021: Paul Taylor Mills has never been to Pride.
Our host Andrew Keates spent the afternoon with Director, Producer and Artistic Director of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Other Palace - Paul Taylor Mills. Paul spoke to us about the thousands of pounds he’s raised for charities running marathons, his upcoming “big-gay-holidays” and his preparations for the upcoming UK premiere of Heathers - The Musical, which stars Carrie Hope Fletcher and how he thought he wouldn’t get the rights to do it because he felt the musical wasn’t quite yet cooked and how he secured the show over the many other producers who wanted to do it and the controversy surrounding the show’s announcement on the day regarding ticket prices and the casting of Carrie Hope Fletcher. Paul Taylor Mills goes into great detail about the highs and lows of running The Other Palace, how shows are produced at the theatre, the ways he facilitates new theatremakers using The Other Palace resources, how shows are chosen to be developed at his venue and the family ethos of theatre too. As well as covering The Other Palace, Paul tells us about how he discovered producing and directing when growing up, his early days producing shows by maxing out credit cards at places such as the Lost Theatre and the Union Theatre, his unfortunate need to liquidate his production company after two unsuccessful shows at Southwark Playhouse and his rise from the ashes within the same week and becoming a recognised producer after his phenomenally successful production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights.
Episode features include:
The Soapbox: Paul talks with Andrew about the recent attacks he, The Other Palace and Carrie Hope Fletcher received on social media after announcing their production Heathers - The Musical regarding the costs of tickets, casting decisions and other matters. Paul talks frankly about how we should act on social media and what he thinks is unacceptable. He also talks about how he monitors his own behaviour and image on social media being a young, gay man who likes to party with his friends, whilst at the same time, honouring his responsibilities as Artistic Director of The Other Palace.
Theatrical Tips: Andrew covers his theatrical tips for June 2018, including Lonely Planet at Trafalgar Studios 2, Heathers - The Musical at The Other Place and Steve Furst: In Character at the Underbelly Festival.
The Platform:Today’s platform is given to composer Tim Driesen and a song from his musical, ‘Just a Normal Girl’ (formerly known as Super Alice Smith) called ‘Evil has many faces’ sung by Kelly-Ann Gower.