Stages Magazine Spring / Summer 2024

2024 has already got off to an amazing start here at Birmingham Hippodrome In the last few months alone, we proudly produced workshop performances of our first in-house musical This Is A Love Story, with fantastic songs and a unique story by the hugely talented Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote. We worked alongside Birmingham Chinese Festival Committee and Birmingham Chinatown Business Association to animate the streets of Southside in celebration of Lunar New Year with a much-loved dragon and lion procession, as well as traditional music, sword dancing, face changers and K-pop dance We also welcomed artists into the Hippodrome to participate in our new Musical Theatre Writers Group and Playspace programmes

In this latest issue of Stages, the Comms Team have brought together the latest news from the Hippodrome with insights into some of those special productions and events coming to our stages in our 125th birthday year Discover the fascinating and deeply moving human story behind Come From Away and get the backstage gossip on smash-hit Hamilton in our exclusive interview with Shaq Talylor who returns to the Hippodrome to play the title role having starred in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on our stage in 2022 You can also get a glimpse into our New Musical Theatre department with our Head of New Musical Theatre Deirdre O’Halloran, who tells us about her career journey so far.

Grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy all our new features and interviews in this latest of edition of Stages. I look forward to seeing you at the Hippodrome very soon

Jon Gilchrist Artistic Director & CEO

Photography: Angela Grabowska, Ossie Goldhill, Simon Hadley, Manuel Harlan and Ayesha Jones

OUR NEW CHAIR CATHERINE MALLYON TAKES HER SEAT

We ended 2023 by welcoming new Chair of our Board of Trustees Catherine Mallyon Catherine first joined us as a Trustee in March last year. She was previously Executive Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company and is the first female Chair for the Hippodrome. She says:

“I enjoy enormously being part of the Hippodrome, admiring the way that the theatre provides such wonderful experiences for audiences, enables such enjoyable community activities, and supports such fun and transformative work in schools ”

We were delighted to take home three awards recently, including the Arts & Culture award at the Birmingham Awards, Inclusive People Development at the GBCC Awards and our Head of Creative Partnerships ZaylieDawn Wilson was the recipient of the Greater Birmingham Young Professional of the Year. Zaylie-Dawn also took the top prize within the Creative Arts and Culture category.

Hip Hip Hooray! BREAKS

IJACK AND THE BEANSTALK

RECORDS!

In January we announced record attendance figures for our pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, with 120,000 people seeing the show during its six-week run. These figures make Jack and the Beanstalk our best attended pantomime in over 20 years! Thank you to everyone who joined us, we hope to see you for this year’s pantomime adventure Peter Pan

A SHARED SPACE to create and meet

Our recently opened Artists Lounge is a relaxed space for creatives to be at home within the Hippodrome. With tea and coffee facilities, a lounge space and a library featuring an array of plays and musicals, artists are welcome to use the space as a place to work and create, hold meetings and meet with fellow creatives.

The Artists Lounge is open MondayFriday from 10 am - 5pm, with our New Work & Artist Development team available to meet from 11am12.30 pm every Friday.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

Launched in November 2023, our Teachers Theatre Network programme supports teachers and educators working in Birmingham and the West Midlands. The group are able to connect with us through show and festival visits, networking events with opportunities to meet and connect with other educators, artists and creatives.

We currently have 22 teachers in the programme, from Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Post-16 and SEN educational settings, who meet monthly to widen their knowleddge and advocate for the benefits of the arts in their schools, colleges and nurseries.

Highlights so far include networking events, visits to see Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and Life of Pi and a Q&A session with the Aakash Odedra Company More exciting events are planned for the remainder of the academic year

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Out & About: LUNAR NEW YEAR 2024

An amazing 38,000 people joined us in Southside in February to welcome the year of the Dragon and celebrate Lunar New Year

The festival brought a buzz to Southside, commencing with the much-loved dragon and lion procession around Hippodrome Square

Inside the Hippodrome, dragon puppet making classes, fan dance workshops and traditional calligraphy sessions were enjoyed by children and families. We welcomed visitors to an art exhibition alongside performances from British East & South East Asian creatives MOVE Midlands in the Patrick Studio

The outdoor stage was packed with a mixed programme throughout the day including traditional music, sword dancing, face changers, local choirs and K-pop dance.

The free festival was produced by Birmingham Chinese Festival Committee, Birmingham Chinatown Business Association and Birmingham Hippodrome, thank you to all who came along to celebrate!

On the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the writing partners and husband and wife couple travelled to Newfoundland to interview the townsfolk as well as the come from aways who had journeyed back there to mark the occasion

They found the locals to be just as welcoming as they were to the come from aways back in 2001

Their stories, collected across hours of interviews, were whittled down into a 100-minute musical, with Irene saying: “It’s so important to be sharing the story of people who reacted to something horrible in a positive light. We spend so much time focussing on the negative and I think it’s important to show the other side - people responding with kindness and people responding as a community”

Audiences were drawn in by the show’s roster of real-life characters, including Gander town mayor Claude Elliot

Elliot himself recalls: “On the first day we had 7,000 strangers On the third day we had 7,000 friends. And on the fifth day 7,000 family members ” Among those strangers turned friends and family members, as featured in the show, were an eager local news reporter, the mother of a New York firefighter desperate for the news of her son, and the first female American Airlines captain Beverley Bass.

Being interviewed by Sankoff and Hein back in 2011 brought back so many memories for the aviation trailblazer When she and her passengers deplaned, there were tables and tables of food waiting for them in the terminal

“The people of Gander, I guess, had cooked all night long,” Bass recounts “I mean, there was food for everybody. I knew immediately that the people were the nicest people I have ever been around in my life. It didn’t matter what you needed or what you wanted, it was there ”

In 2015 she got a call from the producers inviting her to see the show in San Diego. “I went to it sight unseen and I had no idea that my role was so prominent and I certainly didn’t know that a song had been written called Me and the Sky, which basically chronicles my aviation life It was

astounding By the end of it, my head was buried in my hands because I was just sobbing.

“I’m honoured that my story is impacting young girls to this day. Sharing my story with audiences has been life changing and I’m so grateful to be a part of this show’s journey. The musical is so true, it is so real What a gift it has been to the world The show gets a standing ovation every time because people like how something so beautiful managed to come out from such a tragedy.”

Complete strangers Nick Marson and Diane Kirschke were on the same flight from Gatwick bound for Texas, where British oil executive Nick had business to attend to while American Diane, a buyer for a department store, was on her way home after visiting her UK-based son.

They were both divorced and not seeking romance, but across their five-day stay where they were invited to get-togethers and singalongs, they fell for each other When their plane finally took off again they were smitten.

The couple kept in touch through emails and phone calls before Nick proposed on the phone two months later He moved to the US soon afterwards, they got married in 2002 and had their honeymoon in Newfoundland, with Marson saying of the time they originally spent there: “I think it’s made me a better person I try to be my best self every day, be happy, make other people happy and make them laugh ”

David Hein feels the show spreads a vital message “There’s something important in having faith that we have more in common with people and having that faith overcome the fear,” he says “Right now, it feels important to tell stories about overcoming differences and coming together as an international community It’s wonderful to take a story that has inspired you and share it with the world and see it inspire other people ”

Nick Marson agrees “While 9/11 was about the worst of humanity, what happened in Gander over those five days was about the best of humanity Those people opened their town and their hearts to us. It’s a story of human kindness ”

b e y o n d t h e s t a g e

SHAQ TAYLOR

on taking on one of the most sought after roles in theatre

By DIANE PARKES

“As soon as the show came out in 2015 and I heard the soundtrack, I immediately fell in love with Hamilton, ” says Shaq. “It was so different with rap, R&B and so many different styles of music ”

“I saw the original London cast in 2017, and it just made me want to be up there on the stage performing with them even more. “I also saw myself represented on stage, so it fast became a dream of mine to experience it in its entirety by being in the show myself.”

“It’s such a magical thing, live theatre The live experience is completely different from hearing a show on the soundtrack or seeing it on the screen I was completely overwhelmed when I saw Hamilton. ”

Shaq grew up in London and was inspired by a primary school drama teacher to set his heart on an acting career Studying at ArtsEd in London, he then gained a number of leading roles in musical theatre including Javert in Les Misérables and the Beast in Disney’s stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast And then came Hamilton.

“I have been very lucky and a lot of the time it’s a ‘pinch me’ moment But that keeps me grounded and humble I’m always ready to take up the opportunities that are presented to me ”

“Hamilton has such a journey in the show, starting from the age of 19 and going all the way into the later years of his life It really is an emotional arc and probably one of the most indepth parts for a male role in musical theatre This is challenging - and also very exciting and fun to do. Hamilton has got every emotion under the sun you could think of and to do that in three hours well, there aren’t many roles like it.

“It shows a young man who finds himself in circumstances that don’t match his way of thinking, he uses his skills and talent to escape that life And it really does prove that people can be whoever they want to be and that’s a beautiful life lesson everyone can learn from ”

With its musical theatre soundtrack fused with rap and hip-hop, the show provides a huge amount of musical variety for its cast. “I’m practicing all the time, the learning never stops with Hamilton ”

“The warm-ups make sure I’m in tip-top shape every week I do loads of tongue and lip exercises, lip exercises, making sure my consonants are sharp and bright ”

The tour opened in Manchester in November and Shaq is enjoying being on the road with the cast and crew

My Journey Into...

Head of New Musical Theatre, Deirdre joined the Hippodrome in Autumn 2023, having previously worked at London’s Bush Theatre. With a background in dramaturgy and artist development, she shares her career highlights and passion for developing new writing x

What inspired you to work in theatre?

A lot of my inspiration comes from my family, my Dad was in amateur dramatics and my Mum was in a choir

I’m from a small town in Ireland and my parents used to take my sister and I to everything that was happening, we would go to see everything from plays to ballet to concerts and musicals!

My sister and I had Oklahoma, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Little Shop of Horrors on tape We would wear them out by watching them over and over and then put on little shows in the sitting room.

Tell us about your previous roles and how they have led you to this one.

I spent a large part of my career at the Soho Theatre and the Bush Theatre in London, working with new writers, developing their techniques, running workshops, teaching people about writing and dramaturging lots of plays that made it to the stage

Getting to work with people at different points in their career and helping them realise their ambitions for their plays is fantastic It is exciting to understand what writers and creators are trying to achieve and then help them to do that in in the best way possible

This job is a great way to marry my loves of working with new writing and love of musicals, so I think I’ve been in training for my whole life! I’m really excited about the talent development offer for musicals that we’re developing and how we can best support artists at different stages of their career

Tell us about a particular career highlight. A highlight for me was when I got to work with Lenny Henry on his first ever play It was such a beautiful experience to be able to shepherd somebody who has had such a rich career. The piece, August In England was about the Windrush scandal and I find it such an honour to support people who are making work that they want to have a real impact on the world

How would you define the new musical theatre team, their missions and ambition?

The team has two main focuses, the first is talent development We have programmes such as our Musical Theatre Writer’s Group that will be integral in this sense Six writing teams will call the Hippodrome their home for a full year while they attend classes and work on new musicals.

The other focus is developing and producing new musicals for our audiences

We’re so lucky to have a brilliant audience who are passionate about musicals, as well as beautiful spaces within the Hippodrome to show work It’s an exciting challenge to dream up new musicals for Birmingham audiences to fall in love with!

What have you found pivotal and useful in your career?

Being able to collaborate with lots of different people with completely different process and styles Every time you produce work you learn from your own mistakes and figure our new ways forward I’m always seeking out new experiences!

What are you excited to see come out of the West Midlands?

Because my interest in musical theatre started so early, I’m keen to see how we can build our audiences from as young as

possible and how we introduce them to musicals.

I also have a real passion for making sure that there’s diversity, in not just the identities of people who are making work, but also the ideas that are being presented on stage, so that shows are as relevant as possible to this city

What advice would you give to young and emerging writers?

I've primarily been a dramaturg throughout my career, which means forging a really trusting relationship with someone and shepherding them through difficult points in their writing process My advice to people is to trust their own instincts and their own voice and to build relationships with people whose opinions you value

Tell us about your favourite musical and some shows to look out for…

I must mention Waitress, it’s one of my absolute favourite musicals Next is Operation Mincemeat which is currently on in the West End. This show feels to me like the personification of a true UK musical The humour is very British, the story is super interesting and the way they tell it is so idiosyncratic I absolutely love it

Finally, there’s a show called Black Power Desk that people should look out for on tour next year! It takes the Black Power movement in the UK as it’s jumping off point Its written by a brilliant writer called Urielle Klein-Mekongo and has this incredibly vibrant music and a compelling story I’m really pleased that we were able to support them in February with a week of development as part of our RIFFS residencies

MY TOUR ESSENTIALS

We talked to Aviva Tulley who will be playing Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz this June, to find out about her tour essential and pre-show rituals.

Hi Aviva, tell us about your role. Dorothy is very similar to the original character, a strong-minded young woman who lacks a sense of belonging She gets transported in a tornado to another world and meets the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, finally feeling like she has a family. Along the way she finds a newfound sense of maturity and confidence and no longer feels like she needs to belong I try and play her as authentically as possible, telling that story of finding strength

Take us through your tour essentials. My tour essentials include a picture of my family, a hot water bottle to keep warm and echinacea tea; it’s very fruity and soothing, and good for you too! I always bring an oil diffuser to make my room smell nice As an indecisive person my lucky 8 ball comes along with me to help me make decisions through the tour!

What’s the one thing that you would like in your dressing room that you don’t have?

A bed! Or a foot massager because I’m always wearing heels in the show

What does a typical show day look like for you, how do you prepare?

On a typical day I get up around 10am and then head out and explore the local area I like to go to a cute indie coffee shop for breakfast and then to a museum or castle I usually arrive at the theatre an hour before the show to prepare, have some tea and warm up

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

Coffee! I always make sure I’m caffeinated When I’m in the wings I like to do some squats to warm my legs up and hum along to the overture that the orchestra plays at the start of the show

What do you watch or listen to in between shows?

I have a playlist on Spotify which I play at random so I can listen to all of my favourite songs. On a two show day, I’ll go the company office and hang out with Emily (Tierney) who plays Glynda.

How do you like to unwind after a show?

After the show I’ll go home and stay up for about an hour, and maybe watch a bit of TV I’ll then make a hot water bottle, fill up my humidifier, and have some more tea before having a shower, doing my skincare routine, and then heading to bed I keep the humidifier going to protect my throat on the road!

Following in the successful footsteps of our previous two cohorts, our 2024 Young Advocates are here.

MEET THE YOUNG PEOPLE SHAPING THE HIPPODROME OF TOMORROW

Birmingham Hippodrome’s newest cohort of Young Advocates are a group of 14-22 year-olds from the West Midlands who will support and influence the Hippodrome’s work with and for young people.

Whilst on their own journey of learning and development, through mentoring, workshops and training, our Young Advocates will also shape and influence the work of Birmingham Hippodrome

Throughout their placement they will have the support of the Hippodrome’s Learning and Participation team and will advocate for the youth voice in the arts and culture sector throughout the region

Members of the group are passionate about theatre and inspired by the freedom and confidence that it provides From looking to build their understanding of the sector, to harnessing their creativity and performing, the group have ambitions that will inspire each other throughout the year.

Previous cohorts of Young Advocates have launched our Young Community Drop Ins (now a regular Hippodrome event for young people), hosted events as part of TEDxYouth@Brum, curated a stage of artists at Birmingham Weekender festival and spoken about their experiences at fundraising events (raising £10 k for Birmingham Hippodrome’s work with young people)

Pull up a chair in THE CIRCLE LOUNGE…

We sat down with Head Chef Angelina Adamo, Head of Hopsitality & Events

Charles Pettte and Restaurant Manager Amelia York to chat about our new menu, the team’s favourite dishes and what they love most about our new pre-show dining experience.

What can people expect from a visit to The Circle Lounge?

Amelia: When you arrive, we’ll show you to your table which remains yours for the duration of your visit You can enjoy a range of our tasty sharer plates and platters pre-show and return to your table during the interval for desserts, cheese plates or just some further drinks!

Ange: We’ve crafted a menu which reflects each season, changing regularly so that we can use the best local produce. Each visit to The Circle Lounge offers a different, relaxed, culinary experience

Amelia: Oh, wait, I didn’t mention that we have a cloakroom and two private bathrooms! Our customers LOVE that everything is in one place once they arrive for the show

Ange, you manage your own company Tutto Apposto, can you tell us a little bit more about how you’re working with the Hippodrome

Ange: Tutto Apposto started in my kitchen at home a few years ago I’m now basing that business out of the kitchens here at Birmingham Hippodrome My kitchen team work alongside the Hippodrome hospitality team, providing an all-round service to our guests It’s been brilliant bringing everyone together, we’re a really strong team.

Charles: Birmingham Hippodrome is committed to supporting artists and increasing creative opportunities in the region, so the partnership with Ange is another reflection of that commitment to showcasing local talent

You’ve recently launched a new lunch menu; can you tell us a bit more about that?

Amelia: We are so pleased we’ve been able to grow the daytime menu and respond to suggestions from our guests The new lunch menu includes hot main dishes alongside sharing platters and sweet treats We are still offering our afternoon tea at matinee performances as well, it’s proved really popular, especially the home made scones!

Ange: The lunch menu continues to reflect seasonal flavours with a Mediterranean twist Some of the new dishes include chicken Milanese with orzo and tenderstem broccoli, and our asparagus and ricotta frittata with peas, pickles, mint and a radish salad

For those who haven’t had a chance to visit The Circle Lounge yet, tell us a little about the evening menu

Ange: For evening performances, we offer a menu of small plates and platters The idea is to select a few that you like and share them with everyone around the table It’s a more relaxed style of eating that I grew up with It’s lovely seeing our guests sharing their food and chatting about the show they are about to watch

What is your favourite dish?

Ange: For me it’s the roasted carrots which features on our evening menu It’s been on the menu in various guises since we opened in August, shifting some elements to stay seasonal It really celebrates the ingredients on the plate and uses the entirety of the carrot to minimise food waste We even dehydrate and roast the peelings to create a delicious crunchy topping for the dish which

adds some extra bite - I love it! My Grandad grows the carrots seasonally for the dish on his allotment in Perry Barr, so it makes it even more special for me to cook

Charles: It HAS to be the tiramisu; Ange and her team make the most delicious Espresso version but also create specials including rhubarb & white chocolate or pistachio, dark chocolate & cherry. They’re a hugely popular interval treat, and I’ve been known to ask Ange for one when I’m in need of a sugar boost!

We’ve had some fantastic feedback since The Circle Lounge reopened in 2023, what has been your highlight?

Ange: I’m loving watching the team grow and develop their skills I studied in Birmingham and then trained in many of the city’s best kitchens including Simpsons We now have two medallists from the Culinary World Cup and a student from the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts in the kitchen I think I might need to get a trophy cabinet!

Amelia: For me it’s been welcoming everyone back! It’s been wonderful to see so many regulars from our previous restaurant and it’s been fabulous to welcome so many new customers The real cherry on the cake for me is that by dining with us, guests are helping Birmingham Hippodrome achieve our ambitions as an independent charity All our diners are continually helping us to provide those goosebump moments for our communities, cheers to that!