WOS Radio: George Stiles & cast at Soho Cinders

Last night (7 August 2012) almost 100 theatregoers headed to the Soho Theatre for our Outing to the new, full-scale production of Stiles and Drewe’s musical Soho Cinders. We were excited to see the show fully staged after the special one-off, sell-out charity concert, supported by Whatsonstage.com last year.

Edgy, fun and deliciously naughty, Soho Cinders celebrates the capital’s most colourful district as politics, sex-scandals and true love come together in this contemporary musical.

When impoverished student Robbie becomes romantically involved with engaged mayoral candidate James Prince, his lap-dancing step-sisters become the least of his problems! James and Robbie’s worlds collide, forcing them to fight for their own fairy-tale ending.

Following the show we were joined for a Q&A by George Stiles (Antony Drewe was in France, but we were told he missed us!), book writer Elliot Davis, director Jonathan Butterell, producer Jamie Hendry as well as cast members Michael Xavier, Gerard Carey, Suzie Chard, Amy Lennox and Tom Milner.

We were told about how the show is still evolving, even now that previews are underway, with Amy Lennox and Tom Milner lamenting the last minute changes made over the weekend! The team told us how the show has changed since the concert performance last year, which many of our theatregoers attended, as well as the nerve-wracking lack of rehearsals before original concert.

Jonathan Butterell and Jamie Hendry talked about when they got on board with the production, Suzie Chard told us how much she’s enjoying playing her outrageous ‘ugly sister’ character along with Beverly Rudd, and Gerard Carey commented on his first time playing a ‘baddie’.

They also talked about the mixture of comedy and complex characters in the show, and the length of time since the writing (and performance) of the first song for the show. Finally, George Stiles gave us the reasons behind the names of many of the characters from the show.

To listen to the Q&A, which was hosted by Terri Paddock, click the ‘play’ button below; or to subscribe and download from iTunes, click here.

As always, please feel free to email your comments and thoughts about the show, as well as any of your favourite insights from last night to feedback@whatsonstage.com and don’t forget to tweet using #wosouting! We would love to hear from you.

– Rosie Bannister