The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius

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Please welcome Bristol Broadcasting legend, new talent champion and curator of the "Upload Festival" Adam Crowther to The Good Listening To Podcast: The Story Behind Your Story Show! 

Adam Crowther presents BBC Upload 7-10pm every weekday on BBC Radio Bristol - which he’s presented since October 2018.

He has worked as a broadcaster and presenter across live events and radio as well as live streams and videos for BBC iPlayer.  Adam has spent most of his presenting career championing, encouraging and celebrating new talent - from musicians to writers, comedians and bloggers, Adam loves celebrating talent.

Adam is also an award winning social media expert. He’s managed social media brand accounts for the BBC (BBC Radio Bristol, BBC Breakfast and BBC Introducing in Shropshire) as well as a children’s charity in Birmingham. Adam has also created content for BBC Two and BBC masterbrand instagram accounts, covering premiers of Peaky Blinders and Blue Planet II.

“ Today you are you
That is truer than true
There is no one alive 
Who is you-er than you.” 

 The one and only Adam Crowther is inspired by these simple words from Dr Seuss. The choice reveals a lot about the broadcaster and his 24 carat authenticity. He appreciates honesty, expressed in accessible language. He is not 'hoity-toity' and has never wanted to be either. OK, he was cheeky in school. Yes, he sang in a band. And yes at 16, he was chosen to show the Prime Minister - Tony Blair! - around his school. On request, he even made the PM a cup of tea, under strict security supervision. 

After university in Aberystwyth, where he studied Drama, Adam became a Youth Worker and grew into becoming a pioneering broadcaster with BBC Bristol via BBC Radio WM In Birmingham. And this, despite underselling himself relentlessly at his first interview. Adam learned his lesson quickly and by way of reference, quotes Ray Charles’s mother in the biopic: “ I tell you once. I help you if you get it wrong. After that, you’re on your own.“ Adam was allowed that second chance and made the most of it. 

He pioneered a new take on Social Media strategy and execution for the BBC. He co-created Upload. Over time he has become less shy about banging his own drum - without becoming a secret narcissist. He readily acknowledges the benign influences of his parents, teachers and professional role models. Adam replaced his self-doubt/can’t-do stance with a more positive 'can-do' model. 

He is still only 30 something, now confident enough to be who he is - never happier than when helping others to thrive and shine. To discover their own voices! 

Adam confesses he is a perfectionist. He appreciates originality and has no time for the ‘near enough is good enough’ approach. He knows he has been very lucky and now wants to help create similar luck for others. 

Adam recently identified himself as bisexual. It is a simple matter of fact. He knows he is a consummate professional, not a drama queen. This lively conversation will convince you of that, right from the start. 

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

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Very excited to welcome Tim Crouch, one of British Theatre's 'great innovators', with plays that have disturbed and challenged the passive theatrical experience to The Good Listening To 'Clearing'.

A wonderfully rich and textured conversation indeed.  As Tim said:  "I talked with Chris about Tony Brightwell, my dad, my dog, randy airline captains, theatre, sailing little boats, my family - but mostly the dog..."

Tim Crouch is a world renowned British experimental Theatre Maker, Actor Writer & Director.  He specialises in rejecting theatrical conventions - especially realism - and prefers a form whereby the audience is invited to help image and create the work. Tim is very warmly regarded and much respected as being an "Actor's Actor".

"Theatre in its purest form is 'conceptual': No need for sets, costumes & props. All exists inside the audience's head".

This is particularly relatable for me because of my own love of all things Comedy Improvisation and INSTANT WIT whereby an empty stage is brimming and charged with potential where 'anything is possible', with the audience all set to colourise the scene and fill in the gaps of all the silly proceedings with their imaginations.

Tim's seminal 'centre piece' play from which he says all else has evolved was My Arm, the story of an 'empty gesture'.  It's about the confession of a man who lived for thirty years by the courage of his lack of conviction.  "At the age of 10, for want of anything more meaningful to do, I put my arm above my head and kept it there".

Other work includes "An Oak Tree"; TV series "Don't Forget The Driver" which he co-wrote with actor Toby Jones (as Tim's homage to his home town of Bognor Regis) plus numerous world tours with a series of plays making Shakespeare more accessible through the eyes and perspective of single characters "I, Malvolio"; I, Banquo"; I, Caliban"; "I, Peaseblossom"

Stephen Bottoms, Professor of Contemporary Theatre and Performance at the University of Manchester said of Tim Crouch:

"I can think of no other contemporary playwright who has asked such a compelling set of Questions about theatrical form, narrative content and a spectators's engagement".

