Camden Fringe Pod

Zena and Michelle have a great catch-up with John Plews and find out what he's been up to since he and Katie stood down as the managers of Upstairs at the Gatehouse. The big news is - he's bring his own show to the Camden Fringe this summer!Titanic - The Inquiry: https://camdenfringe.com/events/titanic-the-inquiry/Ovation UK: https://ovationuk.com/Upstairs at the Gatehouse: https://www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com/Society of Independent Theatres https://sitgb.orgMore info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We were absolutely delighted to talk to brilliant comedy writer Joel Morris about his new book Be Funny Or Die - How Comedy Works and Why It Matters which is an excellent dissection of comedy, but also contains loads of great advice on writing in general.Joel is one of Britain’s busiest and most respected comedy writers, working on everything from Charlie Brooker’s Wipe shows to the hit Paddington films. Joel co-created the 5-million-plus selling Ladybird Books For Grown-Ups series and the cult humour hit The Framley Examiner and co-wrote the bestselling British travel guides Bollocks To Alton Towers Joel has won a BAFTA, Sony and Broadcast Awards for his writing, and put words in the mouths of everyone from Mitchell & Webb and Flight of The Conchords to Armstrong & Miller and Miranda Hart. Joel is the co-host and producer of Comfort Blanket, the top 10 arts podcast analysing how comforting films, tv, music and books achieve their magic, and the award-winning Rule of Three podcast about the craft of comedy writing (winner, best arts and culture podcast British Podcast Awards 2020). Joel Morris Substack https://joelmorris.substack.com/Joel Morris Twitter https://twitter.com/gralefritComfort Blanket podcast https://pod.link/1614879928Be Funny or Die book https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Joel-Morris/Be-Funny-or-Die--How-Comedy-Works-and-Why-It-Matters/29622539Be Funny or Die audiobook https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Be-Funny-or-Die-Audiobook/B0CQ3FMQXW?More info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An insightful interview with Matthew Parker, an all-round accomplished Fringe Theatre maker. He speaks to us primarily about marketing and press relations, but has many insights to share.If you only take one bit of his advice, make it "don't be a dick." But do take more of his advice as it's excellent and based on his wide experience.Find out more about Matthew and engage his services: https://www.matthewparker.net/More info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zena and Michelle meet Nia Williams and Katie Blackwell of Three Chairs and a Hat Theatre who are bringing their show Mrs Pack to the Camden Fringe this summer. Find out about the real story behind this new piece, the challenges of putting on a fringe musical and recording your performance.Mrs Pack can be seen at the Etcetera Theatre on the 19th, 20th, 24th and 15th of August https://camdenfringe.com/events/mrs-pack/More about Nia: niawilliams.comMore about Katie: katieblackwell.comMore info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are delighted that Mark Ravenhill - playwright and theatre maker - agreed to talk to us about his work and to share his advice for fringe theatre makers. Mark is currently mailing out (for FREE!) 101 Exercises for Playwrights via Buttondown. You can sign up and find out more via: https://twitter.com/MarkRavenhill2More info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We chat to Chris Grady about first time producing, chocolate cake and musicals. Chris Grady is a facilitator, workshop leader and trainer specialising in the support of the next generation of creative producers and practitioners. Chris created and ran the MA in Creative Producing at Mountview Academy for of Theatre Arts, until August 2018. He then returned to live in Scotland where he works for the University of the West of Scotland and founded the CGO Institute to deliver an online Diploma in Creative Producing from 2020. Useful links:CGO Institute https://www.chrisgrady.org/Musical Theatre Network https://www.musicaltheatrenetwork.com/Mercury Musical Development https://www.mercurymusicals.com/More info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michelle and Zena speak to Heather Jeffrey the founder and editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine. Heather is a playwright and artistic director of a theatre company, so is always a thoughtful and sympathetic reviewer of fringe shows. She talks about pub theatre, writing press releases, contacting the press and how to become a reviewer.Heather is on twitter https://twitter.com/HJwritesAnd you can find London Pub Theatres here: https://www.londonpubtheatres.com/ Their "Getting Into Theatre" series is well worth looking at if the themes of the Camden Fringe Pod are of interest to you.More info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the latest news and then chat to Joe O'Byrne - the Salford Scorcese - about having a lot of brass neck and taking his many shows on the road.More info about Joe and his work: https://www.talesfromparadiseheights.com/More info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet our friends in the South (of London) Rebecca Pryle and Velenzia Spearpoint. They run the Bread and Roses Theatre and the Clapham Fringe, which has now evolved into the Lambeth Fringe. Hear it expand whilst we are chatting.Bread and Roses: https://www.breadandrosestheatre.co.uk/Lambeth Fringe: https://www.lambethfringe.com/More info on the Camden Fringe: www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zena and Michelle catch-up with Chris Perkins and Holly Whytock from Eventotron. Eventotron