It’s Christmaaaaaaaaaas! And we’ve released a festive edition of the Snow People… We mean the Show People Podcast with our host and director, Andrew Keates and special guest… West End Producer (or WEP)! – The anonymous man of Theatreland. First becoming known for writing about theatre, he then ran two social media contests to find and support the talent of the future – Search For a Twitter Star and Search For a Composer Star. Both culminating in a live final in London’s West End. WEP is a weekly contributor to the entertainment industry’s leading paper – The Stage. He is the author of the hugely popular book ‘Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Acting, But Were Afraid to Ask, dear’, and his latest release, ‘Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Going To The Theatre, But Were Too Sloshed to Ask, Dear’, published by Nick Hern Books. His acerbic wit and naughty comments have earned him national press attention – and rumour has been rife that he could in fact be Lloyd Webber or Cameron Mackintosh. He can always be found attending theatrical opening nights, supporting new work, and getting savagely sloshed on as much Dom Perignon as possible.

Episode features include:

The Soapbox: Andrew and WEP discuss some of the challenges that face performers’ mental health and relevant issues surrounding social media, rejection and their own struggles as well as advice, support and strategies to help maintain a healthy lifestyle when working in the performing arts. Dramatic News: Andrew’s covers the latest dramatic news, including stories about West Yorkshire Playhouse, the Royal Court Theatre and Kander & Ebb’s Chicago.

The Platform: Today’s Show People platform is given to Meredith Braun. She performs the title-song from her latest solo album, ‘When Love Is Gone’. The title for the release comes from the Paul Williams song Meredith performed in the iconic film ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Meredith’s new 2017 recording of ‘When Love Is Gone’ marks the first time she has performed the song since recording the original version for the 1992 film soundtrack. Meredith is accompanied on the cello by her son, 13 year-old Tiger Braun-White, a student at the Royal Academy of Music and holder of both the Leverhulme and ABRSM scholarships.

Give-Away: We are giving away a signed copy of West End Producer’s latest book, ‘Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Going To The Theatre, But Were Too Sloshed to Ask, Dear’, published by Nick Hern Books, To enter for a chance to win just visit the Show People Twitter account and RT the pinned tweet at the top of our feed about West End Producer and make sure you’re following @ShowPeopleUK and @westendproducer. The winner will be announced on Christmas Day! Plus Show People challenges, tangents and much, much more.