‘One of the smartest artists making theatre in Britain now.‘
Kulturflash on Tim Crouch

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

Yes! Welcome to another episode of "The Good Listening To Podcast: The Story Behind Your Story Show!" with this lovely gentleman and Actor Jonathan Hansler 

Jonathan is an Award Winning English Actor, Writer & Comedian and Peter Cooke obsessive!

"I’ve truly ‘lived’ but then suffering creates greatness..."

Jonny and I go way back when, to when he walked into a bar in Cricklewood (“I was working as a Waitress…” erm, etc) dressed as a half-cut Centurion circa 1984!

Episode recorded as a FaceBook "Live".

MORE ABOUT JONATHAN:

As an actor, comedian, writer, Jonathan Hansler has led a life that has never been dull - nor without anxiety. Jonathan curated his own collection of Self-help books and not without good reason. His father was an active alcoholic, which invariably made him remote and unpredictable. Jonathan will always regret never having had the chance to say goodbye properly and achieve some kind of closure. 

Jonathan himself was abused at school. He was inspired by Peter Cook, who, like him, imagined that he could rely on alcohol to dull the daily pain and make an apparently ‘normal’ life look possible. Jonathan’s father died with alcoholism. Peter Cook died with alcoholism. Jonathan decided not to follow in their footsteps. 

He stopped drinking alcohol 8 and a half years ago and has stayed stopped ever since. A couple of months ago, Jonathan embraced Buddhism and now takes personal responsibility very seriously indeed. He remains highly anxious, occasionally very irritable and sometimes awfully moody. Now he tries to use his difficulties to his best advantage. 

He celebrates his curious sense of humour and his appreciation of absurdity wherever he can find it. One of Jonathan’s ancestors, a spy for Wellington, was the first person ever to receive a knighthood from the late Queen Victoria. This ancestor even had a pub named after him! 

In the second Elizabethan era, John Cleese gave Jonathan Hansler the right to recreate the original Basil Fawlty in his own image using the original scripts from Fawlty Towers. 

Clive Greenwood and Jonathan Hansler developed new lines for famous comedians in an imaginary afterlife scenario. Jonathan’s latest film is entitled ‘Give them wings’. You can see the trailer online, as well as Peter Cook and John Cleese‘s bizarre conversation on a park bench that set Jonathan on his unique career path. 

Anxious moments galore but never a dull moment. Good listening!

Reg Starkey - Editor
UK Health Triangle Magazine

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

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Ladies n' Genminminminmin (er, min...) we have Clergy in 'The Clearing'!

Please welcome my very dear and lovely old friend The Reverend Olivia Coles. A real life "Vicar of Dibley" here in The Good Listening To Podcast: The Story Behind Your Story Show! recorded as a FaceBook LIVE!

"More tea Vicar?"

"No, but I'll have another one of those Rock Cakes. Those are the buggers that made me fart..." erm, etc!

Hurrah!

Olivia Coles is the Vicar of Whittlesford, in Cambridgeshire. Her late father, Jeremy, was himself a Vicar, her mother Margaret was a Trauma Counsellor (and still with us). 
Her husband, Alasdair, is a Professor of Neuropathology at Cambridge University and he too is ordained. Their son Alex is a Northampton Saint! (He plays Rugby professionally - he has not been canonised!) Their social worker daughter, Kana, is currently specialising in Domestic Abuse. 

More about Olivia:

Olivia herself has enjoyed a lot of training, a lot of counselling and a lot of open-house life experience in Zambia and Peru as well as in the UK. Her faith is God is beacon-like without being off-putting. Her sincerity shines through her conversation. Some might say she exhibits evidence of low self-esteem. Others might more charitably recognise her attractive humility and wonderful work ethic. 

The Reverend Olivia Coles loves people. She loves listening to them. She loves sharing their joy at christenings and weddings, as well as in old age, supporting their grief at funerals and wakes. Olivia takes her job very seriously - but not herself. (She once sat in a bath of porridge as a student for a whole day to raise money for charity!) 

For Olivia, all relationships are of paramount importance. Primarily, of course, her relationship with God and then follow all her other relationships - with her extended family and many friends, her parishioners and the wider community, including refugees arriving soon under her roof from Ukraine. 

She loves walking with her dog, especially on the seashore, describing the sea itself as ‘God’s paintbox’. 

