Interval Drinks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Playwright and TV writer Nina Segal meets writer, director and performer Tim Crouch and they talk about intervals, honey and mango margaritas, going rogue, and having an "accidental" career as a writer. Tim says: "I keep carving into a block of stone and find new things in it. It's still the same block of stone. The plays, when they come, they're very different but they're still returning to some issues that I continue to have. I'm lucky enough to have had an idea, and to keep returning to that idea." Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Actor Minnie Gale meets fellow actor Pippa Nixon and they talk about how the theatre industry is beginning to change so that women and men can continue working when they've become parents. Pippa talks about her experiences of performing in The Importance of Being Earnest and breastfeeding a newborn, and Minnie reflects of her journey playing Margaret in all three parts of Henry VI, beginning when she was five months' pregnant for part one, and ending with a nine-month-old baby. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Actor Thom Petty talks to actor, writer and director Prasanna Puwanarajah. Both Thom and Prasanna came to acting after a career in the NHS (National Health Service) as doctors. They talk about playing doctors onstage and portraying the reality of life in the medical world, about going from medical school to drama school and beyond, and about using lasers on stage.

Theatre director Tinuke Craig meets RSC director Aaron Parsons to explain what is similar about directing a Sarah Kane play about trauma and a pantomime. Tinuke talks about what drives her as a director, how she decides which are the stories she wants to tell and some of the barriers she faced on her way to becoming a director. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Sound designer Claire Windsor chats to to MOBO Award nominated musician and composer Femi Temowo about his musical journey, from first picking up a guitar at age 19. Femi composed the music for the RSC's 2022 production of Much Ado About Nothing. He explains why theatre is like Power Rangers and shares his guilty pleasure in music. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Mark Quartley, who is currently playing Henry VI in the RSC’s productions of Henry VI: Rebellion and Wars of the Roses, speaks to stage and screen star David Tennant about auditioning for drama school as a 16-year-old from Paisley, how it feels when you forget the lines on stage and imposter syndrome. They cover why David likes playing characters by Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies and Shakespeare. And there's a quiz. Each week we bring together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with RSC artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

Listen to Renu Arora, who plays Madame LeVaughn in The Magician’s Elephant, in conversation with Deaf writer and performer Sophie Woolley. Both Renu and Sophie are artists who have needed to adapt their practices following acquiring disabilities. They touch on Sophie’s past work, their experiences of the theatre industry, how their work has changed over time and what advice they would give to other disabled artists wanting to advance their career in the arts. Each episode brings together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

“I just like pretending at dressing up.” RSC Associate Artist David Threlfall speaks to Zoe Lambert, who can also currently be seen in The Comedy of Errors at the Barbican. They talk about David’s theatre career, from starting out at the RSC, to playing Tommy Cooper and Frank Gallagher in Shameless. Zoe asks David where the character of Frank came from, and David explains why he loves working and how he approaches the characters he plays. He also tells us who he would most like to share an interval drink with, in what would be the busiest interval we’ve had so far in the series. Each episode brings together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

“I always feel like a book is never done until it is in the hands of a reader that I do not know. And then and then we make a community of two.” Children’s author Kate DiCamillo talks to playwright Nancy Harris about her inspiration – the “divine spark” that grew into The Magician’s Elephant and how gifting a notebook to a friend led her to create the unique cast of characters. The two writers talk about their writing processes, and Kate shares exactly how many rejection letters she received. Each episode brings together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).

“We are artists, we are mischief makers, we are magic makers.” Actor Alfred Clay, currently performing in The Comedy of Errors at the Barbican, talks to stage and screen actor Lucian Msamati. Lucian describes how it felt to see live theatre for the first time, growing up in Zimbabwe and founding the first professional multi-racial theatre company in the country. He talks about playing Iago at the RSC, and the hardships of forging an acting career. And he explains his irrational fear of camels. Each episode brings together current Royal Shakespeare Company actors with artists who have inspired them. The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadows’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).