Balancing Acts

Tony Kent is an author and criminal barrister.

Tony grew up on a council estate in west London, he came from an Irish family of builders some of whom, including his older brother, found themselves on the wrong side of the law. It was during one of his brother’s brushes with the law that Tony decided he wanted to be a barrister. Fast forward today and Tony runs one of the UK tops law firms representing some of the most notorious gangsters and criminals.

Tony's first novel, Killer Intent, a political thriller, was one of the ‘must reads’ of 2018. It was selected for the Zoe Ball Book Club and is currently being adapted into a TV series. His second book, Marked For Death, followed and was picked by the Richard & Judy Book Club. His third novel, Power Play, is a highly-topical thriller of corruption and power, cementing Tony’s reputation as one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#podcast #balancingacts #AJ #anthonyjoshua #tonykent #stevewhiteley #apple #spotify

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Shaun Pye is a writer and producer.

Shaun has written for numerous TV shows including The 11 O'Clock Show, Have I Got News For You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, They Think It's All Over, Armstrong and Miller, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Would I Lie to You?, Frankie Boyle's New World Order and The Reluctant Landlord. 

In addition Shaun co-created the BBC3 animated sketch comedy Monkey Dust. He also co-created The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret starring David Cross, Sharon Horgan, Blake Harrison, Will Arnett, Spike Jonze, Sara Pascoe and Amber Tamblyn. The series was broadcast on Channel 4, Netflix and IFC. Shaun created and wrote the BAFTA-winning There She Goes with his wife Sarah Crawford. The series was originally on BBC 4 and then subsequently got moved to BBC 2. It stars David tenant and Jessie Hynes and is based on Seans own experiences with his daughter Joey, who was born with a chromosomal disorder. As an actor Shaun in best known for his role as Greg Lindley-Jones on Ricky Gervais's sitcom Extras.

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#podcast #spotify #apple #shaunpye #stevewhiteley #comedy #balancingacts

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Anirban is a comedian and writer from India.

Anirban Dasgupta gave up his sales job to pursue comedy. He was of the founders of Comedified, one of the first legit comedy groups of Kolkata, and was instrumental in establishing a comedy scene in the sleepy city. In 2018, Anirban released his Amazon Prime Special called 'Take It Easy'. His dark comedy series Afsos is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Anirban's stand up clips have accumulated millions of views on Youtube.

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#anirbandasgupta #stevewhiteley #balancingacts #podcast #spotify #apple

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KG The Comedian is an actor, comedian and writer.

KG is best known for a YouTube viral hit called Shadrack & The Mandem which culminated in millions of views, with fellow comedian Marston. As an actor he he starred in Famalam, King Gary, Ted Lasso, Sliced, Bloods, Time Wasters and Just A Couple. He also recently featured in Mo Gilligian’s documentary, ‘Black British and Funny. As a stand-up comedian, KG has performed at The Glee Club, O2 Indigo Arena, Catford Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

KG also co-hosts the podcast 'Undefeated' with Travis Jay.

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#comedy #podcast #apple #spotify #stevewhiteley #balancingacts

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Neil is a writer, exec producer and co-founded the comedy drama production company Happy Tramp.

Happy Tramp have produced a sitcom series for BBC1, a sketch show for BBC2 (Morgana Robinson’s The Agency), a BAFTA nominated short film for BBC3 and numerous half hour films for Sky Arts Urban Myths series, two of which (written by Neil) were nominated for an International EMMY.

In 2017, Neil relocated to Scotland, where he established Happy Tramp North. The company have gone on to produce the highly acclaimed drama Guilt for BBC2/BBC Scotland, as well as the sitcom Semi-Detached for BBC2. Prior to Happy Tramp, Neil co-founded the legendary comedy production company Zeppotron in 2000, working as Creative Director until 2012. Where he was oversaw writing, producing, exec producing, developing talent and dealing directly with commissioners at all levels

Neil also co-hosts the podcast 'I can't believe it's not Buddha' with Lee Mack.

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#podcast #balancingacts #apple #spotify #buddhism #stevewhiteley

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Athena writes and performs comedy. She is a member of the BBC Comedy Room 2019/20 and was awarded the BBC Felix Dexter Bursary for BAME up-and-coming comedy writers in 2020. She’s also a nominee for the 99 Club Female Comedians’ Bursary and a former BBC New Comedy Award Finalist. She has written for Horrible Histories, the Russell Howard Hour, Radio 4’s The Lenny Henry Show, Dead Ringers, News Quiz, Newsjack, The Now Show and is a lead writer for Sketchtopia.

She’s been a guest on Mock the Week and is a regular co-host of The Guilty Feminist. She’s also written for The Guardian, Time Out and Stylist Magazine and makes regular appearances on BBC Radio 5 Live and Talk Radio. Athena is the host of podcast Keeping Athena Company, interviewing interesting people whilst eating fried plantain. 

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#podcast #balancingacts #stevewhiteley #athenakugblenu #apple #spotify #comedian

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Zuby is an independent rapper, podcast host, author, public speaker and creative entrepreneur, with over 500,000 followers across social media. He was born in England, raised in Saudi Arabia and is a graduate of Oxford University. He has sold over 25,000 albums independently, performed in 8 countries and achieved over 10 million online video views. Zuby has featured on The Joe Rogan Experience, BBC, Fox News, Sky News, The Adam Carolla Show, The Rubin Report, The Candace Owens Show and The Ben Shapiro Show, and more.