Olivia has no doubt whatsoever that God is always with us. She has no doubt whatsoever that God loves us unconditionally. Her best advice resonates the recommendation of all 12 Step fellowships: “Let go and let God!”

She is a lovely friend and a wonderful human being with a big heart and a warm enthusiasm.

Enjoy!

Reg Starkey - Health Triangle Magazine

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

Ladies n' Genminminminmin (er, min...) please welcome Bristol Broadcasting Legend Keith Warmington legendary BBC Radio Bristol Presenter, Blues Harmonica Player, Voiceover Artist & Cycling Nut!

Top bloke, top local Broadcaster and top local legend!  

 After 52 years in Bristol, the mellifluous Keith Warmington is an optimistic Francophile, who is on his way to becoming the finished article. 

He is a self-confessed "cycling nut", happy to be on the road for up to 3 hours on any day he chooses. Habitually he enjoys saying hello to people, counting local cranes on a regular basis and changing his spectacles every year. He also enjoys sharing chocolate cake in the Primrose Cafe. 

Keith does not yet have his own website but claims the BBC website’s version of him is inaccurate. He was born in Camborne, not as a ‘chopper’ in Redruth, as implied by the BBC. Keith started working with them in 1983, not 1993 as their website suggests. This programme is proud to set the record straight! 

Keith is a professional performer and harmonica player, who also plays the guitar. His great loves, apart from his lawyer wife and his grownup daughter, are recognising random road bikes and gazing at beautiful guitars. 

While still at school in Redruth, Keith was inspired by role-model folk singers like Mike Chapman and Ralph McTell in denim jackets, carrying their guitars around in cases. Later he was impressed by Tour de France competitors with their seemingly effortless energy and elegant sunglasses. 

Keith actually taught French for 9 years in Bristol before finding more fame and job satisfaction in broadcasting with the BBC. There, the late John Turner was his mentor. Keith remembers John’s pragmatic advice:
* Always know what you are going to do next
* When the red light goes on, make sure you’ve got something to say

It has stood him in good stead to this day. What Keith says is colourfully fluent and well worth listening to.  Hear for yourself, here. Thank you!

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

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Delighted to welcome creative and comedy legend Vic Llewellyn to The Good Listening To 'Clearing' to talk about all things being Vic, castle building, writing, creativity & random squirrels!

Vic is a theatre maker, writer, actor & chewed bread sculptor! Funny, educational & inspiring on the outer limits of creativity.

You can also 'watch/listen' to Vic's episode here:

https://vimeo.com/722189063

Enjoy!

More about Vic:

John Victor Llewellyn Williams, aka Vic Llewellyn, is a delightful, deadline-driven dramaturg, who wants to be remembered for what he has done rather than what he was called. Yet his name itself is interesting. He was called Victor after Victor Silvester, the world champion ballroom dancer who also sold literally millions of records as a band leader from the 1930s onwards. 

The name Llewellyn comes from the Nurse, who was present at his birth, which he sees as something of a miracle in any event - on two counts. First, his father survived a potentially lethal booby trap explosion in Egypt in World War 2. Secondly, his grandfather was a genuine Foundling - abandoned on a Bucher’s doorstep as an unknown  newly born baby! Happily, grandfather, father and the young Vic Llewellyn all survived and thrived, although Vic himself was turning 30 before his natural creativity got into overdrive. 

He was taught to be a Clown by the one and only Philippe Gaulier and remains inspired by Gaulier’s teachings to this day. Vic met his future wife Emma while working with Tom Clark from the then famous Clark’s shoes’ family. 

Vic is inspired by art, books and music. Even if a book is not to his liking, if he has started it, he will always finish it, optimistically hoping to find the rare pearl amid the encircling dross. 
Likewise for him, there is no such thing as ‘background music’ in the curious world of Vic Llewellyn. 

With a brother called Alex who is 9 years older than him (another miracle!) Vic was naturally way ahead of his peers in his liking for Jimi Hendrix and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. One of Vic’s schoolboy nicknames was Mature Alex! The theatricality of that band appealed to him. 

As well as writing and performing, Vic now has his own live radio show and is totally unworried if “no one’s really listening “! Art is its own reward. Applying a Profit and Loss metric merely demeans it. 

Vic agrees with Eleanor Roosevelt’s assertion that critics are habitually overrated and adds his own delightfully idealistic idea that “Everyone’s got this beautiful thing inside them!” The challenge, Vic suggests, is simply to find where you belong as early in your life as possible.

