This episode was recorded in January 2020 - before Covid-19 changed everything. Andrew shares an explanation about where The Show People Podcast has been for most of 2020 and celebrates the podcast’s fourth anniversary.

Andrew and Peter Polycarpou two discuss Peter’s childhood, his relationship with his sister Eve Polycarpou and their Greek heritage and representation within the industry. Peter explains his passion for teaching (including teaching Andrew when he was a teenager!) and playing his many roles in iconic productions including Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, Mike Bartlett’s Artefacts and his roles in film and television, including De Lovely, Evita and Birds of a Feather.

Plus the two play Funny Five Minutes and Peter shares what he would need to survive if he was stranded on tour in Whitley Bay.

Trigger Warning: this episode includes discussions about mental health struggles, suicide and death. If you find yourself becoming upset during the episode, please contact the organisation or person you rely upon for support.

Andrew Keates chats with journalist, broadcaster and presenter Matthew Wright about his controversial comments about using outside spaces during the Covid-19 pandemic, the last two years of coping with multiple bereavements and PTSD and what it’s like to be second to Nick Knowles in the world of fly fishing.

Andrew chats with Alex Dyer, who runs Theataccounts - a specialist accountancy firm looking after performers and theatremakers in the performing arts industry and advising them on tax and their accounts.

In this special episode, Alex takes Andrew through all of the various financial measures and schemes created by the government open to theatremakers during these unprecedented times in a simple and understandable way, including the grants for self-employed people, universal credit, VAT and many other things you may not know you could be eligible for.

Also, we hear from Harry Francis, Drew Colby and Charlie Keable.

Andrew chats with Owen Farrow aka Divina De Campo about life post RuPaul’s Drag Race, whether they admire Geri Halliwell and finds out how the drag scene has been affected by Coronavirus. He speaks transatlantically with Robi Hager, writer of Basic Witches, which was a musical due to open in Philadelphia and Robi is now using his drag musical to raise funds for his cast (who we also hear perform a song from the show at the end of the episode). And we open up the Show People Podcast answering machine to listen to messages from Mama G, Ross and Monica of the Montague Arms and Dolly Parton (Well, Kelly O’Brien).

We open up the Show People Podcast answering machine and we hear from and AJ O’Neill and Emily Clare about what they’re doing to use their craft to benefit the theatre industry. Andrew chats with West End leading man and teacher George Ure about what it’s like swapping the West End for Tesco Express and we hear a song by Flloyd Kennedy all about social distancing.

Andrew Keates explains how The Show People Podcast is responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Merry Christmas from The Show People Podcast! Listen to our Christmas special and last episode of 2019 with actor and author Pauline Mclynn. We make fun listening whilst stuffing a turkey, or of course, if you're having a nice cup of tea.

Pauline is best known for playing Mrs. Doyle in the iconic sitcom Father Ted, not to mention roles in Shameless, EastEnders and the acclaimed film Gyypo, of which she was nominated as Best Actress in the Irish Film And Television Awards. She’s recently graced our stages playing Mephistofeles in Doctor Faustus at the Globe, Mother Courage at Leeds Playhouse and Trixie in Daisy Pulls It Off.

Thanks to two bottles of Malbec and a lot of Christmas spirit, the two amble around our usual format and have a good natter about Pauline’s life, career and Christmas.

Merry Christmas and have a very happy new year.

Director, Andrew Keates is joined by actor, singer, composer, writer and musician Kurt Kansley. Kurt was born in Cape Town, South Africa and due to apartheid fled to Australia with his family. He’s had a career that’s taken him all over the world playing roles in Ragtime, Show Boat, Evita, Naked Boys Singing and later would find himself becoming a British citizen when he joined the West End production of The Lion King and go on to other productions including Miss Saigon, Hair and Sweet Bird Of Youth (to name but a few

Kurt shares with Andrew Keates the difficulties he’s faced thanks to his ethnicity, what an international life as a performer has been like as well as his journey in the performing arts and his cherished writing partnership with Oliver Lidert.

Episode features:

Dramatic News: Andrew covers the latest dramatic news and performing arts stories.

The Platform: We hear a song written by Kansley and Lidert.

And of course we have a little silliness along the way too.