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#covid #BLM #twitter #podcast #apple #spotify #podcaster #rap #zuby #stevewhiteley #balancingacts

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In this conversation I chat to actor/writer/director Rachel Stubbings (https://twitter.com/RachelStubbings).

Rachel is a BAFTA nominated writer whose credits include The Athena (Sky), 8 Out Of 10 Cats (C4), Mock The Week (BBC2), The Last Leg (C4), Trollied (Sky) and Invasion Of The Book Readers (BBC). She is currently developing her short Good Grief as a feature film. As an actor Rachel has recently starred alongside Karl Pilkinton in Sick Of It (Sky), Julia Davis in Sally4Ever (Sky/HBO) and in the very funny Whenever You're Ready, written and directed by Craig Ainsley which is currently being developed as a sitcom. Rachel has also directed numerous shorts and as part of directing collective Barabara, recently signed to Sharon Horgan's production company Merman.

In addition to all of the above Rachel runs and curates Shooting The Brreze, a popular short film night and is also head of short courses for comedy writing and producing at the National Film And Television School.

We discuss:

Rachel recently being appointed the head of short courses for comedy writing and producing at the NFTS and what she enjoys about teaching. Why she decided to learn stop motion during lockdown, her resolution to direct more and the pros and cons to being a jack of all trades. She recalls the moment her drama teacher saw something in her and encouraged Rachel to pursue acting. Rachel describes how she get into stand up. Why she thinks she would have got further along with her writing if she wasn’t doing stand up. Why she likes to collaborate. What she loves about running her short film shooting the breeze and why she loves the short film community.

Why shooting commercials is a good training ground to direct narrative. Rachel explains how she conveys her ideas as a director to her DOP and how she learned her film grammar on set. Why she finds patching and sewing therapeutic. The importance in knowing when to park an idea and give it space to brew. Why having a co-writer to motivate you. How working in all the various forms is now paying off for Rachel after years of struggling. Her love for zombie and violent films. Why happiness is not conducive to Rachels style of comedy, why she won’t do therapy and loads more!

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#podcast #balancingacts #apple #spotify #rachelstubbings #stevewhiteley #filmmaker #comedy

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In this conversation I chat to comedian/actor/presenter Shane Todd (https://twitter.com/shanetodd). 

Shane began performing stand up at the age of 19 and then began posting videos on YouTube, as part of the Harlem Gun Club a Northern Irish based comedy collective. He has performed solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Mandela Hall and Ulster Hall. Belfast Telegraph hailed Shane as “King of comedy”. In February 2019, Shane joined the cast of the BBC Northern Irish mockumentary sitcom Soft Border Control. He also presents the Shane Todd show on BBC Radio Ulster and hosts his own podcast The Shane Toddcast and Tea with me.

We kick things off with Shane explaining why he doesn't drink before a gig. We discuss the importance of having friends who’s feedback on your material you trust. Shane recalls how he got into stand up and how it took him 10 years of performing, before he overcame the nerves and anxiety. He describes the Northern Ireland comedy scene and what he learned from performing stand up in New York. He explains how his approach to writing has changed over the years and how lockdown has given him the opportunity to go over and analyse his material.

On a more serious note, Shane confesses why he had to go cold turkey on football manager. We debate the merit of of writing material on a notepad rather than a laptop. He explains how he used his experience of getting diagnosed with crohn's disease, as an opportunity to adopt a more positive mindset and attitude. Shane also talks about the experience of being a new Dad and why he prefers not to do material on his family. Why he started creating content and how roasting the Ulster rugby team led to Shane going viral. And why scheduling making content didn’t work for him. We also cover how Shane got into radio presenting and why things fell into place when he was more his authentic self; his love for playing football, why God is never described as a best selling author and loads more!

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

#balancingacts #podcast #comedian #apple #spotify #shanetodd #stevewhiteley

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In this conversation I chat to writer/director Adjani Salmon (https://www.instagram.com/s.adjani).

Adjani is an award winning writer and director from Jamaica. Before graduating from the Met Film School, he wrote and directed a 13-episode web series, which achieved over 40,000 views in 3 months. In 2013, Adjani moved to the UK to pursue his Masters in Directing Film. His graduation film, His Father’s Son, screened at numerous film festivals internationally, including Cannes, Blackstar and the Montreal World Film festival. He is the writer, producer and lead actor for Dreaming Whilst Black and co-founder of 4Quarter Films.

Adjani explains how the accumulation of a few years work led to him having a positive 2020, career wise. We discuss the danger in getting caught up in the industry rather than making your next independent project. He recalls how he moved from Jamaica to the UK to pursue his dream of being a filmmaker and what he got out of going to film school. Adjani describes how his experiences of working at Pinewood studios influenced ‘Dreaming Whilst Black’. He talks about the experience of winning film festival awards all over the world and going viral, but why Adjani still felt the series underperformed.

We discuss why the short film festival circuit should be given more industry love and respect. The importance in getting feedback from your filmmaking contemporaries and why to choose them carefully. Why Adjani decided to only direct one episode and to bring onboard other people to direct the web series. He also explains what motivated him to re-write the ending of the series on the day of shooting it.

Adjani highlights his favourite filmmakers and highlights why he setup his own production company. He shares his thoughts on whether there been progress in the push for diversity in the TV and film industry and why he is driven to become self sustainable. We question when you get a set back on a project, does that mean it's not meant for you or that you have to work harder? How to figure out what is the idea you should focus or take action on and loads more!

If you like this episode please do rate and review the podcast on Apple.

Happy listening :)

Steve - @offkeysteve

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/balancing-acts.

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