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Craig was the adjudicator of this year's Bright Star Festival and he took some time out to chat with Lydsey, the organiser, along with some of the participants and teachers to understand what makes this festival different from others and what the dancers perceptions are of festivals.

This is billed as a "supportive, friendly and encouraging" festival that has had wonderful feedback from all who take part, so have a listen.

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Matthew was brought up in the west coast of Scotland and trained at the Dance School of Scotland before starting his professional trading at Arts Ed in London.

He left after one year as he was offered a part in a musical in Germany and from there his career took off.

Matthew's theatre credits include: Singin’ in the Rain, 42nd Street (Chichester Festival); Chicago (Cambridge); The Car Man (London/UK tour); Edward Scissorhands (London/UK/US/Japan/Korea); Jack and the Beanstalk (Barbican); Mary Poppins (Prince Edward); Anything Goes (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane); On Your Toes (Royal Festival Hall/Leicester Haymarket); Beauty and the Beast (UK tour); A Night of 1000 Voices (Royal Albert Hall); Tabaluga and Lili (Germany); Jazz Art UK’s Messin’ Round Midnight (Edinburgh Festival); Matilda (Cambridge Theatre) Guys and Dolls (Sheffield Crucible) and he played Skimbleshanks in the Kilworth House production of Cats .

He was also part of the 'Bonnie & Clyde in concert' staring Jeremy Jordan and Frances Mayi McCann which was filmed at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane during its performances on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 January 2022.

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This recording was done at Chichester Festival Theatre where Kate is currently playing the role of Patsy and is also understudy for Carly Anderson who plays Polly, the lead female character,  in Crazy For You. This brand new production, which celebrates the work’s 30th anniversary, is directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.

After growing up in Stoke on Trent, Kate went on to train at Arts Ed, Kate before launching her professional performing career. She played Stephanie in ‘Saturday Night Fever’ for Bill Kenwright, and performed in ‘Follies’ at The National Theatre,  and 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' on the UK Tour. She was also in the Netflix series 'The Crown'.

Kate is also a qualified fitness instructor.

You can follow her on instagram @kateparr_

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After running a dance school for 27 years and a franchise theatre school for 12. Deborah made a break and invested in a business coach, studied marketing, retention, business strategies in relation to the dance world, customer services, finances, planning, social media, team nurturing, leadership, systems, processes, the list goes on. She read over 30 business books, went on business retreats, attended summits, webinars you name it.

Soon she was implementing her newly learned skills and it started to pay off. She experienced wonderful growth in her businesses and turned her schools around. That is where she thought her story would end…

… but I saw friends and fellow dance bosses sharing the same struggles that she had experienced. Knowing she had the answers she found it difficult to sit back and watch them struggle. She started to share at every opportunity. Little bits of valuable information that she had learned. People started commenting “why didn’t I know this already”. Soon after she was approached not once but three times in a week from dance school principals asking to pay for my help. That is when Dance Business Lab was born and 1-1 coaching began.

Hear part of her journey with Craig on this podcast or visit her website at dancebusinesslab.com

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This weeks podcast was recorded live at this year's Move It which is the world's biggest dance event where Craig was promoting Starquest Performers College, and takes place at London's Excel.

Craig interviews Move It Event Creative Director, Tia Hassen and Lucy Newton of Cogo Travel.

MOVE IT is the World’s biggest and best dance event, celebrating all forms of dance and the performing arts across three amazing days. No matter what level you are, MOVE IT has something for every dancer, teacher, spectator and professional, at this electric celebration of all things dance and performing arts! www.moveitdance.co.uk

COGO offers a wide range of group breaks, performing arts trips and educational conferences in Disneyland® Paris, as well as tailor-made group tours and city breaks in Europe and beyond. cogotravel.co.uk

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Craig is at it again! Adjudicating at this year's Thanet Dance Festival which is based in Birchington in Kent.

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We are back with season five and kicking off is Craig's interview with parents, teachers and performers at Chesham Festival in Bucks, UK which was held on 24–26 February 2022.

A chance for students to compete again and for parents and teachers to get together and share experiences.

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Tim English trained at Arts Ed and graduated with honours. He was recently resident director for Aladdin at the Prince Edward Theatre London and The Lion King UK/International Tour.

His theatre credits include Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, Harry in Mamma Mia!, Monsieur Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities and Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore.

Tim helped set up the Chris Hornby bursary fund at ArtsEd where he and Chris both trained. Chris had received a bursary to train at ArtsEd, a small grant that had a big impact on his life and all those he went on to meet. The Chris Hornby Fund has been set up as a lasting legacy that will help talented students at ArtsEd facing financial hardship. Attendees of the memorial showed exceptional support for the fund, resulting in an incredible £3,261 being donated on the day and a further £3,700 online.

If you would like to support the Chris Hornby Fund please visit the justgiving page.

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This week we give a big shout out to all the pantos that are going ahead this year around the UK. 

After a year without we thought a much needed reminder to support your local pantomimes would be the right thing to do. They are the life blood for keeping theatres and venues alive and without them theatre land would be a much sadder and poorer place. 

So get your tickets booked for you and your family and friends and get ready to shout, boo,  hiss, cheer, laugh and clap as you spend a fun packed evening or matinee in the company of dames, princes, barons, wicked step mothers, evil queens, ugly sisters, princesses and pantomime horses.

Have fun!

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A loveable live singing drag queen from the Midlands who brings glamour, comedy and a contagious energy to her performances. Singing camp classics, musical parodies and all the songs you forgot you loved, It’s Ava Cardo!

After graduating drama school training at East 15 Acting School, Ava immediately started her drag career performing to 100s of holiday makers a week across the Canary Islands as part of the Musical Hall Tavern show throughout 2016. Since moving back to the UK, Ava has made her mark on the drag scene starting out and excelling in competitions such as Drag Idol and has now been performing her very own show in venues across London and the UK. Now residing in LGBTQ hotspot of Brighton, the live singing sensation continues her drag career. Aside from cabaret, in 2021 Ava performed her own comedy Fringe Theatre show which received a five star review and the Pebble Trust’s international touring award. Ava is now set to make her Panto Debut as Snow White on the West-Ends number one Adult Pantomime!

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Kerry Jane Ellis is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at Laine Theatre Arts from the age of 16.

Ellis made her first professional stage appearance in 1998 and went on to make her West End debut in the 2001 revival of My Fair Lady as an understudy for the role of Eliza Doolittle. In 2002, she landed the role of Meat in the original London cast of We Will Rock You and has subsequently played lead roles in musicals Les Misérables, Wicked (in the West End and on Broadway), Oliver! and Cats as well as appearing in national tours and concert productions of musicals like Miss Saigon, Chess, The War of the Worlds and RENT. Ellis, who has received several awards and nominations for her performances, has become recognised as the First Lady of West End musicals.[1][2] She has also worked sporadically in film and television.

After meeting Queen guitarist Brian May in 2002, Ellis expanded her repertoire as a solo artist. She has released four studio albums Anthems (2010), which reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart, the self-titled Kerry Ellis (2014), Golden Days (2017) and Feels Like Home (2020) as well as an extended play Wicked in Rock (2008) and a live album Acoustic by Candlelight (2013). Ellis also appears as a featured artist on several other albums. Ellis has performed in concerts across the world in addition to headlining solo concert tours like Anthems: The Tour and The Born Free Tour.

In addition to her musical work, Ellis involves herself in charity work for the Born Free Foundation with May and is the patron of several arts organisations. In 2019, Ellis received an honorary fellowship from the University of Suffolk.

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Jonathan Andrew Hume is a professional British screen and stage performer who is highly skilled in both acting and singing and is well-known for his work on Pride, Amazing Grace and 10,000 BC. On stage, he is famous for playing Simba in The Lion King musical, Kevin J, Ali and various other roles in Come from Away and is currently playing the part of Sargeant Paine in the musical adaptation of The Third Man directed by Trevor Nunn at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.

His other theatre projects include Jesus Christ Superstar at the Wyllyotts Theatre; Rufus Longbottom and the Space Rabbit in the UK Tour; Alice in Hinterland with the Rose Youth Company at Rose Theatre and Bernstein’s Mass at the Royal Festival Hall.

Jonathan was in the 2018 feature film Mary Poppins Returns.

Among his television works is Down to Earth, EastEnders, Disney’s Favourite Songs, Strictly Come Dancing, Hope & Glory, and Anything’s Possible.

He has performed at the Musical Meets Opera with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (De Deolen, Rotterdam) and he has also worked on various commercials both for the TV and radio abroad and in the UK as well as narrating Anton Marks’ Audible audiobook recording.

