Happy Monday!

Well, just like that... It's the end of Series 2. And as promised in last week's episode, we're ending the series with a very special guest!

Last week, two of our students, Ben and Nancy had this wonderful chat with stand up comedian, radio presenter, podcaster and actor: Justin Moorhouse! Ben, Nancy and Justin talked about his career from stand up comedy and his experience on Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, right up to his most recent work on the OMGB show in Tokyo and his very successful podcast "About 30 Minutes, No More Than 45". He also gave us lots of advice on pre-show nerves and how not to be a diva! 

Justin, thank you so much for giving us your time in-between your busy schedule, we are so grateful to have ended Series 2 with such a fabulous conversation. 

This episode is also very close to our hearts (and will be forever!), as it's Ellie, James and Nina's final episode of presenting before they head off to University and pass down the torch (or mics!) to some new students. To celebrate all of their hard work, we decided to have a little wrap party and record from Rachel's garden on a very sunny day last week. We'd love to take this opportunity to thank Ellie, James and Nina for all of their hard work, commitment and enthusiasm, and for being the original hosts of Garrick Chats With... It's been a very special time starting up this podcast, and we genuinely couldn't have done it without them.

To everyone else, thank you for listening to another series of us chatting! Remember to head over to Justin's podcast after this, we think you'll love it. 

Catch you in October for Series 3,

Enjoy

X

Happy Monday!

It's been a very busy few weeks for our theatre. We've had three long but fun-filled weeks of Summer School, three fantastic show nights and the most wonderful start to our summer! And for our listeners who might not have heard about our Summer Schools, they're definitely our favourite time of year. 

This summer, we have had up to thirty students between the ages of 7-18 years, arrive every Monday to our new sparkly basement. After giving the students a title (1. Macbeth Goes Wrong, 2. The Only Way is Garrick and 3. I'm A Drama Student, Get Me Out Of Here!), our students work in groups to devise, create and rehearse a show in 5 days. 

This podcast covers the highlights from rehearsals and backstage happenings from the students who have taken part in both The Only Way is Garrick, and I'm A Drama Student, Get Me Out of Here! In interviews conducted by two of our GCW hosts, James and Ellie, our students introduce the plot, discuss how summer school has been in relation to previous years, and chat about how it feels to be back on stage after nearly two years. We also meet some new students who joined us for summer school this year to see what it's been like for them. As well as all of this (told you we've been busy!) we manage to catch some backstage interviews with our tutors, Faye and Rach, an ex-Garrick student, and post-show comments from our audience and Garrick members.

This truly is a complete bonanza episode where we've tried to convey the absolute fun, madness and chaos we've had being back together. As James said 'It was definitely the summer that we all needed!'. And it was.

We hope you have as much fun listening, as we did creating this.

Have a lovely week, enjoy the sunshine.

The Stockport Garrick Youth Theatre

X

Hello there!

We've just finished three whole weeks of summer school at our theatre. For the last three Fridays we've had live performances, audiences and celebrations!

Here's Ellie and James to tell you a little bit of info about this week's up-coming episode. 

Catch you soon!

Stockport Garrick Youth

Hello and Happy Monday!

Welcome to Episode 16 of Garrick Chats With…

As we near the end of Series 2, we’re really thrilled to have had the opportunity to chat with such a variation of interesting guests. Although we're preparing to transition our podcast into the theatre as restrictions lift, we still love having the opportunity to connect with our guests via Zoom. And this week, Garrick Chats With... welcomes it's first international guest, Katrin Janser Fors, all the way from Switzerland!

Two of our Senior students, Annie (18), and Adam (17) chat this week with Katrin, who is the president of the organisation EDERED (European Drama Encounters). Katrin's vast career has involved working with drama students in Switzerland and internationally, creating numerous festivals and productions in the most interesting of locations. 

Our Youth Tutor and Director, Faye, first met the admirable Katrin in Poland during the 2016 EDERED encounter. Today's host, Annie, joined Faye and Katrin in Finland in 2019 as a student to work with other young performers from twelve different countries. This interview was a great opportunity for the gang to catch up, whilst introducing Adam and our listeners to the dynamic world of International Youth Theatre.

Katrin, it was lovely to hear how yourself and the organisation have adapted during the pandemic, and have continued engage and connect young people within theatre and performance. Thank you so much for this truly unique Garrick Chats With... episode!

To everyone else, we hope you enjoy

Have a great week,

Stockport Garrick Youth

Happy Tuesday!

Yes, sorry. We’re a day late. But we’ve had the busiest two weeks in a very long time at the theatre. We’re currently into our second week of Summer School, which is always a time of wonderful chaos for us all, but this week’s episode with Ric Michael will be worth the wait.

Over the next few weeks, a lot of our Seniors are saying farewell to the Garrick, as they head off prepare for University in September. If you’re a Garrick student you’ll have more than likely met James and Ellie. For the listeners who haven’t had the pleasure, James and Ellie are not only 2 of our Senior students, our Garrick Chats With… hosts, but have also given up 3 weeknights and their Saturday mornings for the last four years to help teach all of our students.

As they both head off to study at the University of Salford, we wanted to give them something back. This week, James and Ellie hosted our first face-to-face interview with Salford Uni’s very own Ric Michael, Subject Head for Broadcast Media. We thought it would be a great opportunity for James and Ellie to get really excited about heading off to University, and Ric’s conversation definitely did just that.

In this intimate episode, Ric chats with James and Ellie about his wonderful career. From being part of bringing multi-award-winning Gavin and Stacey to our screens, to his love of poetry and comedy. And of course, they got to hear all about what to expect on campus at Media City and Main Campus as they move on to University life.

Ric, thank you so much for giving James and Ellie this special interview, and for completing your theatre tour of Greater Manchester (with Daniel in tow) to get to us (In-joke).

To everyone else, please let us know your thoughts

Happy listening,

Stockport Garrick Youth

Hello.

Happy Monday! We hope you're enjoying the glorious sunshine, wherever you are. As Series 2 is in full-swing, we're delighted to bring you this very unique episode of Garrick Chats With... and it's with the talented Dave Draws. 

It's likely you'll have seen Dave's individual style and work at some point over the last few years, whether it be in a bar, on a wall in your office, or maybe on the Manchester Bee in the city centre. Dave is an illustrator, mural artist and quirky map doodler, who has travelled all over the world with his art. 

In this episode, two of our students, Nina and Elin, spoke with Dave about his route into becoming an artist, the support he has received in Manchester, and they also discuss his future dream projects.

It would be lovely for you to head over to Dave's online shop to check out his wonderful work! 

https://davedraws.co.uk/

Dave, thanks so much for chatting with us this week; your story and advice is truly inspiring and we cross all of our fingers and toes for Tokyo!

To everyone else, happy listening! Have a great week,

The Stockport Garrick Youth Theatre. 

Hello,

We know, we know. It's Monday. It feels like it's been dark all day. It's chucking it down. The majority of us stayed up quite late last night, watching a very tense game of football. And suddenly today, It feels like summer is over already, right? 

BUT, fear not. It's not. And we have absolutely the most perfect interview to cheer everyone up this week. 

Two of our students, sat down (to Zoom!) with the delightful children's author, illustrator and graphic designer: Helena Duggan. Jasmine (17) and Emelia (11) spoke with Helena about how not to give up when being creative, and how magical and interesting objects can lead to inspiration for story-writing. 

Helena, thank you so much for giving us this joyous time out of your busy schedule; we loved chatting Harry Potter and crystals with you!

To everyone else, please remember to leave us a review if you're listening on Apple Podcasts. We'd love to know your thoughts!

Have a great week; though we're sure that you will now,

The Stockport Garrick Youth Theatre

Hello and welcome to Episode 12 of Garrick Chats With...

And after tonight's announcement, this week's episode really couldn't have arrived in more of a timely fashion!

In March 2021, after a year in lockdown, and a year with no performances or audiences, our Youth Theatre conducted a 90-minute Zoom performance named 'Lockdown Life'. 35 of our wonderful students gathered together nearly every evening on Zoom, to create a mock-umentary style show about a year in lockdown.

Our 6-18-year-old students created their own lockdown characters and brought them to life through monologues, duologues and group performances. After 6 weeks of Zoom rehearsals, our Youth Theatre sold out its first ever virtual show, reaching full capacity with a proud and engaging audience.

We have had guests on Garrick Chats With... that we could never have imagined talking with, but now it's time for you to hear our talent!

As always, we hope you enjoy. Please let us know what you think. As we now seem to be moving forward, and as back-to-normal as can be, we are proud to have episodes like this on our archives to remind us of how we stuck together, kept in touch, but MOST of all had lots of fun during the pandemic.

Happy listening,

Stockport Garrick Youth Theatre

Hello! It's been a couple of months since Series 1, but as promised... we're back!

And we're kicking of Series 2 with a very special episode for you. As we're s-l-o-w-l-y getting back to normal, gigs, performances and our beloved theatres are beginning to open their doors again, and we couldn't be happier. So who better to celebrate the beginning of our brand new series with, than the fabulous Jon Courtenay.

Jon wowed our nation last year with his cleverly written, very funny musical performances on Britain's Got Talent. And after capturing Ant and Dec's attention with his first audition, Jon (very-deservingly!) won their Golden Buzzer, before going onto win BGT 2020!

Three of our students: Niamh (14), Miriam (11) and Immy (9) loved hearing Jon's stories behind his music, experiences of his Youth Theatre days, and what it was like backstage before a performance on BGT. We're so grateful to Jon for kicking off Series Two so vibrantly!

If you're listening on Apple Podcasts, please remember to rate Garrick Chats With... and leave us a review

Happy listening!

Love,

The Stockport Garrick Youth Theatre

Hello, and Happy Monday!

Garrick Chats With... is in double figures! That went quick, didn't it? So, welcome to Episode 10, with Abi Rose Kelly.

Last week, the lovely Liverpool-based musician, Abi chatted with our very own Mia, Lucy and James about songwriting, musical influences, and how Abi felt after performing at Warrington's brilliant RivFest.

We're now at the end of Series One, and we couldn't be happier to have ended the series with Abi's passion and excitement. Make sure to head over to Spotify to listen to Abi's tracks 'Polaroids and Violence' and 'Kill the Waitress'.

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us in our first series of Garrick Chats With... It has been such a wonderful experience for all of us, and we can't thank you enough for listening. As we're at the end of Series One, why not leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to let us know how much you've enjoyed our first ten episodes?

Happy listening!