Andy Hockley is a hugely experienced theatre and TV actor, despite having originally trained in theatre design. He has appeared in 18 pantomimes at The Belgrade since 1989 in a variety of roles including both dame and baddie and this year he is playing King Rat in Dick Whittington.

As well as pantomime Andy has appeared in some of the UK’s most popular musicals and is possibly the longest serving Wizard in Wicked in the West End having been in over 1,000 performances. He also appeared in The Phantom of the Opera on tour and the West End followed by Chitty Chitty Bang Bang before his long stint in Wicked.

Andy talks to Martin about his vast career and deep affection for pantomime as well as what it is like working with panto legend Iain Lauchlan.

This week Martin is joined by two choreographers, Mitchell Harper and Claire Darcy.

Mitch has a wide range of choreography experience from opera and musicals to pantomime.

Claire has been appearing in the Inverness panto since she was a child and has appeared in over 1,000 performances at Eden Court - going on from being a member of the Junior Ensemble to a professional performer and now also their choreographer.

In this episode Mitch and Claire discuss the processes and methods involved in creating the routines for panto, how they are influenced by the music choices, the special effects and the performers themselves and much more!

Have you ever wondered why ticket prices cost what they do?

In this episode Martin delves into the complex world of theatre finance with Sarah Boden to discuss this very question.

Sarah talks Martin through the various different aspects that influence the cost of a ticket – from size of venue to the type of casting and all the extras that people may have never considered such as VAT, royalty fees, levies, transport and more!