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Andrée’s best known from TV series Only Fools & Horses, Hollyoaks, Holby City, Poirot & Doctor Who. She has starred in many West End theatre shows including Hair & Kiss Me Kate. Andrée has worked extensively with writer/director Steven Berkoff over the past few years on new plays The Actor’s Lament and 6 Characters in Search Of A Director.

For an in-depth account of all of Andrée’s work from film & TV roles, to viewing clips, listening to her voiceover work and more, visit her website at andreebernard.com.

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This weeks podcast comes 'live' from the Maidenhead Dance Festival in the UK. 

We get to hear teachers, parents and students views on performing and training as well as coping during lockdown. Also, the aspirations of the future performers.

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Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev, born 19 January 1980 is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer.

He started dancing at the age of eight and in 2001  moved to the United States with his professional dance partner Anya Garnis. In 2007, the couple competed on the third season of the American version of So You Think You Can Dance and they have since participated in the eight subsequent seasons as either choreographers or 'All-Star' partners to the contestants.

In 2011, Kovalev moved to the United Kingdom to take part in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer.  After finishing runner-up on both the ninth and tenth series with celebrity partners Chelsee Healey and Kimberley Walsh, he went on to win series twelve with his partner Caroline Flack. Despite facing backlash over her past dance experience and landing in the bottom two three times, he and his celebrity partner, Ashley Roberts, later became runners-up on the sixteenth series of the show. They currently hold the record of the highest average for any celebrity on the show – with an average of 36.9 – and another record for scoring the most perfect scores – with a total of five. Kovalev announced that 2018 was his final series on the show as he had decided to "find a new challenge" after "eight incredible years".

Kovalev started dating his former Strictly partner Rachel Riley in 2013, and the couple now live together in London. In May 2019, Riley and Kovalev announced via social media that they were expecting their first child in December. The couple subsequently married in Las Vegas on 28 June 2019. Their daughter, Maven Aria Riley Kovalev, was born on 15 December 2019. The couple are now expecting their second child.

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Emma Kate is a British performer. Actress, singer and dancer she performs mainly on stage in theater and opera but also in cinema.

Recently Emma Kate was spotted on stage at The Monte Carlo Opera House in Kurt Weill's Street Scene. At the Grand Palais and at the Théâtre du Châtelet for her portrayal of Lina Lamont in Singing In The Rain, or in the role of Anytime Annie in 42nd Street. She also played the role of La Fée Des Lilas in French in Peau d'âne at the Théâtre Marigny, re-orchestrated by Michel Legrand produced by Jean-Luc Choplin (Cast Album / Sony France) and Jenny Diver in The Beggars Opera by Robert Carsen & William Christie, Les Arts Florrisant, Theater Bouffes Du Nord and OPUS ARTE / FRA Prod Cinema.

Emma Kate Nelson began her career at a young age in the West End, London in Aspects of Love at the Prince of Wales Theater, she will be found later on many stages in London: Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (The World's Greatest Show, The Enchanted Pig), Aldwych Theater (Stephen Ward), Southwark Playhouse (Victor Victoria), Young Vic Theater (Street Scene), Union Theater (The Pajama Game), Jermyn Street Theater (Jean de Florette), Open Air Theater in Regent's Park (The Music Man, The Boyfriend, Lady Be Good, (A Midsummer Night's Dream), The Gatehouse Theater (Call Me Madam), Chichester Theater (42nd Street), at the Swan Theater in High Wycombe (Me and My Girl) but also on tour with White Christmas and That's Entertainment.

Outside the UK, she performed the role of Princess Adelaide (The Enchanted Pig) at the New Victory Theater in New York, Soloist at The Eldorado Showroom in Reno, Nevada, the lead role in the Australian tour of Putting on the Ritz, as well as several roles in Starlight Express in Germany. On tour again with Street Scene (Toulon Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, ​​Theater an der Wien Vienne, Oper Koln and Opera De Monte Carlo).

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Javier De Frutos, Spanish Director, Choreographer and designer (born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1963) was named by the Evening Standard as one of 2016 most influential people in the UK. He is one of only three artists in the history of the Olivier Awards to have received nominations in all of the dance categories. His awards include the Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreography for Cabaret, The Evening Standard Award for The Most Incredible Thing in collaboration with Pet Shop Boys, Critics’ Circle Awards for Milagros with Royal New Zealand Ballet and Elsa Canasta with Rambert and Scottish Ballet, The South Bank Show Award for Grass and The Time Out Award for Sour Milk with Candoco Dance Company. Further credits include the National Theatre production of London Road - winner of the Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and for which he received an Olivier nomination for the stage version and The 2017 Chita Rivera Award for best choreography in a feature film for the screen adaptation. His work Fiction for BalletBoyz was named Best of Dance by The Arts Desk and Top 10 by the Guardian in 2016.   From Here to Eternity, the Tim Rice musical which he premiered on the West End, was nominated for the WhatsOnStage award for Best Choreography and The Anatomy of a Passing Cloud for Royal New Zealand Ballet was nominated for both an Olivier Award and a National Dance Award.

He has received further recognition in the field of music video with a nomination for best choreography in the UK music Video awards for his collaboration with Jake Nava in Delilah’s Inside My Love and also received the Prix de Auteur in the 1996 Concours de Seine-Saint Denis in Paris.

His work has been the subject of several documentaries. The South Bank Show in 1998 dedicated an hour king feature. Only a handful of Dance Artists have received that Honour.

In 2011 the BBC broadcasted in prime time The Most Incredible Thing in collaboration with Pet Shop Boys, and the US premiere took place in Charlotte North Carolina in March 2018.

He was invited by the McColl Center for Arts and Innovation to be the same years’s Artist in Residence. Their first Choreographer and Director in their History.

in 2000 De Frutos became one of the first Fellowship recipients The Arts Council of England, through which he studied extensively the works of Tennessee Williams for more than two years. He also represented Britain at the internationally prestigious Venice Biennale in 2006.

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Robbie trained in Brisbane, Australia and made his debut in the Australian version of So You Think You Can Dance for television. From there he performed with the Paris Opera Ballet as part of their Australian tour. He was part of the Expressions Dance Company in Brisbane before performing on a number of cruise ships including Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.

After moving to the UK, he went on to perform in shows such as the international tour of Cats  playing Mistoffelees, the UK, Ireland and Turkey tour of Strauss, Chess at the London Coliseum, the UK, Ireland and Swiss tour of Flashdance, White Christmas at the Leicester Curve, Guys and Dolls at the Theatre Marigny, Paris.

He reprised his role as Mistoffelees in Cats at Kilworth House in 2019–2020 and also performed again in White Christmas, this time at the Dominion theatre in London's West End.

Robbie is currently appearing with Sutton Foster, Robert Lindsay, Felicity Kendall and Gary Wilmot in Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre in London.

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Kevin Wilson Public Relations is a small boutique West End PR agency that punches BIG!

Kevin Wilson has a journalist’s instinct for a great story and how to sell it in a rapidly changing media landscape. An award-winning publicist (West End Publicist of the Year – Fringe Report Awards) he moved into PR 26 years ago after 18 years as a print journalist working in London and Hollywood. He launched Kevin Wilson Public Relations in 1995 and since then he has worked constantly in the West End, representing some of the biggest and most successful productions, including Thriller Live (for 11 years at the Lyric theatre), SIX the musical, The Kite Runner, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, the UK premiere of the Broadway production of Green Day's American Idiot, long-runners The 39 Steps, Avenue Q, The Rocky Horror Show, The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas, Debbie Reynolds – Alive and Fabulous, and Joan Rivers' A Work in Progress By a Life in Progress.

KWPR stages more than 70 press nights a year, oversees several major national tours and represents one-off events including The Critics Circle Awards and the annual charity gala, West End Eurovision. Pre-Covid, 2020 would have seen KWPR celebrating our 20th year as one of the top agencies working at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

KWPR is also one of the most sought after agencies working on the London Fringe where our productions in 2019 received more than 30 Off West End Awards Offie nominations.

KWPR has also provided PR support to major celebrities, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Patti LuPone, Joan Collins, Joan Rivers, Sandra Bernhard, Roseanne Barr, Glen Campbell, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Leguizamo and Eatha Kitt.

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Acclaimed entertainer Hilary O’Neil has become renowned for her laugh-out-loud comedy and her incredible impressions. 

Starting out as a dancer with Ken Dodd at the London Palladium, she quickly moved on to join close harmony group “Stutz Bear Cats”, before leaving to pursue a solo career. She has worked all over the world and with such household names as Hale & Pace, Jim Davidson, Brian Conley, Bobby Davro, Joe Longthorne, Richard Digance, Freddie Starr and Joe Pasquale. 

As well as the Palladium, her West End appearances have included “Acorn Antiques”, Directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, in which, as well as playing several roles, she understudied both Dame Julie Walters and Celia Imrie; “Summer Holiday”, “Shout” and “Animal Crackers” at The Lyric. 

She has also appeared many times on TV. Hilary is currently touring the UK with “Menopause the Musical” and will return to plying her trade upon the high seas later in the year, performing on some of the world’s greatest Cruise Liners including P&O’s Aurora and Cunard’s flagship, Queen Mary 2.

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In this week's podcast, Craig looks back at some of his guests who helped make season 3 and he also looks to the future and highlights some of the great shows that have just opened or are due to open this year. He also highlights Amelie which he saw and loved and he shares his delight of this production with his listeners. 

Enjoy and we look forward to brining you a whole new set of guests for season 4.

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Craig is live from the Ibstock Novice Festival in Leicester this week, talking to a past student from Starquest Performers College, some of the young competitors and also owners of some of the school that have entered.

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Sam Underwood was born in Woking, Surrey and attended the Winston Churchill School. He trained at the Karen Clarke Theatre Group (now Summerscales Performing Arts). He was taught by vocal coach Phil Wisdom and attended Songtime Theatre Arts.

He moved to the United States in 2006 where he studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York.

After graduating he went on to appear as Marchbanks in George Bernard Shaw's Candida at the Irish Repertory Theatre, New York. In April 2010, he was asked to play the part of Alan Strang in a production of Equus at the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall of East Hampton, co-starring alongside Alec Baldwin.

In 2013, Sam was cast in the eighth season of television series Dexter in the recurring role of Zach Hamilton, Dexter Morgan's 'protégé'. He subsequently joined the third season of Homeland as Leo Carras.

Beginning in February 2014, Sam took on the dual roles of twins Mark and Luke Gray in the second season of the Fox murder mystery The Following. But after the death of Luke, he was left playing Mark – who had split identities – in its third and final season.

In 2017, Sam went on to join the cast of the hit AMC thriller series Fear the Walking Dead in its third season as Jake Otto, the enigmatic son of the colony leader.

In 2019, he was cast as Adam Carrington in The CW television series Dynasty, a reboot of the 1980s series of the same name.

When this podcast was recorded, he was playing the title role of Holly Martins in the brand new musical production of The Third Man directed by Trevor Nunn at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.

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Charlotte trained professionally at Laine Theatre Arts. 

Theatre credits include; Alex Owens in Flashdance (International Tour) Tina Sparkle in Strictly Ballroom (Piccadilly Theatre London, The West Yorkshire Playhouse and The Princess of Wales Theatre Toronto) Dale Tremont in Top Hat (Aldwych Theatre London and UK Tour), Penny Johnson in Dirty Dancing (First-ever National Tour, West End revival at The Piccadilly Theatre London and the original German production at The Theater am Postdamer Platz Berlin), Margot in Legally Blonde (Deaugu Opera House, Korea) Bombalurina in CATS (European Tour) Patty Simcox and also understudying/playing Sandy in Grease (UK Tour), The Golden Age Of Dance (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) Fly With The Stars (London Palladium), Dirty Dancing (Aldwych Theatre, London),

Television credits include; Strictly Come Dancing (BBC), Len Goodman’s For the Love of Fred Astaire (ITV), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV), All Star Musicals (ITV), Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV) and Children in Need (BBC).

When not performing Charlotte teaches dance at some of the countries leading Performing Arts Colleges including Guildford School of Acting, London Studio Centre, Central School of Ballet and The International College of Musical Theatre.

www.charlottegooch.com

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A short personal viewpoint on current procedure from Craig on theatres opening up.

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Adam Blanshay Productions is a London based theatre production company which produces, co-produces and manages a wide range of plays, musicals, comedies, digital content, and live event theatre across the UK, West End, Broadway and Australia. 
 
Produced over 60 productions worldwide. Winner of six Tony Awards, eight Olivier Awards, and one Helpmann Award. Adam is a 2023 EMBA Candidate of Saïd Business School, and received The Linbury Scholarship for his studies.
 
Current productions include:  Pippin (Charing Cross Theatre), The Theatre Channel (webseries), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (West End), Moulin Rouge! (Broadway, West End, US Tour, Melbourne), Notre Dame de Paris (David H. Koch Theatre, Lincoln Center), Come From Away (West End, Broadway, Toronto, North America, Australia).
 
Recent productions include: La Cage aux Folles [The Play] (Park Theatre), What’s In A Name? (UK Tour), City of Angels (West End), Waitress (West End), Lucie Jones-Live at the Adelphi, The Inheritance (Broadway), Kinky Boots (UK Tour) Fiddler On The Roof (Menier & West End), Network (Broadway), Edmond de Bergerac (Birmingham Repertory Theatre & UK Tour), Intra Muros (Park Theatre), Notre Dame de Paris (London Coliseum), Consent (West End), Angels In America (Broadway), The Color Purple (US Tour).
 
Full biography: www.adamblanshay.com | Social Media: @AdamBlanshayPro

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Terry started dancing aged 6, won a 5 year scholarship to the RAD aged 10. He attended the Royal Ballet’s Upper School, joining the Royal Ballet at age 18.  To expand his character work, he joined London’s Festival Ballet (now ENB) as a soloist, playing roles such as, Dr Coppelius in Coppelia, Sancho Panza in Don Quixote and The Headmistress in Graduation Ball. Terry left the ballet world to explore other artistic genres, and performed in musicals in London’s West End, in Film and on TV.

On retiring from performing, Terry set up as a Business Manager for people in show business. His clients included a number of well-known performers and many ‘jobbing’ dancers, singer and actors.  On selling the business 15 years later, and inspired by the realization that many of the people he’d worked with also sought his advice on personal issues, he retrained as a psychotherapist attaining a Masters Degree in Psychotherapy & Healing Practice validated by Middlesex University in 2012.

After working with an ex-ballet dancer suffering with bipolar disorder, Terry recognized that there was a very special niche that he could fill within the world of dance. He’s now combined his two passions, dance and psychotherapy bringing his ‘insider knowledge’ about life as a dancer into the realm of counselling. He founded www.counsellingfordancers.com in 2017 and has been working to support the unique needs of dancers in relation to their mental health ever since.  In 2021 Terry created the Help4Dancers App which can be downloaded for free from the Apple store.

Terry presents interactive Mental Health Self-Care Workshops for Dancers both in person and virtually.  These proactive workshops are to help support dancers’ mental wellbeing, teaching them resilience and how to be mentally fit and emotionally strong.

He now offers one to one therapy sessions available via video-link worldwide.

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Ryan has worked in every area of the entertainment industry, most recently as creative director working with the government to represent the UK for British National Day at the Milan Expo 2015. He has worked with the biggest creatives in the world including; Matthew Bourne, Arlene Philips, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Joel Schumacher, Peter Darling, Richard Marcel. He has also shared the stage with stars such as; Kerry Ellis, Idina Menzal, Adam Cooper, Miriam Margolyes, and Adam Garcia.

Ryan has worked for Simon Cowell – SYCO entertainment as a talent scout for Britain’s got talent and a new BBC show, The Greatest Dancer.

The only teacher in the world to have taught the dancers from the hit US T.V show Dance Moms for Abby Lee Miller and UK for Jennifer Ellison.

Most notably known for appearing as a finalist in the top 20 of series 2, So You Think You Can Dance and Got to Dance, before this he had a flourishing career in London’s West End but not before gaining his first job at 19 in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. Ryan was appointed as Dance Captain for Grease The Musical UK and European Tour, choreographed by Arlene Philips. Original London cast of Wicked, for ENO (English National Opera) - Kismet, London Coliseum, Cabaret, Lyric theatre, by Javier de Fructos. Featured dancer – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera the movie, directed by Joel Schumacher and choreographed by Peter Darling.

He has also worked as a choreographer with the Lebanese and Vietnamese Governments to introduce Musical Theatre to their countries and working alongside an 80 piece Orchestra and their biggest pop star, Duc Tuan.

Founder of ID-Company – A dance examination board offering a syllabus in Contemporary and Street Dance styles with a revolutionary new teacher training programme that manages over 300 schools throughout Europe and supported by many of the UK’s leading dance colleges – www.iD-Company.co.uk

He is fast becoming one of the country’s most sought after choreographers creating in theatre, T.V, film, live events, cruise’s, pop videos to teaching at some the top dance colleges in the United Kingdom and many dance schools nationwide. Ryan has gained extensive knowledge about the needs and wants for the ever-changing world of show biz.

He is artistic director for Prince Charming events working with and covered by Fashion T.V and OK! magazine. Creative director for Celebrity Gleex, a cast of ex reality T.V stars from, X-factor, Grease is the Word, SYTYCD as support act for Peter Andre and Lulu performing to crowds of 10,000 people.

Choreographer credits include: Mt4uth, channels 5 Don’t Stop Believing, Shine TV, G*Mania,  London Fashion Week shows,  Bloodbath musical Edinburgh, Ripper musical directed by Vernon Mound, Anthology for Irish composer Conor Mitchell. Annie Get Your Gun, market place theatre, Ireland, Godspell Grand Opera House, Belfast and Rose Theatre, Kingston, London. Fashion Victim musical at London Cinema museum. Two cruise productions for 2entertain and Scandinavia. Assistant choreographer for Michael Flatley and Molly Molloy stadium tour Celtic tiger.

Ryan is an international judge/adjudicator for Encore events, Dance show live, Disney camp and many established UK dance festivals.

He is a patron to Starlight Dance Academy and creative consultant to many dance companies.

Ryan actively works, giving his time to create or teach for many charity’s including, Music theatre for Youth, Ireland, Autism got Talent with Pineapple Performing Arts, Prince’s trust, London Taxi drivers fund for children and many smaller local fundraisers.

For more information please visit

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What are a young persons perspective of dance and performing arts, what are their goals, dreams and aspirations and how is dance adding to their well being and confidence?

In this podcast, Craig interviews a few of the young pupils who are training for their end of year presentation at his mum's school, the Jackie Lynn Dance Studios which has been in operation 62 years this year. 

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Steve is an ex rugby playing welsh tenor, with a BA (Hons) Performance Art Degree specialising in choreography from Middlesex University. Most recently Director of Musical Theatre at Birmingham Ormiston Academy. 

Performing highlights Mr Braithwaite in the original cast of Billy Elliot, Frank Shultz in Show Boat at the Royal Albert Hall and The Beadle in Sweeney Todd at the Royal Festival Hall. As the  presenter and choreographer of the  BBC 2 award winning documentary  Our Dancing Town, he saw  four towns in Yorkshire, coming to together, celebrating the power of community through dance. 

Choreographic credits includes The Beggar’s Opera (Royal Opera House),  Ariadne auf Naxos (Garsington Opera Festival and Den Norske Opera, Oslo),  Orpheus in the Underworld (Royal Academy of Music),  La Rondine (Opera Holland Park) and The Mikado (Scottish Opera).  

Teaching and choreographic credits include MA Music Theatre at Royal Central School of Speech,  Mountview Academy of the Arts,  Music Theatre Academy, National Youth Music Theatre, Youth Music Theatre UK, Chichester Festival Theatre Youth Company and Belfast based Music Theatre 4 Youth. 

Steve is the patron of Dance Syndrome and The London Ballet Company and the recipient of the ‘Acting for Others’ bursary from Dancer Career Development 

Recent credits include: Choreographer for ‘Save the Cinema’ Film  starring Samatha Morton, Johnathon Price, Choreographer La Traviata and Un Ballo In Maschera: Opera Holland Park Dancer:  Paddington Bear 2.

Directing credits include: The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee, The Drowsy Chaperone, Little Women (BOA), The Famous Farter (Welsh Millennium Centre), Something Old, Something New, (The Musical Academy, London) Whistle Down the Wind (Taylor and Labey), The Addams Family and Evita, Carmarthen Youth Opera. *Cuckoo’s Nest (Lost Theatre), Oliver!, The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe, Peter Pan, (Chichester Festival Theatre), God of Carnage (Manchester), Diary of a Nobody (Jerwood Space), Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore Carl Rosa Opera (Australia and US Tour) Mind the Gap (Canal Cafe), Nine and Pajama Game (Arts Educational).

Choreographic credits include: The Mikado, Scottish Opera,*Silly Kings, National Theatre of Wales, *Pirates of Penzance, Scottish Opera and D’Oyly Carte, Gioielli della Madonna (Holland Park), Yeoman of the Guard, Iolanthe (BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall), Ariadne auf Naxos and Mirandolina (Garsington Opera), Ariadne auf Naxos (Den Norske Opera, Oslo), The Beggar’s Opera (Royal Opera House,Linbury Theatre), Carl Rosas’ Gilbert and Sullivan season 2007 at the Gielgud Theatre, The Amazing Chinese Conjuror (Almeida Opera), The Merry Widow (UK/South Africa), Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore Carl Rosa  ( UK/USA), Dr Faustus (Chichester Festival Theatre), SwanSong (National Theatre Studio), The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds), Nunsense (Bridewell Theatre), Into the Woods, Dearly Beloved, The Rose and the Ring (Rose Bruford University), Sing Sherman Sing (Soho Theatre), La Bond (The Talk of London). 

Awards:
* Our Dancing Town, Winner RTS Best Reality Document
* Cuckoo’s Nest, Winner of New Musical Festival at the Lost Theatre.
*Silly Kings, Welsh Theatre Critic Awards for Best Young People Production
*Pirates of Penzance, Manchester Theatre Critic Awards Nomination for Best Touring Production.

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Carole's work as director/choreographer in the West End, includes: Dancing in the Streets (Cambridge, Savoy and Playhouse); Santa’s Christmas Adventure  (Ambassadors); Gyles Brandreth’s Zipp! (Duchess); Girls Night Out (Victoria Palace); Elvis the Musical (Astoria, Prince of Wales and Piccadilly); Return to the Forbidden Planet (Cambridge); Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey (Lyric); Lily Savage in Snow White (Victoria Palace); Tribute to the Blues Brothers (Whitehall); Jack to a King (Ambassadors); The Pocket Dream (Albery); James and the Giant Peach (Sadler’s Wells); The Rivals (Boulevard); Wild Oats (National); La Cenerentola (Royal Opera House); various Gilbert and Sullivan operas (Sadler’s Wells and Savoy) and as Resident Director: Hello, Dolly! (Drury Lane); Peggy Sue Got Married (Shaftesbury); plus many galas and concerts at the Palladium, Prince Edward, Strand, Savoy and Drury Lane including: The Ken Dodd Show, Jerry Herman’s Broadway, with Angela Lansbury and Bill Kenwright’s Any Dream Will Do concert, with eight Josephs, all at the Palladium. Also 14 productions at Above the Stag in London – the only professional LGBT fringe theatre in the UK

Worldwide includes: The Mikado in Brisbane, Sydney and LA; Elvis the Musical in Vancouver and Sydney; Dancing in the Streets in North America and Canada. Starlight Express in Japan and Australia plus countless trade shows from Iceland to the Bahamas and many musicals directed on Cruise Ships from Norway to Western Samoa.

She has directed/choreographed varied straight productions in UK, ranging from Peter Terson’s Strippers to Agatha Christie’s only comedy, Afternoon at the Seaside, and has worked on many Kenwright productions, including Can’t Smile Without You – the UK tour based on Barry Manilow’s music , Laughter in the Rain with the music of Neil Sedaka, Ferry Cross the Mersey , Simply the Best ( Tina Turner), Jesus Christ Superstar,  This is Elvis , Elvis the Musical  and the UK hit tour Cilla the Musical. She was with the Dreamboats creative team for all three titles on both the UK tours and at the Savoy and the Playhouse in London.

Television/film work includes: Stravinsky’s Renard the Fox, Lenny Beige, Morecambe and Wise and Prick Up Your Ears.

She also writes and devises compilation shows and acts for various artistes and gives occasional Tales of Toddography talks in aid of the Guide Dogs for the Blind. She enjoys living in Brighton – when she gets the chance – and is honoured to be a patron of The Brighton Academy.

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Kevin Bishop is a best known as a director and producer for the BBC Entertainment, working on shows staring for Victoria Wood (1989), and French and Saunders (1987)

He started out as an associate producer for Candid Camera from 1974 before moving to director for shows such as 'Wogan', 'The Kenny Everett Television Show', 'the Paul Daniels Magic Show', 'French and Saunder's. In the late 80s he produced and directed the 'Les Dennis  Laughter Show' and 'Michael Barrymore's Saturday Night Out'. 

In the 1990s onwards, he produced and directed many Royal Variety Performances as well as working with Rory Bremner, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. He also worked on many tribute shows for stars such as Bob Monkhouse and Bruce Forsyth and was director and producer for the highly successful 'Showstoppers'.

He was also executive producer for the 'A Song for Europe' and the 'Eurovision Song Contest' from 1995 until  2001.

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Daniel won a Cameron Mackintosh scholarship to study at the Guildford School of Acting, where he graduated with a BA (Honours) in 2001. He was selected to perform in the first UK tour of Jonathan Larson's Rent, which meant leaving college early. He understudied the characters of Mark (played by Adam Rickitt) and Angel, eventually taking over the role of Mark, performing on alternate nights at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End. In 2002, he played Morino in the UK tour of Sunset Boulevard, which starred Faith Brown. Boys also appeared as Roger, one of the T-birds, in Grease at the Victoria Palace. He also went on the touring production to Japan, and playing the role of Doody in Scandinavia and Cyprus. Daniel was also a soloist in Disney's Enchanted Evening (a series of UK concerts in 2004), of which the final concert was televised on BBC1 as the BBC Family Prom in the Park.

In 2005, Boys took part in BBC London's Children in Need – The Musical. He also performed at Party in the Park with the company of Grease. Guest TV appearances with Grease also included Blue Peter and The Graham Norton Show. His other early theatre credits include; Austin in I Love You Because (Landor in 2007), Anthony in Sweeney Todd (Royal Festival Hall in 2007), Mark in Rent (European Tour in 2006) and Parson Nathaniel (u/s) in Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (National Tour in 2007). He also understudied all male roles. He can be seen on the live tour DVD special features, performing in place of Russell Watson in the dress rehearsal.

In 2007 he participated in the BBC reality show Any Dream Will Do and was the 7th contestant to be eliminated from the series. During the series, the judges tested his vocal skills on a wide variety of music genres including rock, swing, ballads, and pop. His only opportunity to sing a musical theatre number was during a sing-off, in which he performed "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables against Lewis Bradley.

Daniel has appeared as Anthony Hope in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street which was one of the first shows to open at the newly restored Royal Festival Hall and in late 2008, he joined the cast of the hit show Avenue Q and played the lead roles of Princeton and Rod and won the "What's on Stage Theatregoers Choice Award" for "Best Takeover in a Role" for his performance.

Daniel has performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's 60th birthday concert in Hyde Park, appeared on the BBC programme "Songs of Praise" and toured with John Barrowman on his Music Music Music tour. On 6 December 2009, Boys performed with fellow artists in "Christmas in New York" at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Among his songs were "Ave Maria" and "Winter Wonderland".

In 2009 Daniel's debut solo album So Close was released and he embarked on a series of solo concerts performing at venues such as Leicester Square Theatre, the Delfont Room in the Prince of Wales Theatre, Wilton Music Hall, Greenwich Theatre and three sold-out performances at Pizza on the Park (Jazz Club), London. He made his American debut with the show when he performed at Show at Barre (Los Angeles), supported by Broadway actress Megan Hilty, and in Australia he played at both Sydney and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival alongside acts such as Olivia Newton-John and Chita Rivera.

In February 2010, Boys performed with Jessie Buckley in two concerts in Manchester and Birmingham entitled "Valentines at the Musicals" including songs from West Side Story and My Fair Lady'.

See here for further career credits

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Pia studied costume design at the Wimbledon College of Art and Design, which is part of the University of the Arts London, where she learnt a wide variety of skills including millinery, wiggery, pattern cutting and much more. She also gained a range of technical skills in machine sewing.

Since graduating she has worked her way up from a costumer at Chessington World of Adventures to working as assistant wardrobe mistress on a wide variety of productions as Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, Feydra, Small Island and Ocean at the End of the Lane at theatres including The National and the Duke of York theatre.

Pia is currently Wardrobe Mistress on the production of The Third Man at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

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Kim's  career has taken her from Broadway to the West End to the international concert stage, resulting in a most unusual career path unmatched by any other singer. She continues to specialize in musical theatre, bringing the classic American songbook to leading music venues across the world, both in symphony settings and recital.  She has sung at La Scala in Milan, La Fenice in Venice, the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Opéra Comique in Paris, Concertgebauw in Amsterdam, Carnegie (Weill) Recital Hall in New York, the Musikverein, Konzerthaus and Volksoper in Vienna, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, the Snape Maltings Concert Hall in Aldeburgh, and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, not to mention multiple appearances in London at the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican, the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Rooms, Cadogan Hall, and the Linbury Studios at the Royal Opera House, and elsewhere, from Reykjavik, Helsinki, Leipzig and Kaiserslautern, to Athens, Essen, Gothenburg and Bremen, to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Malta, Montpellier, and Moscow, giving her a unique platform among interpreters of the musical theatre repertoire.

She has had the pleasure of singing with many of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras, ranging from the Berlin Philharmonic and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, with whom she has recorded Leonard Bernstein’s Wonderful Town in a version that then was repeated as a BBC Proms concert, and as the New Year’s Eve Gala in Berlin, to the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia and London Sinfonietta, the Liverpool Philharmonic, the Northern Sinfonia, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Orchestre de Picardie, the Orchestra della Toscana, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Toronto and Winnipeg Symphonies, and many, many more. 

Kim has formed several lasting musical partnerships over the years, leading to both concert and recording opportunities. Conductor/music historian John McGlinn brought her to EMI Classics, which led to several recordings and a personal recording contract, as well as many symphony concerts across America and Europe. With conductor John Wilson, she has explored the world of film music across the UK in concert, including the very popular MGM and Rodgers and Hammerstein Proms concerts, and several solo evenings. Her ongoing recital partnership with conductor/pianist Wayne Marshall has taken the pair to many of the great concert venues in Europe, both as recitalists and in full symphony settings.  Other conductors she has appeared with include Kristjan Jarvi, , Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Yutaka Sado, Keith Lockhart, Ulf Schirmer, John Axelrod, Kevin Farrell, Carl Davis and Richard Hickox, to name a few.

Critically acclaimed for playing “Annie Oakley” in Annie Get Your Gun at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre, for which she earned a Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, and for her role as “The Old Lady” in Robert Carsen’s productions of Candide at La Scala and the Théâtre du Châtelet, she has also won a Helen Hayes Award for her work in Side by Side by Sondheim. She also starred as “Sally Adams” in Call Me Madam at the Goodspeed Opera House, singing the role of “The Old Lady” in Candide at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, and co-starring with Joseph Fiennes and Charles Edwards in Happy Days in the Art World at NYU’s Skirball Center in New York.

Kim’s Broadway credits include starring as “Lucy”, opposite Sting, in the 3 Penny Opera directed by John Dexter, and appearing in the original Broadway cast of 1982 Best Musical Tony winner Nine, first as Francesca, then taking over

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Helen's started her career with a work placement at the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester and since then she has gone on to work full-time in the professions.

She has had a long working relationship with Cameron Mackintosh supervising the hair and make up for My Fair Lady, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera in the UK and internationally, including productions in the USA, Korea and Spain.

She has also been part of Mary Poppins for over 10 years with productions in the UK, Vienna, Stuttgart and now Japan. Worked on Broadway on numerous occasions and has spent a lot of time at The Old Vic in London.

Theatre work credits include: Company, Oliver, Girl from the North Country, Groundhog Day, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Cats, Starlight Express, Guys and Dolls, We Will Rock You, Hairspray, Matilda, Wicked, Only Fools and Horses, La Cage aux Folles, Merrily We Roll Along, a Christmas Carol, Present Laughter, Long Days Journey Into Night, The Glass Menagerie, Hallelujah, Blithe Spirit and Breakfast at Tiffanys.

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 John made his West End Debut at the age of 12 in Lionel Bart’s ‘Oliver’ at the Albery Theatre. 

His theatre credits include: Bull Connor in King The Musical (Hackney Empire, 2018), Lionel Bart in The Story of Bart (Tour 2018 & Mirth, Maud & Marvel -2017 & The Hippodrome 2014), Barry Bronze in Rehab - A New Musical (The Union Theatre – 2017), Uncle Ernie in The Who’s Tommy (Greenwich Theatre), Principal Singer in Rhythm of Life (The St. James Theatre, Studio), Fogg in Sweeney Todd (ENO), Ed Kleban in A Class Act (The Landor Theatre) for which he was nominated for Best Male Performance at the Offie Awards and Broadwayworld.com 2013/14, Tateh in Ragtime (The Landor Theatre), Charles Guiteau in Sondheim's Assassins (The Union Theatre) for which he was nominated for Best Male Performance at the Offie Awards 2010, Greta in Martin Sherman's Bent (The Landor Theatre), Maisie in Diamond (The Kings Head Theatre), Dr. Thomas Parker in Batboy the Musical (Shaftesbury Theatre), Ragtime (Piccadilly Theatre), Original Cast Member of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspect of Love (Prince of Wales Theatre), Hey, Mr Producer (Lyceum Theatre), Feuilly in Les Miserables (Palace Theatre). Red Bishop & Gran/Wolf in The Boy Who Fell into a Book-Written & Directed by Alan Ayckbourn (The Stephen Joseph Theatre), Wilbur Turnblad in Hairspray (Curve Theatre, Leicester - 2014), Amos Hart in Chicago (The Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur), Skimbleshanks in Cats (Larnaca Municipal Amphitheatre, Cyprus), David in Company (Derby Playhouse), Koko in The Mikado and Njegus in The Merry Widow (both for Opera Della Luna), Harry in Flora The Red Menace and Snoopy in Snoopy The Musical (both at The Cambridge Arts Theatre), Cliff in In The Midnight Hour (York Theatre Royal), Che in Evita (Opera House, Manchester), and Tobias Ragg in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (Watermill Theatre, Newbury).

In film he has appeared as Convict 5 in Les Miserables – The Movie (2012) Directed by Tom Hooper, Kenny Star in The Catch (Primley Road Productions 2013), and Do Not Disturb – Shut Eye (2017).  and TV includes Taboo (BBC-2016) The Bill (ITV), The Purple People Eater (Dramarama Series-ITV) Pebble Mill at One (BBC1), The 1987 Royal Variety Show (ITV), and Wednesday at Eight (Thames TV)

John has also performed his own Cabaret shows on the QE2 and in some of the most prestigious cabaret venues all over the world, including London, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Washington D.C, Chicago, Sydney, Venice, Switzerland, and Denmark.

His panto credits include: Dame Nanny Fanny in Robin Hood (Queens Theatre, Hornchurch) 2019/20, Dame Dotty in Jack & The Beanstalk (Queens Theatre, Hornchurch) 2018/19, King Rat in Dick Whittington (The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury) Winner of Best Pantomime Villain of the Year – 2016/17, Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittington (Ferneham Hall), King Rat in Dick Whittington (Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield), Widow Twankey in Aladdin (Milton Keynes Theatre), Dandini in Cinderella (Capitol Theatre, Horsham), Ugly Sister in Cinderella (Churchill Theatre, Bromley), Ugly Sister in Cinderella (Richmond Theatre), Snowman in Jack & The Beanstalk (Hackney Empire), Josh the Jester in Sleeping Beauty (The Paul Robeson Theatre), Jack in Jack & The Beanstalk (Greenwich Theatre), Dame ‘Debut’ Christabel Crusoe in Robinson Crusoe (Corn Exchange, Newbury), Buttons in Cinderella (Corn Exchange, Newbury), Aladdin in Aladdin (Eden Court Theatre, Inverness), Slap in Mother Goose (Horsham Arts C

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Sally Ann Triplett is a British singer and actress and is one of only four singers to have sung for the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, first in 1980 as the lead female vocals of the six-piece band Prima Donna and then two years later as part of a double act Bardo.

Her first West End appearance was in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Subsequent West End productions include Margie and Young Phylis in Follies at the Shaftesbury, Chess at the Prince Edward Theatre, Rizzo in Grease at the Dominion Theatre and Ruby Keeler opposite Brian Conley in Jolson at the Victoria Palace Theatre and then Toronto, as Grizabella in Cats at the New London Theatre, Mrs Big in The Villain's Opera at the Royal National Theatre and, more recently, as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at the Royal National Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, directed by Trevor Nunn, as Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, as Miss Berta in Acorn Antiques - The Musical at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket and as Miss Adelaide in Guys & Dolls at the Picadilly Theatre. Sally Ann also appeared in the world premiere of Take Flight at The Menier Chocolate Factory, playing Amelia Earhart. 

Other stage appearances include Jubilee at Her Majesty's, a Judy Garland tribute concert at the London Palladium, Jill Kemp in Mister Cinders at the King's Head, Lady Evelyn in the workshop premiere of a new Stiles and Drewe musical Tutankhamun at Imagination, Lucy in Snoopy at the Watermill Newbury, Nancy in Oliver! at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester and Rebecca Hershkowitz in Rags at the Bridewell Theatre. 

Sally Ann starred in Phil Wilmott's production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Liverpool Empire. Shakespeare's classic battle of the sexes had been transported to wartime London, where Sal played the feisty Beatrice (played by Emma Thompson in Kenneth Branagh's movie adaptation), she also appeared in the review Make Me A Song, based on the works of William Finn and as Marge in Absent Friends at the Watford Theatre. 

More recently Sal has appeared as Donna in Mamma Mia! at the Prince Edward Theatre, as Maria Merelli in Lend Me A Tenor at The Theatre Royal, Plymouth and Mistress Page in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor at Stafford Castle. Sal has played Diana in the Drama Centre Theatre's production of Next To Normal in Singapore and, between 2012 and 2015, Sal has created the roles of Lauren in Viva Forever at the Picadilly Theatre, Judy/Liza in My Judy Garland Life at the Nottingham Playhouse, Peggy White in The Last Ship at The Bank of America Theatre, Chicago (later transferring to The Neil Simon Theatre, New York) and Billie Dore in the 2015 Chichester Festival Theatre production of A Damsel In Distress.

On television Sally Ann appeared in the award-winning short film The Fishing Trip and played one of the leading roles in Magic, a six-part drama series set in Hamburg. Her recent TV appearances include Doctors, Down to Earth and EastEnders, all for the BBC.

For more information see www.sallyanntriplett-official.com

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Claire trained at the Elliot Clarke Stage School in Liverpool and the Italia Conti Stage School in London. Her extensive acting work on television includes playing regular character Lindsay Corkhill in Brookside, the fiery Katrina in the award-winning drama Clocking Off, Lindsey Kendal in the popular BBC series Holby City, Roz in BBC1's hit drama Merseybeat, and Amanda in comedy drama Candy Cabs.

Claire's West End roles include Roxie Hart in Chicago and Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, playing opposite Patrick Swayze. Claire played the title role in Educating Rita alongside Matthew Kelly and Paulette in the UK tour of the award winning Legally Blonde. In 2011, she starred in a one-woman show Tell Me on A Sunday. Other theatre credits include White Christmas, Shout!, Fosse (World Tour), The Play Wot I Wrote, and the UK Tour of John Godber’s September in the Rain, alongside John Thomson. She has also performed duets with International Opera stars Bryn Terfel and Jose Carreras at The Royal Albert Hall, and headlined the Lytham Proms Festival.

As a television presenter, Claire authored the one-hour ITV primetime documentary Claire Sweeney: My Big Fat Diet. She presented four series of 60 Minute Makeover(ITV1) and hosted Saturday night shows Here Comes the Sun (BBC1) and Challenge of a Lifetime (ITV1). Claire presented three live specials of I'm Famous and Frightened for Living TV. She appeared in the first and most successful series of Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother, was a regular panellist on Loose Women, appeared on Celebrity Come Dine With Me, and was a contestant on the first ever series of Strictly Come Dancing. Claire has also enjoyed taking part in The Royal Variety Show and BBC1's primetime Saturday night series Let's Dance for Comic Relief, in which she made it to the finals.

Claire has entertained British Troops abroad, and was the first entertainer to visit the troops in Afghanistan and Oman. She was delighted and honoured to perform at A Party To Remember broadcast live on BBC1 from Trafalgar Square to celebrate VE Day and sang live at The Royal Albert Hall for VE Day as well as performing live to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in the presence of HM the Queen. Claire is an Ambassador for the Variety Club and was the leading force in raising one million pounds to build a new wing for Claire House as part of the Sparkling Star Campaign. Over the years Claire has made several trips to Africa for her Aids charity work, a cause she holds close to her heart.

Claire's solo album, simply entitled Claire, reached the top 5 of the UK charts. In 2010, Claire performed in a series of concerts entitled Battle Of Britain - 70th Anniversary with three of the country's finest orchestras.

She was recently seen in the BBC1 comedy Scarborough, staring alongside Jason Manford, Stephanie Cole and Catherine Tyldesley playing Maneater Hayley Coxand has also recently played Shirley Valentine onstage, Willy Russel’s one-woman play directed by Ian Talbot OBE.

She also starred as Irene Roth in Crazy For You, Baroness Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray (all on National Tour). Prior to these, Claire toured in the hit show Sex In Suburbia, which she co-wrote, following its hugely successful run at the Royal Court Liverpool. She recently guest starred as Maxine in the hit ITV comedy Benidorm, was special guest on Jane and Friends, and hosts her very own weekly musical theatre-themed show on Magic

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Helen Hobson boasts an impressive career in both Musical Theatre and TV. Following her debut in Chess in the West End she then joined the cast of Les Miserables. From there her leading lady roles include, Donna in Mamma Mia!, Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers, Clara in Stephen Sondheim’s award winning Passion, Cathy opposite Sir Cliff Richard’s Heathcliff, Eliza in My Fair Lady, Rose Vibert in Aspects of Love, Grizabella in Cats and Mrs Walker in Tommy.  She has just finished playing the role of Diane in Come From Away at the Phoenix theatre in the West End.

Helen has also played roles in EastEnders, The Bill, Where The Heart is, Rosemary & Thyme, Doctors, Judge John Deed and Heartbeat. She made her film debut in the award winning movie Lovelorn, winning Best Supporting Actress at the prestigious Los Angeles Reel Film Festival.

Helen has also performed with many orchestras around the world, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The NDR Orchestra, The London Pops Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, The Showbiz Pops Orchestra and The Kammerspiel Trio.

She has also just trained as a fitness professional and offers healthy eating advice, 1-2-1 coaching and online coaching. Follow her on Twitter @HealthyhelenNo1.

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Yay, we are one year old and this is our 52nd recording. 

We started this podcast with an initial taster intro on 6 May 2020 and our first episode, with Alan Burkitt, was on 10 May 2020. 

We are so excited that live performance will soon be happening again as we have all missed so dearly, so today we are taking some time to wish ourselves a very happy birthday and to welcome back to the stage all the performances that are about to reopen again this summer. 

So all you need to do is sit back, relax and listen in with us…

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Joanne's background in professional & performance ballet, musical theatre and television provides her with unique expertise and credentials in the performing arts.

Born in Paignton, Devon where she attended the Pamela De Waal School of Dancing. From an early age she was performing professionally in pantomimes alongside the Carry On team and Freddie Davis. She trained at the Arts Educational School in London, going on to perform principal roles with the Dublin City Ballet Company in Ireland, namely Pas De Quatre, Les Slyphides and The Nutcracker, working with Lou Conte, Paula Hinton Gore and John Gilpin. Joanne also danced frequently with the Dublin Grand Opera in Carmen, La Traviata 

On her return to the UK, she performed in the Jim Davidson show playing the role of Cinderella before joining the original cast of 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Joanne went on to play the role of Phyllis Dale, understudy both Peggy Sawyer which she performed numerous times and Anytime Annie. She later went on to perform Peggy Sawyer on the first national tour and return season to the West End at the Dominion Theatre.

On television Joanne has appeared on the Royal Variety Performances of 1985 & 1986, A Royal Night of 100 Stars, Casualty, House of Elliott and Little Englanders to name a few. In film she has appeared in The Hawk and the James Bond movie Goldeneye.

Joanne's experience also encompasses choreography for pantomime & smaller revues and acting in corporate videos.

A scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dance led her into a teaching career and in 1995 she graduated with distinction from the Professional Dancers Teaching Course. Going on to teach at the Denise Windmill School of Dance, The London School of Mime, Diana Vere School of Dance, Corona Stage School, Centre Stage and Roehampton Institute.

Until recently she also taught at the RAD Dance School in London.Joanne also taught regular artistic enhancement classes alongside RAD Summer and Easter Schools both in England and abroad, Children’s Summer Classes, and numerous children’s workshops. She has also taught at MOVE IT for the RAD, Move 123 in Luxembourg and assisted Craig Bartley who choreographed the Finale for Dance Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

She has had the pleasure of teaching the ballet classes for the IDTA Classical Performance Awards and at the IDTA London Seminar. Joanne has also had the honour of adjudicating the IDTA Classical Performance Awards.

Joanne was selected to complete training to enable her to teach Sir Frederick Ashton workshops both for The Dream and La Fille Mal Gardee for the RAD which she did at RAD HQ

She continues to run her own ballet school in Surrey, now in its eighteenth year. She is also a licenced Silver Swan teacher.

In October 2018 Joanne became the Principal of the RAD Dance School at the headquarters in London.

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Gary’s first West End role was that of Bill Snibson in the award winning Musical ‘Me And My Girl’ in 1989 (Adelphi Theatre).  A successful No.1 theatre tour of a new comedy, ‘Teething Troubles’ followed, both productions to critical acclaim. 

With direction by Simon Callow, Gary’s next role was that of Joe in the award winning ‘Carmen Jones’ (Old Vic). Gary then starred in the first sell out national tour of ‘Me And My Girl’ which earned him a best actor nomination.

He then went on to star in the world premier of the Barry Manilow musical ‘Copacabana’ at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre after which, he received a special invitation to recreate his role in ‘Me And My Girl’ for the final tour of this great show.

That same year he recorded a one-hour TV special for the BBC – ‘Showstoppers’ and was invited to record a further series of six TV spectaculars with the BBC Concert Orchestra and many national and international guest stars. He also starred in and directed a 160 date tour of ‘Showstoppers'.

In 1997 he created the role of Elliot Garfield in ‘The Goodbye Girl’ and in 1998 another successful characterisation of Fagin in the Cameron Mackintosh production of ‘Oliver’, touring through spring and summer 1999.

Gary spent a highly successful period at the Bristol Old Vic (and touring) in Willy Russell’s play ‘One For The Road’ and starred in the concert tour of ‘Music To Watch Girls By’ singing, in his own inimitable style. 

A No 1 tour of Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Confusions’, Bottom in The New Shakespeare Company to play  ‘A_Midsummer_Night’s_Dream’ (Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park) and the Pirate King in ‘Pirates of Penzance' and a performance in the national tour of Giles Havergal’s brilliant adaptation of the Graham Greene novel ‘Travels With My Aunt’.

Gary spent most of 2003/4 at The London Palladium, starring in the record breaking ‘Chitty_Chitty_Bang_Bang’ and ending the year with his own national concert tour ‘My-Kind_Of_Music’. 

In the summer, he was invited back to The Open Air Theatre to play Dauntless Dick Deadeye in ‘H.M.S_Pinafore’ and then starring in ‘Santa Claus the Musical’ at The Mayflower, Southampton in 2005. He was invited back to ‘Chitty_Chitty_Bang_Bang’ and the 2006 Christmas season saw him starring in ‘Peter Pan’ as Captain Hook.

A successful national tour of ‘Half_a Sixpence’ and the 2007 Christmas as the Scarecrow in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and then the Lion in The Festival Theatre's The Wizard of Oz in 2008, finally ending the year in Manchester as Smee in Peter Pan.

In 2009 Gary starred in the national tour of ‘Chicago’ in the role of Billy Flynn, the lawyer, ‘The Invisible Man’, at Chocolate Factory, the national tour of Lord Arthur Saville's Crime as Septimus Podgers and as the lead comic role in the national tour of  ‘Radio Times’. In 2013, he played Dame for the first time at the Birmingham Hippodrome and then a run of westend shows including, The Pajama Game, Dirty Rotten Scound

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Leon studied at Guildford School of Acting.

Leon's theatre credits include: Sandra Bollock - Everybodys talking about Jamie (Apollo Theatre) West End, Babkak/Cover Genie - Aladdin (Prince Edward Theatre) West End, Audrey II (Voice of the plant) - Little Shop Of Horrors (Salisbury Playhouse & Mercury Theatre Colchester), Queen Of Hearts - Alice In Wonderland (UK tour), King Herod - Jesus Christ Superstar (Arena Tour UK & Australia), Rodney - My Big Gay Italian Wedding - (Greenwich Theatre), Melvin P Thorpe - The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (Union Theatre), Company - Myths And Hymns (Finborough Theatre), Sid/Inventor - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (UK tour), Montel/Jesus - Jerry Springer The Opera (Cambridge Theatre) West End, Chuck Brown - Over The Rainbow (UK Tour), Company - On The Shelf (Edinburgh Festival) and other roles in Exit Allan - (Sherman Theatre Cardiff).

On television Leon's credits include:  Ensemble - Jesus Christ Superstar Arena tour (Universal), Montel/Jesus - Jerry Springer The Opera (BBC2 & Avalon), a featured role in “Paddy Power Ball Of Shame” (Commercial) and a featured role - Nintendo Wii Fit (Commercial).

Pantomime credits include: Ugly Sister - Cinderella (New Wimbeldon Theatre), Director - Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - (Forum Barrow), Director - Cinderella (Forum Barrow), Widow Twankey - Aladdin - (Derby Arena), Dame Jollena Jellychops - (Oxford Playhouse), Dame Doughnut - Dick Whittington (Oxford Playhouse), Sarah The Cook - Dick Whittington (Grove Theatre Dunstable), Dame Mary Trott - Jack And The Beanstalk (Broadway Theatre Catford), Dame Widow Twankey - (Lyceum Theatre Crewe), Dame Nanna Nora - Sleeping Beauty (Lyceum Theatre Crewe), Genie - Aladdin (Loughborough), Dame Daisy Dollop - Jack And The Beanstalk - (Wakefield Theatre Royal) and Sarah The Cook - Dick Whittington - (Cliffs Pavilion Southend - QDOS).

He was also the presenter Amadeus - Globalzoom Hair and Modelling show- (Vienna - Austria) and lead singer - Songs of Michael Jackson - MA Concerts (Warwick Castle).

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Derek rose to fame as a presenter of the legendary BBC children's show Play School in the 1970s. He was raised in London, the actor and musician and went on to perform in both theatre, film, TV and radio.

His West End credits include: Sing a Rude Song, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Black Mikado, The Travelling Music Show, The Secret Life of Cartoons, Run for your Wife, Dry Rot, Aladdin, Snow White, Babes in the Wood, Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, Noises Off, Twelth Night, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Exonerated. He recently appeared in The Mousetrap at the St Martin's Theatre, Exit the King at the National Theatre and on tour in Driving Miss Daisy.

Television appearances include: Unforgotten, Midsomer Murders, Small Axe, Casualty, Holby City, Doctors, The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, Silent Witness and Coronation Street.

Regarding composing work, Derek wrote all the music for Heads and Tales, Bod, Two by Two, Mythical Magical Creatures as well as many TV jingles. He wrote the music and lyrics for a production of The Three Musketeers at the Royal Exchange.

In 2014, he was awarded a gold award for his music in TV from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. His voice can be heard on many cartoon and TV adverts.

At the time of recording this podcast, Derek was appearing in The Third Man at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

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Steven's television and film credits include: Jeff Cullen (Regular) in Coronation Street & Just Rosie (ITV), Ken Beasley (Regular) in Bernard’s Watch (Carlton), Gregg Blake (Regular) in London’s Burning (LWT), Ed Russell (Regular) in Bugs (Carnival / BBC), Captain Barker in The New adventures of Robin Hood (Warner Bros), Drew in Doctors (BBC), Scott Bridges in Holby City (BBC), Ex (Moonstone), Alive and Kicking (Film Four), Futures (Flick Films), Prisoners of Honour (Franco London Films).Theatre credits include Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music (UK Tour), an Olivier nomination for his portrayal of Keith Nicholson in Spend Spend Spend (Piccadilly, Original Cast), Bob Wallace in White Christmas (Edinburgh Festival and The Lowry Manchester), Arnaud du Thil in Martin Guerre (Prince Edward, Original Cast), Adam Pontipee in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (National Tour), Chris in Miss Saigon (National Tour), Danny Zuko in Grease (National Tour), The Narrator in Blood Brothers (Phoenix), Alex in Desperately Seeking Susan (Novello, Original Cast), Curly in Oklahoma (Kilworth open air theatre), Munkustrap in Cats (New London), Pish Tush in The Hot Mikado (Queens, Original Cast), Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun, (National Tour), Pat Denning in 42nd Street (Chichester Festival Theatre), Sebastian in The Thing About Men, (New Players), Pip in Great Expectations (National Tour), Arthur in Come Dancing (RNTS), Dave in Komb@ (RNTS), Simon in Friends Like Us (Arts), Lead in War Cabaret (Pleasance), Kiss Me Kate (National Tour), Moby Dick (Piccadilly, Original Cast), The Man in American Hot (Cafe de Paris), and Children of Eden (Prince Edward, Original Cast) 

His recording credits include “Wind Beneath My Wings”, a single produced by Simon Cowell, which sold 600,000 copies and reached number 3 in the UK singles chart. Also, Steven recorded his own album, which sold 200,000 and went straight to gold disc.

As well as his performing work, Steven is also the Artistic Director of ‘Excel Performing Arts’ in Hertfordshire. He has lectured all over the UK and has been an adjudicator for many dance festivals/competitions including the new ‘Champion of Champions’ festival. Most recently he has adjudicated ‘Miss Dance of Great Britain’ in Blackpool.  

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From training as a 13 year old at Italia Conti school, Lee has had an illustrious career performing in theatre before becoming the successful multi award winning choreographer and director that he is now.

Lee has directed: Once on this Island (Southwark Playhouse); Eurovision (Iceland); Legally Blonde (Monaco)

Lee has choreographed: Ghost (Stuttgard, Germany); Fiddler on the Roof (Det nyt Teatre, Denmark);City of Angels (Royal Academy of Music); Once on this Island (Southwark Playhouse); Eurovision, (Iceland), Matilda (Reykjavik); The Rocky Horror Show (Reykjavik City Centre); Ghost (Stage Entertainment); Elf The Musical (Tivoli, Copenhagen); Sunset Boulevard (UK Tour); Legally Blonde (Opéra Garnier, Monaco); Ghost (Landestheater Linz); The Braille Legacy (Charing Cross Theatre); GHOST The Musical (original German speaking production) Linz, Austria and Berlin; RENT (UK tour); Harriet Martineau Dreams of Dancing (Live Theatre, Newcastle); Spring Awakening (Leicester Curve); Allegro (Southwark Playhouse); Grey Garden's (Southwark Playhouse); The Smallest Show on Earth (UK tour); Grand Hotel (Southwark Playhouse); The Wind in the Willows (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre); The Producers (UK tour); Mamma Mia & Billy Elliot (Reykjavik City Theatre); Ghost The Musical (English Theatre Frankfurt); Post Office of Iceland (TV Commercial); Lottys War (UK tour), Revolution in the Elbow of Ragnar Agnarsson (Minetta Lane Theatre New York); Carousel (Arcola Theatre); HI Lo Joe (Movie); Tyne (Theatre Royal Newcastle/Custom House); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Reyjavik City Theatre); Cooking With Elvis (Live Theatre, Newcastle); Olympia (Workshop/Jerwood Space); The Revenge Of Sherlock Holmes (Hoxton Hall, London); Mary Poppins (Reykjavik City Theatre); Boy Meets Boy (Jermyn Street Theatre); Victor Victoria (Southwark Playhouse); Our House (Peoples Theatre, Newcastle); Mack and Mabel (Southwark Playhouse); Utopia (Soho Theatre); Guys and Dolls (Upstairs at the Gatehouse); A Northern Odyssey (Live Theatre).
Resident Choreographer: Billy Elliot (Victoria Palace). 

His awards include: 2019 Griman Award for Best Choreographer for Matilda at Reykjavik City Theatre; 2017 International Best Achievement Recognition Award "Best Choreographer", 2017 TheOffWestEnd Award (Offie) "Best Choreographer" for Allegro at the Southwark Playhouse, 2016's "Best Choreographer" TheOffWestEnd Award (Offie) for Grand Hotel in London and Mack and Mabel. Lee co-directed Legally Blonde with Nikolai Foster.

Biography courtesy of Global Artists

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Alex made his West End debut in the RSC/Opera North production of Showboat at The London Palladium in 1991. Shortly after this he joined the London production of Buddy at The Victoria Palace Theatre. In 1992 Alex joined the American touring company of Buddy and performed at The White House in the presence of President & Mrs George Bush.

On his return Alex took over the role of Buddy Holly (his idol!) in the London production for two years. He went on to Only The Lonely at The Whitehall theatre, London and then played Kenickie in the 1st National tour of Grease, taking over the lead role of Danny Zuko when the show transferred to the Cambridge Theatre, London. After this, Alex played the role of Gaston in Disney's Beauty & The Beast at the Dominion Theatre, London.

A change of pace saw Alex in stockings and suspenders as Dr. Frank'n'Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. He then played another one of his singing idols, Dean Martin in The Rat Pack – Live from Las Vegas on the national tour. After a stint in Chicago at The Adelphi, London playing Billy Flynn, and tours of The Magnificent Musicals with Ruthie Henshall, Alex returned to Disney's Beauty & The Beast, this time playing the role of The Beast, before playing Dean Martin again in The Rat Pack at the then Strand Theatre, London.

Alex then joined the cast of We Will Rock You at The Dominion theatre which was to be his home for the next six years playing Khashoggi. During this time, Alex became a father to his beloved daughter Josie, after marrying his wife, Jo in Las Vegas! (as a life-long Elvis fan – where else?!)

A career highlight followed when he played Fred/Petruchio in Trevor Nunn's production of Kiss Me, Kate at Chichester and then The Old Vic theatre, London for which he received an Olivier nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

Alex played Daryl Van Horne in Craig Revel Horwood's production of The Witches Of Eastwick at The Watermill Theatre, Newbury for which he received a TMA nomination for Best Actor and then went on to originate the role of Bob in Midsummer Songs at the New Wolsey theatre, Ipswich. He performed in his first ever pantomime in 2014 playing Captain Hook at the King's theatre, Glasgow with the much loved Greg McHugh.

His Annie journey began in 2015 when he played his dream role of Daddy Warbucks on the national tour for a year. He then did his second pantomime as Blackheart in Robinson Crusoe at Cliff's Pavilion, Southend with Gok Wan and Brian Conley.

In early 2017, Alex played Sam Carmichael in the national tour of Mamma Mia! just prior to the London and Toronto productions of Annie during 2017/18. Most recently he appeared as Lex Hogan in the new British musical, Eugenius at The Other Palace, London.

Over the years, Alex has been privileged to perform in numerous concerts and broadcasts including – Friday Night is Music Night for BBC Radio 2, A Night of a Thousand Voices at The Royal Albert Hall, "All About Bond" at The Henley Festival with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Kiss Me, Kate BBC Prom with the John Wilson Orchestra at The Royal Albert Hall for BBC2 and he was honoured to perform live at The Olivier Awards the year of his nomination.

Alex would like to thank all the amazing “Annies” he has worked with, for making this show so special.