is the arts admin site that the Camden Fringe (and many other festivals and venues use to contact acts and populate their programmes. We find out where it came from, where it's going and what AI means for the future of theatre and fringes.More info on Eventotron: www.eventotron.comMore info on the Camden Fringe www.camdenfringe.comOur music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back for our first episode of 2024. Michelle and Zena catch you up on where things are at with the 2024 Camden Fringe, some venue news and some awards news before an interview with Leslie Ewing-Burgesse. Leslie has performed stand-up at the Camden Fringe in the past and this year has taken on the role of programming the shows for Aces and Eights in Tufnell Park.Here are your useful links for this episode:Leslie's website, including all her social media links https://leslieis.cool/about/acesAces and Eights: https://www.acesandeightssaloonbar.com/Troy Club: https://troyclubcomedy.comCamden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a lovely chat with showbiz legend Bernie Clifton ahead of the publication of his autobiography Crackerjack to Vegas. We were very lucky to speak to Bernie about how he got his start in comedy, his love of elaborate practical jokes and taking to the skies on an ostrich.Order Bernie's book here! https://www.bannisterpublications.com/product-page/crackerjack-to-vegashttp://www.bernieclifton.co.uk/We'll be back with more regular episodes in the new year, when the Camden Fringe opens for applications for summer 2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to Cyril Blake who performed his first solo show Bonding at the Hen and Chickens during the Camden Fringe this summer. Cyril also squeezed the pips out of the festival by seeing over 30 other Camden Fringe shows.We discuss his experiences of performing and being an audience member this summer.Follow Cyril https://www.instagram.com/cyrilblakeactor/More information about his sitcom podcast https://twitter.com/BritComPodCamden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest for this episode is comedian, writer and former journalist Suchandrika Chakarabarti. We talk to her about how she's developed her two Camden Fringe shows so far and what she is up to next. You can still catch Doomscrolling, her 2023 Camden Fringe show, at various venues over the autumn. You can also find Suchandrika online:instagram.com/suchandrikatwitter.com/SuchandrikaCtiktok.com/@suchandrikacCamden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back after a break in which the Camden Fringe 2023 took place for 4 busy weeks and left no time for podcasting.This short episode is Zena and Michelle is a recap of the fringe. They chat about the dos and don'ts that they noticed being done during this years festival and list the shows that have been nominated for awards this year.Camden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We chat to Holly Lombardo about extending the life of your show beyond one fringe festival and the opportunities to perform around the UK and around the world. World Fringe http://www.worldfringe.com/National Rural Touring Forum https://www.ruraltouring.org/We also talk about our launch party which was held at the Water Rats https://www.thewaterratsvenue.london/ Photos available here: https://craigebarker.zenfolio.com/camden2023launchCamden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the 2023 Camden Fringe draws ever closer and we become ever more sleepless, we have a lovely chat with Jakki Moore about her varied career in the arts - she's been a tour manager, an agent, a writer, director and is currently running a venue, acting and running a youth theatre group. Her venue is the Beggars Theatre in Millom, where she originated from https://beggarstheatre.com/ Jakki has plenty of careers ideas and advice on how to approach venues and get your show on the road.Camden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Zena and Michelle speak to three people who are bringing their work the Camden Fringe in 2023 for first time. Writer and director Craig Henry talks about how his own experience of grief has informed his show Assessment Centre https://camdenfringe.com/events/assessment-centre-by-craig-henry/This years youngest performer Cait Roddam Jones on self producing her show The Girl With The Glass Heart https://camdenfringe.com/events/the-girl-with-the-glass-heart/ (Apologies for the slightly dodgy sound quality on this one.)And poet Jan Noble on Body 115 a show with local roots that spread to Italy https://camdenfringe.com/events/body-115/Camden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is being published on World Fringe Day. Whoo!In this episode we talk to three female led shows that are taking part in the Camden Fringe in 2023.Kaya Uppal from Brown Girl Noise tells us about her show https://camdenfringe.com/events/brown-girl-noise/Holly Hall on her show You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry https://camdenfringe.com/events/you-wouldnt-like-me-when-im-angry/Fiona Munro and Lucy Padwick discuss Faustine: https://camdenfringe.com/events/faustine/ Camden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode includes chats with 3 shows that are physical theatre / dance based and all taking part in the 2023 Camden Fringe.We speak to Lewys Holt who is bringing his show Phrases https://camdenfringe.com/events/phrases/Niki from Peahead Theatre tells us about Nostalgia (Suadade) https://camdenfringe.com/events/nostalgia-saudade/ and finally Sam Burkett and Corrie McKenzie who are behind the show You're Alright https://camdenfringe.com/events/youre-alright/Camden Fringe: https://camdenfringe.com/Our music is by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.