Reg Starkey UK Health Triangle Magazine

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to the Clearing for a special "Leadership Reflections" Episode,  the wonderful 6’ 5 Scottish man-mountain of entrepreneurial flair & generosity and a truly 'Great Scot': Russell Dalgleish  😊  Chair & Co-Founder of the Scottish Business Network.

Russell's lifelong, blazing 🔥 passion is helping other people to succeed in business and in his high-achieving career he’s helped thousands of them. Could YOU be next?

Russell Dalglish is a Scottish serial entrepreneur and network builder extraordinaire. So if you need help in your business too, then do not miss this show!

Many generations of entrepreneurs, directors, business managers and executives of all shapes and sizes have hugely benefited from his extensive business wisdom and proven track record of success.

What Russell says about himself:

The first thing people notice about me is ‘me’ because I'm a unique character and a natural performer who’s happy to speak up for what I believe (the fact I'm 6’ 5” and Scottish helps too).

My true passion, my “why”, is to help others to succeed.

The career I have followed has allowed me to develop a truly global mindset, an inner capacity to “do the right thing” and resilience which has allowed me to accept both success and failure as simply milestones on my journey.

I know how challenging it can be to lead, how lonely it can sometimes feel and how important it is to ask for help. I also know how difficult it can be to reach out and admit we can’t do everything. Don’t worry you’re not alone, we’ve all felt this way.

I have been fortunate to experience success in my career and recently was listed as one of the top 100 most influential entrepreneurs in the UK (No. 67) https://bit.ly/2OiscPc.

If you are unsure if I can help you then please drop me a note at [email protected] and let’s schedule a call.

More about Russell:

Consciously committed to helping others, by any measure, Russell Dalgleish is a great Scot.
6’5” in his tartan socks, Russell can trace his family back well over 400 years! (Ancestry, eat your heart out.)

Russell is an extraordinary Scottish success, both personally and professionally. He believes in the big vision. Why else would he be the pioneer investor in an award-winning feature film, no fewer than 9 years in the making?

Clearly patient, this is an honest, entrepreneurial family man, driven by the power of purpose. ‘Have laptop, will travel’ Russell is an international digital nomad who has helped develop a global network of Scots, which is now over 10,000 strong, in no fewer than 76 different countries.

A decent human being, he is an unashamed technophile, who is willing to present his ideas on Zoom after midnight to connect with people at a convenient time for them in Chicago. But he is definitely not a ‘Work comes first” automaton. On the contrary, here is a straight-talking character, whose key words to live by are ‘Family first’ and are proved by his actions. Witness the fact that Russell married his first great love from college days and remains with her to this day, one day at a time, the best part of 40 years later - with three sons to their credit.

A great Scot, an economical yet inspirational communicator, whose every word is well worth listening to: an opportunity not to be missed!

Reg Starkey Health Triangle Magazine

The Good Listening To Podcast is hosted on Buzzsprout with its own weekly show on UK HEALTH RADIO NETWORK LIMITED with an audience reach of 1.2 million.

'Leadership Reflections' is where I wrap an episode of the podcast, with its strong and established Storytelling construct, around you as a Leader, to uncover your 'leadership-lessons-learned-along-the-way'.

DM me if you’d like to be in the Show too?

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

A reunion here in "The Good Listening To" Clearing, 34 years later after we both 'hacked our ways into the thickets of life', having trained together as actors at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School!

"So Richard, what's it like to Fight Direct and keep correcting Robert DeNiro? How was it working with Brad Pitt on the set of "Troy"? And how did you end up being Michelle Pfeiffer's Stunt Double in "Stardust"?" 

To answer this and all the usual other questions, Ladies n' Genmin please welcome to the Good Listening To 'Clearing', internationally renowned Stunt Coordinator, Fight Director & Master at Arms for the Film & TV, Richard Ryan, currently Fight Director for Netflix's "Vikings Valhalla".

Richard was mentored in his early formative training by the great Henry Marshall, who handed on the glorious title of "Master at Arms at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art" to Richard as his successor. Richard was subsequently also mentored by perhaps the greatest Film Fight Director of all, William Hobbs.

William Hobbs fight coordinated all of the best sword movies in the 70's-90's, including the iconic fight, regarded by many as being "the greatest sword film fight ever filmed": The sword fight and final 'battle to the death' between Liam Neeson & Tim Roth in "Robroy", with John Hurt & Brian Cox looking on.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

Please welcome the "Queen of Valuable Content" Sonja Nisson, recorded as a special LinkedIn LIVE 'Brand Strand' Episode of the Podcast. 

