatre industry, stage fright itself as well as their own experiences and getting help. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Actor and writer Charlie Josephine talks to Chris Sonnex, Artistic Director of Cardboard Citizens. They talk about “theatre and about class and about identity and about passion”, including making theatre for and about people that have lived experience of homelessness, poverty and inequity. Cardboard Citizens creates theatre and art with and for people who experience homelessness, inequity, or poverty.  This episode contains some moderate swear words.  Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Actor and learning facilitator Ibrahim Toure talks to Philip J Morris – theatre director and Artistic Director of Trybe House Theatre about their own first encounters with Shakespeare and how they make those first encounters for young people. Philip explains how, “I had a bit of a complex of not feeling like I saw enough people that looked like me in theatres to begin with when I was younger.” Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Director, environmental consultant and activist Elizabeth Freestone who directed The Tempest for the RSC in early 2023 talks to Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society. They talk about the climate crisis and the place of theatre and the arts within that, as well as the mini ice age that happened in Shakespeare’s lifetime. Elizabeth is also the co-author of 100 Plays to Save the World, a guide to 100 brilliant plays addressing the most urgent and important issue of our time: the climate emergency. Each week Interval Drinks brings together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).      

Director Erica Whyman talks to novelist Maggie O’Farrell, author of Hamnet which was recently adapted for the Stratford and London stages and directed by Erica. They talk about Hamnet – the novel and the process of putting it on stage, as well as Hamlet and about autobiography in fiction, including the part Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, plays in his work. Erica was Acting RSC Artistic Director at the time of recording.  Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Director Atri Banerjee chats to Actor Lucy Ellinson about noisy snacks, theatre activism and playing Puck. Lucy talks about beginning her career: "I was out there is the world and quite lost, if I'm honest. So I'm not a trained actor and I didn't have very much confidence and to be honest not much of a clue about how to begin a career at all." Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).