Famous People You've Never Heard Of

Mar 28 2023 10

Famous People You've Never Heard Of Podcast artwork

Our podcasts are a mix of conversations with a wide range of subject matter experts and enthusiasts, interspersed with the occasional audio drama. Each episode focuses on one person, a group of people or a genre from the world of entertainment that we wish to bring back to the spotlight and who has been lost to history or is in danger of being so.The Arts industries are currently in peril but this is nothing new. The Entertainment industry in all its guises has seen it all before. Political turmoil, plague, poverty, overnight success, sudden failure and the long term closure of theatres are not unique to the 21st century.We are not academics (although luckily some of our prestigious guests are) so don't expect forensic analysis or ground breaking research in every episode. We are entertainers, passionate about our craft, its heritage and its future. And we want to share our enthusiasm with you!

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Her Father's Daughter - Stephen Bourne & Patricia Hammond talk about Avril Coleridge-Taylor

Mar 28 2023 26 mins

Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903-1988); Wikipedia says she was a "pianist". She was. She was also a composer and conductor (in fact she was the first female conductor of the band of the Royal Marines). She was also the daughter of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.Historian and author Stephen Bourne and musician and author Patricia Hammond talk about her talent and her eventful life in

"Damn Tom & Jerry" - Dr Mary Shannon Talks About Billy Waters. With Charlotte Campbell.

Mar 20 2023 31 mins

We're delighted and privileged to be releasing today's podcast on the 200th anniversary of the death of Billy Waters.Born in 1776 Waters was a familiar sight on the Strand in London. He was a black ex-sailor who had been invalided out of the Navy after losing a leg. With a crude wooden prosthesis he danced and also played the violin outside the Adelphi Theatre. He became

"The African Mahler": Chenoa Murphy talks about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Mar 13 2023 18 mins

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was a British composer.His mother was English and his father from Sierra Leone. He referred to himself as "Anglo-African" and was referred to by white musicians in the US as the "Black Mahler", which is the title of the biography by Charles Elford.Coleridge-Taylor entered the Royal College of Music at the age of only 15 and wa

Blood, Sweat and Vaginas , with Paula David - One Woman Wednesdays

Mar 07 2023 11 mins

Paula David's one woman show is a journey through menopause and a discovery of self.It is poetic and musical, has movement and dance and examines something that all women experience and few have the courage to speak about. It is also highly amusing!Paula spoke to us about the show ahead of her one night at the Exchange in Twickenham on 29th March as part of the One Woman Wedne

She Wolves with Laura Careless - One Woman Wednesdays

Feb 24 2023 14 mins

This one-woman show, based on the book and television series She-Wolves: The Women who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by historian Helen Castor, depicts the lives of five of England’s most famous medieval queens (Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and Mary I) using speech, song, dance, and animation. Performer Laura Careless chats to us

Testament of Yootha - One Woman Wednesdays

Feb 12 2023 9 mins

Yootha Joyce, best known for "George and Mildred" was one of the best known TV stars of the 1970's. But she was so much more...Award -winning actress Caroline Burns-Cooke tells her story in the brilliant one woman show "Testament of Yootha", showing for one night only at the Exchange in Twickenham on 22nd March as part of the One Woman Wednesday season to c

Isadorable! Elizabeth Blake Talks About Isadora Duncan

Oct 25 2022 43 mins

Isadora Duncan: dancer, muse, innovator, political activist and so much more was born in the USA in 1877. She died in Nice, France in 1927 in a freak accident that is sadly the thing that she seems to be most remembered for. Well we want to change that!Elizabeth Blake is an actress, dancer and choreographer. She has written and is currently performing a one woman show about Isadora

Sex, Love and Classical Music - Elena Mazzon talks about Clara Schumann

Jul 25 2022 38 mins

Clara Schumann, a pianist, composer and piano teacher. And wife of Robert Schumann.Clara Wieck had a fascinating life- a child prodigy, like Mozart before her she was touring as a concert pianist under the watchful eye of her domineering father from a very young age. She went on to marry Robert, have eight children and continue to work in the male dominated world of classical music

Ally Sloper's Half Holiday

Jun 04 2022 40 mins

Ally Sloper's Half-Holiday was the name of a weekly comic strip which first appeared on 3 May 1884. Before Superman, Spiderman, Desperate Dan and Dennis the Menace came Ally Sloper. From 1884 until the 1920s, the red-nosed social climber who poked fun at the English people and their customs was a household name and national favourite.Ally Sloper takes us into the realms of the

Who's Army...? David Crump talks about Fred Karno

May 01 2022 70 mins

Who was Fred Karno? and what was his army?We talk to David Crump whose biography of today's subject reveals all - and some!Karno was a giant personality who had a giant effect on theatre and cinema as we know it. The man who gave Stan Laurel, Charlie Chaplin and the Crazy Gang their first break and almost single handedly invented the type of slapstick we recognise in the silen