Theatre Pod: Les Dennis joins Liam Rudden to talk Waitress and all things theatre. Stream the first episode on MustSeeTheatre.com now.
THEATRE POD WITH LIAM RUDDEN 001 | LES DENNIS
MustSeeTheatre.com launches the first title in a series of Theatre Pod… podcasts covering all aspects of theatre this week with Theatre Pod with Liam Rudden, an occasional title which will find me chatting with familiar faces from the business and I am delighted to welcome star of stage and small screen, comedian, quiz show host, who can forget Family Fortunes, actor and Coronation Street favourite, and musical theatre star, national treasure Les Dennises Dennis.
I first met Les when I interviewed him ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe show Certified Male, by Scott Rankin and Glynn Nicholas, way back in 2007, and our paths have crossed many times since – it’s always a delight. A panto favourite (who can forget his brilliant, self-effacing turn in Ricky Gervais’ BBC comedy Extras), I was also lucky enough to see him play Buttons that same year, opposite the then 86-year-old Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney’s Baron Hardup, at Sunderland Empire‘s Cinderella.
Another personal highlight was witnessing Les bring Uncle Fester to life in the 2017 UK premiere of The Addams Family The Musical Comedy, at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre – still the best UK production in my mind. Most recently, I took a trip down South last year to see him star as the Liverpool FC Chairman, opposite Peter Mullan as legendary football manager Bill Shankly, in the stage adaptation of David Peace’s Red or Dead, at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre. Both those production’s had great opening night afterparties – always the best way to be reunited.
Needless to say, when I received the press release revealing Les had been cast in Waitress and would be back at the Edinburgh Playhouse, there was little doubt who would be asked to launch the Theatre Pod with Liam Rudden series. So, sit back, listen (or watch if you prefer, after all, it is shot in the majestic Edinburgh Playhouse) and enjoy…
My thanks go to producer Josie Balfour for her encouragement and enthusiasm for Theatre Pod and all her editing and production skills, which go way beyond anything I could manage.
Full tour details and tickets for Waitress The Musical HERE
