Represent! - The queer musical theatre podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this week's episode from Podstream Studios in New York, Dr James Lovelock talks to actors Evan Kinnane and Ben Jackson Walker about LGBTQ+ representation on Broadway and beyond. We talk about Evan's role as Marc Hall in the 2020 production of The Louder We Get at Theatre Calgary in Canada, and about Ben's current role as Romeo in & Juliet as well as our hopes and dreams for queer musical theatre in the future.

Follow Evan on Instagram here.

Follow Ben on Instagram here.

Follow James on Instagram here.

'This Dance Is For You' from The Louder We Get

www.queermusicals.com

This episode was recorded at Podstream Studio in New York and engineered by Desta Wondirad (thanks Desta!)

In this episode, Dr James Lovelock is joined by Oliver Houser, the writer of XY and She Reached For Heaven. We talk about intersex representation in musical theatre, and the writing and development process of XY as a queer musical.

Oliver's website is here and you can follow him on Instagram here.

You can follow James on instagram here.

www.queermusicals.com

This episode was recorded at Podstream Studio in New York and engineered by Desta Wondirad (thanks Desta!)

In our first episode of Series 2, we are joined by Layton Williams (Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Bad Education) and Liam Mower (Matthew Bourne's New Adventures, Cats). Liam and Layton both played the title role in the original West End production of Billy Elliot The Musical before reconnecting in a touring production of The Car Man in 2015. We talk about their experiences as child actors, queer representation across dance, theatre and television, and the importance of their friendship group in maintaining a queer community.

Follow us on Instagram and check out our website www.queermusicals.com for more information.

Layton Williams: Instagram profile

Liam Mower: Instagram profile

Dr James Lovelock: Instagram profile

On Saturday 8th July, we launch our second series of Represent, the queermusicals.com podcast about LGBTQ+ representation in musical theatre and beyond. Dr James Lovelock is joined by a different guest panel every week to discuss how queer actors and creatives are changing the musical theatre industry and allowing LGBTQ+ people to see themselves - and be themselves.

Featuring Layton Williams and Liam Mower (Billy Elliot The Musical), Joe Foster, Jaz Terry and Aaron Shales (& Juliet), and Robin Simões da Silva and Teddy Hinde (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) with further guests to be announced.

Theme music: 'Sky Pop - Electronic Dance Music' by JuliusH

This podcast is funded by the University of Wolverhampton.

For our final episode of the series, we speak to the lovely Jo Foster (they/them) and Liam McEvoy (he/they) from the recent Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Legally Blonde about their experiences of playing the Legally Blonde dogs Bruiser and Rufus. We chat about being birthday twins, the power of Annie the musical, and Jo’s recent casting as May in & Juliet.

#legallyblonde #lgbt #lgbtq #musicals #musicaltheatre #regentspark #oat #rent #hopemilltheatre #julietmusical #shaftesbury #nonbinary #anniemusical

Jo Foster is appearing as May in & Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre from Monday 26th September - tickets here.

Liam McEvoy is appearing in Aladdin at the Aylesbury Waterside from 2nd December until 2nd January - tickets here.

This episode features Alice Croft and Evie Rose Lane, who both appeared in the recent production of But I'm A Cheerleader at the Turbine Theatre. We discuss But I'm A Cheerleader, GradFest and the importance of letting people be themselves within the industry. #lesbian #female #queer #representation #butimacheerleader #gradfest #liamgartland #taniaazevedo #alicecroft #evieroselane

This episode was recorded back in June when I visited Los Angeles for the East West Players production of Interstate: A New Musical. I spoke to the writers Melissa Li and Kit Yan, and actors Jupiter Lê (Dash) and Jaya Joshi (Henry) about their heroes and inspirations, their connection to the narrative and some of the key songs from the musical.

Interstate is an Asian-American pop-rock poetry musical that follows Dash, a transgender spoken word performer who becomes internet-famous along with his best friend Adrian, a lesbian singer-songwriter. Fueled by the allure of fame and a desire to connect with their community, the band embarks on a road trip across America for their first national tour. Their fiercely political and deeply personal music touches Henry, a transgender teenage boy living in small-town middle America, and he finds solace in their art as he struggles with his own identity and family.

Listen to 'Loser Dumplings' here and 'I Don't Look' here.  You can find out more about Interstate here.

Today's guest is Matthew Koon, a multi-hyphenate millenial performer and writer. Matthew was the first Chinese actor to play Billy Elliot in the West End in March 2006, and he recently completed over eight years as first soloist with Northern Ballet. We talk about East Asian and queer representation in ballet, film and theatre, and how queer identities can intersect and evolve through our art. #chinese #eastasian #lgbtq #queer #musicals #ballet #billyelliot #sandrao #drewmconie #northernballet #merlin #greatestday

In today's episode, we talk to Terique Jarrett and Elander Moore about queer and black representation in theatre and musicals. We discuss Terique's role in Daddy: A Melodrama by Jeremy O.Harris at the Almeida Theatre, and Elander's performances in The Barbershop Chronicles by Inua Ellams and The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer at the National Theatre and on tour.

I met Terique and Elander accidentally at Legally Blonde at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre so we talk about representation in this production as well as mentioning Elander's spoken word performances and Terique's connection to the TV series Hustle.

You can follow Elander's Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/elander1000.

Don't forget to check out our website www.queermusicals.com for more information about LGBTQ+ representation in musical theatre.

Music: 'Sky Pop - Electronic Dance Music' by JuliusH, 'Motivational Ident (Main)' by DaddysMusic

In our first episode, we are joined by Allie Daniel and Iz Hesketh. Allie and Iz appeared in the Hope Mill production of Rent and the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Legally Blonde, both of which featured a queer and diverse cast and creative team.

We discuss how trans and non-binary actors are foregrounded in these productions, and how we can continue to support trans and non-binary people in the musical theatre industry. We focus on intersections between queer people and women of colour, as well as highlighting the importance of creating queer spaces within theatre.

Allie is currently appearing in Happy Meal by Tabby Lamb at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh and then on tour through August and September.

You can donate to Allie's GoFundMe here.

Find out more about productions such as Interstate: A New Musical and Unicorn on our website www.queermusicals.com.

Music: 'Sky Pop - Electronic Dance Music' by JuliusH, 'Motivational Ident (Main)' by DaddysMusic