'Brand Strand' is where I wrap an episode of the podcast - with its strong and established Storytelling construct - around a particular company or individual, to help amplify their company or personal brand.

In a nutshell Sonja Nisson "helps people unlock what they want to say in the world of business".

In the kelp beds of Sennen Cove in Cornwall for her Clearing (as a wild swimmer & 'happy mermaid'!) Sonja tells us the 'story behind the story' of her curation of  "The Land of Content":  "What if the land of content was an Island? What would we find?!"

Listen up to learn more about the "Bay of Quick Wins", Foggy Bottom", "Shit Creek" & "Lonely Crag"!

More about Sonja:

"If you are going through a business identity crisis and are keen to get your message and communications approach sorted, she can help. Her clients are founders and leaders with expertise and ideas to share, and most often, a website they're frustrated by and finding it hard to move forward on. 

Sonja helps you get clear on your story - who you are and what you do as a business - using research and feedback as a mirror to align your thinking and find a confident way forward. Working together, you'll craft a unique message, website and valuable content strategy that lands with those you want to influence, driving you and your business to reach your full potential. 

- Co-author of Valuable Content Marketing, how to make content the key to your business success - the first UK book on content marketing, published by Kogan Page 2013, 2015. 
- Alongside her independent consulting work, she runs the "School of Valuable Content" with co-author and friend Sharon Tanton. They run courses and writing clubs to help people create the valuable content they need to power their businesses. 

- She believes that the quest to create valuable content is a great catalyst for a more customer-centred approach to business and marketing. 
- She's increasingly curious about the role of listening in business and in life. She'd love to unleash a listening revolution in the business world. Imagine the radical change that would happen as a result!

Enjoy!

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening! 

Send us Fan Mail

Comedy Double Act Beauties Howard Coggins & Stu McLouglin from "Living Spit" Musical Theatre Company, here to "dissect their frog" on their wonderful anarchic comedy method and madness!

The warmth between the 2 is palpable and their comedy magic together a work of collective comedy genius. Howard & Stu work with a creative crack team of 5 to generate their magic together and are based in Clevedon at their home venue (which is also delightfully their "Clearing")  which they also co-founded, "The Clevedon Theatre Shop" 

This is their story on what has shaped them in the crafting of their impressive canon of 17 hilarious comedy musical theatre Shows to date as "Living Spit". 

"Living Spit" so called because Howard is - as Stu discovered much to his delight on a day trip to  Hever Castle - a "Living Spit" of Henry V111.  Stu got straight on the phone to Howard - and the rest - as they say, is comedy history!

Enjoy!

More about Living Spit:

Introducing an extraordinary couple of colourful characters from the West Country, the frontmen of their own theatre company, called mysteriously “Living Spit’. Not so mysterious when you learn that Stu saw a picture of Henry VIII at Hever Castle, which struck him as the spitting image of his friend, Howard. On the strength of this striking physical similarity, the two friends decided to create their own lighthearted musical comedy about Henry and his various wives. 

Howard was a shoe-in for Henry. Stu was happy to play the wives. Musicians in their teens, actors in their twenties, the two thespians created Living Spit - as if inspired by the Bob Dylan song ‘Don’t think twice, it’s alright.’ 

Now their company has 5 key people, including their own ‘third man’, producer / director Craig Edwards. Over ten years later, Living Spit has over 17 different original comedies to its credit and two or three more live ideas in the pipeline. These days the shows are more comedy than history. They always involve original music. The founders are now related by marriage, but not to each other. Brothers-in-law, they happily share family occasions as well as gruelling professional tours. In the pandemic, they played on camera- or rather six cameras - to an empty house at the Bristol Old Vic. This was a breeze compared with one unhappy night in Runcorn - so disappointing that they vowed never to return. And they never have. Instead, Howard and Stuart do their own thing, in their own way, then turn to Craig to help them make it work. Allowing a mere three weeks for rehearsals, they’re ready to go public with it.

 The audience is the only thing that matters to Living Spit: their laughter, their delight, their satisfaction. Our heroes are happy to be the best in the West. They don’t need to prove they’re the best in the world - even though they may be. They certainly have a better work/life balance than most people in show business. It’s time to meet the original founders of Living Spit. Listen, it will certainly raise a smile or two. Listen, you might learn something!

Reg Starkey - Editor UK Health Triangle Magazine 

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'.  If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email  me about the Show: [email protected]
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening!