Wilton's Music Hall Podcast

Wilton's is more than just an arts venue and heritage site, it's part of the history of East London and it's really important to us to be a part of this community. Meet our weekly walking group - made up of people who have lived here all their lives, chosen to move here, or love visiting. We also introduce you to David Graham who runs all our Learning and Participation projects full of ways to get involved - from family fun days to workshops and choirs. Find out more on our website: https://www.wiltons.org.uk/learning/1

British Music Hall has a long history of queer artists and it's a legacy that we hold dear to us today - from Drag Story Time to pantomime dames. LGBT artists are just one part of our varied programme and commitment to improving diversity in the arts. In this episode we talk to Wilton's associate artist Christopher Green about his latest project based on the life of Fred Barnes, the openly queer music hall star; Jessica Walker discusses discovering Suzy Solidor - singer of lesbian love songs and a self-made business woman in war-time Paris; and our Executive Director Holly Kendrick shares her view on diverse programming. Christopher Green's new project based on the life of Fred Barnes comes to Wilton's in 2018, sign up to our mailing list at the bottom of our website to get the announcement first: https://www.wiltons.org.uk/

From Christopher Green's The Singing Hypnotist to time travelling magical duo Morgan & West, our magical community is going strong, but it goes back a lot further. In this episode Max talks to Chris Green about the crossover between science and performance and what we can learn from the earliest hypnotists such as Anne De Montford, and Morgan & West talk low quality ghosts and Victorian spiritualism. Morgan & West are here with More Magic for Kids next April: http://bit.ly/2yFD5Qf

As well as world class theatre productions, Wilton's hosts concerts, gigs and music performance throughout our programme. In this episode, meet some of the members of our Music Hall Choir - keeping the songs of the East End and the Music Hall era alive with locals like Barb. We also talk to Tricity Vogue - the leader of her All Girl Swing Band inspired by Ivy Benson.

In this episode some of the characters from Wilton's tell stories from our recent history. How did Spike Milligan come to discover some of the items now in our archaeological archive? How did the Mahogany Bar become the favourite local drinking hole for staff at The Sunday Times? What's it like stage managing tigers on the set of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax'? And what could have been - an amusement park called Wilton's World... Find out more about our history and explore our archive on our website: https://www.wiltons.org.uk/heritage/archive

Meet Carole, Wilton's Historian and hear about some of the women who played an important role in Wilton's history - from trapese artist Madame Senya to Jenny Hill and her feminist songs of working class women. In this episode, Max also talks to Alison - a volunteer at Wilton's who has music hall running through her veins and Holly, the Executive Director, talks about diversity in theatre and showcasing the exceptional talents of women in the sector.

Michelle meets some of the cast of the National Youth Theatre's 50th anniversary production of Zigger Zagger to talk about its continued relevance, and gets an exclusive interview from actor Ian Redford about his time in the original production. 6th - 9th September: http://bit.ly/2nOGDuF

We talk to Jessica Walker about delving into the world of Suzy Solidor, and turning her story - of going from illegitimate Breton girl to owner of a popular self-named cabaret club, the most painted woman in the world and an internationally-touring artist singing lesbian love songs - into an immersive play. All I Want Is One Night is here 27th June - 1st July: http://bit.ly/2lu0UVe

Musical comedian Adam Kay discusses the life and work of satirical song-master Tom Lehrer, and why he's chosen to recreate his songs for his latest show, The Remains of Tom Lehrer, 20th - 24th June: http://bit.ly/2lNBdBI

Michelle Card talks to George Fletcher about portraying both Frankenstein and his Creature in Tristan Bernays' re-telling of Mary Shelley's classic.

An intimate little chat between Wilton's Michelle Card and Ty Jeffries, musician, songwriter, actor and creator of Miss Hope Springs.

Ships and Opera includes an interview with Ian Peter Bugeja from Les Bougies Baroques, we talk to Ian to find out how Opera became a big part of his life. Hear about Wilton's involvement with a fascinating floating opera conducted on the River Thames, as part of the 2013 Thames Festival. Wilton's historian explains the relationship between Victorian Sailors and Music Hall. A special Thank you to London Sound Survey for providing a clip of the Ships Opera.

Wilton's Podcasts are a series of monthly episodes, inspired by an aspect of Wilton's History. Each episode contains interviews from interesting people who have passed through our doors, from actors, directors, musicians and dancers through staff and volunteers to regulars propping up the bar. This episode's theme is all things swing. We start off by hearing about trapeze artist and music hall star, Madame Senya, who performed at Wilton's in the 1800s followed by Scott Cupit talking about swing dance and his company, Swing Patrol. After the interval we meet 1940s Hollywood dancer Jean Veloz and finish the episode with a back-stage story from our Technician.

This episode’s theme is Rhythm and Poetry. We will be talking to a band that uses beat boxing in their performance, Wilton's Historian Carole Zeidman talking about past performers who used poetry in their acts and from Judith Palmer and Joelle Taylor from the Poetry Society, talking about the history of poetry slam and how they both got into poetry.

"Dystopia" features interviews with Dmytro Morykit, who wrote and performed a new score for Metropolis to sell-out houses at Wilton's earlier this year, Laura Moody, a cellist who achieved international acclaim as a member of the innovative string quartet, Elysian quartet, and our historian Carole Zeidman who tells us a tale about the lives of some of the people involved with Wilton's in the early 1700s.

This episode involves a selection of discoveries: a special find made at Wilton's during a 1980's archaeological dig; cabaret singer Tricity Vogue talks about an all-female swing band; Singer Songwriter Adam Beattie relates the story behind one of his songs; James Ford, local resident and bar regular, shares a trail of discoveries leading us from Hyde Park to Wilton's.