Crucible 50 Podcast Series: Recent Episodes
Wordville
The Crucible 50 Podcast Series celebrates half a century of Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, exploring the origins of its radical design, its history and the challenges and surprises of working on the thrust stage. The series is produced by Tedd George from Wordville and Ashley Barnes from Sheffield Hallam University, in association with the Crucible Theatre.
In this special, extra episode of the Crucible@50 Podcast Series, Tedd George interviews two greats of the stage and screen: Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi. Drawing on their lifetime of work in the theatre and on film, Tedd explores the different open stages they have performed on, including the Crucible Theatre, their likes and dislikes, their work with Tyrone Guthrie and Laurence Olivier, and the differences between acting on stage and on film.
You can get a copy of 'Stirring Up Sheffield: An insider's account of the battle to build the Crucible Theatre' from Wordville here: www.wordville.net
In the ninth and final episode of the series, Tedd George interviews three designers about the challenges and surprises of working on the thrust stage: Christopher Oram, Jessica Hung Han Run and Andrzej Goulding. The discussion covers not only the Crucible Theatre, but also designing for the open stages of the Donmar Warehouse, the National, the Festival Theatre Chichester, the Menier Chocolate Factory and the Orange Tree.
You can get a copy of 'Stirring Up Sheffield: An insider's account of the battle to build the Crucible Theatre' from Wordville here: www.wordville.net
In the eighth episode of this series, Ashley Barnes and Tedd George speak with Robert Hastie, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, about the the highs and lows of the past five years and the standout moments of the theatre’s 50th anniversary season, including the ambitious staging of Rock, Paper, Scissors. They also explore Robert’s vision for Sheffield Theatres going forward.
In the seventh episode in the series, following the renaming of the Studio Theatre as the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Tedd George explores the career of this remarkable designer of the Crucible’s iconic thrust stage. Interviews with those who knew and worked with Tanya include Ian McKellen, James Smith, Nick Thompson, Clare Ferraby and Rodney Ford, along with a restored interview with Tanya by the Crucible’s first Artistic Director, Colin George.
In the sixth episode of the series, Ashley Barnes, Deputy Head of the Department of Humanities at Sheffield Hallam University, visits the archive of the Crucible Theatre and learns about its transfer across the road to Sheffield Hallam. Ashley meets with Jackie Pass (Assistant to the CEO and Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres) and Debbie Gamble (Head of Wardrobe) who share with him the treasures of the Crucible Archive and the theatre's immense costume and prop collection, before visiting Steve Sharp (Head of Library Resources at Sheffield Hallam University) to discuss how the Crucible Archive will be housed and accessed in the future.
In the fifth episode of the series, Tedd George interviews two more artistic directors about the challenges and joys of working on the thrust stage: Michael Grandage (Artistic Director of the Crucible Theatre, 2000-05, and of the Donmar Warehouse 2002-12) and Robert Hastie, Artistic Director of the Crucible Theatre (2016-present). There are also final comments about the Crucible by directors from the previous episode: Daniel Evans (Artistic Director of the Festival Theatre Chichester), Josie Rourke (Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, 2012-19) and Anthony Lau (Associate Artistic Director at the Crucible Theatre, 2020-present).
The discussion covers not only the Crucible Theatre, but also working on the open stages of the Donmar Warehouse, the Festival Theatre Chichester, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Olivier.
You can get a copy of 'Stirring Up Sheffield: An insider's account of the battle to build the Crucible Theatre' from Wordville here: www.wordville.net
In the fourth episode of the series, Tedd George interviews five artistic directors about the challenges and joys of working on the thrust stage: Daniel Evans (Artistic Director of the Festival Theatre Chichester), Josie Rourke (Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, 2012-19), Anthony Lau (Associate Artistic Director at the Crucible Theatre, 2020-present), Michael Grandage (Artistic Director of the Crucible Theatre, 2000-05, and of the Donmar Warehouse 2002-12) and Rob Hastie, Artistic Director of the Crucible Theatre (2016-present).
The discussion covers not only the Crucible Theatre, but also working on the open stages of the Donmar Warehouse, the Festival Theatre Chichester, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
You can get a copy of 'Stirring Up Sheffield: An insider's account of the battle to build the Crucible Theatre' from Wordville here: www.wordville.net
In the third episode of the series, Tedd George interviews four actors about the challenges and joys of working on the thrust stage: Alex Young, Dominic West, Simon Manyonda and Alex Blake. The discussion covers not only the Crucible Theatre, but also working on the open stages of the Olivier, Shakespeare's Globe, the Festival Theatre Chichester, the Donmar Warehouse and the Bridge Theatre.
You can get a copy of 'Stirring Up Sheffield' from Wordville here: www.wordville.net
In the second episode of the series, Ashley Barnes, Deputy Head of the Dept of Humanities at Sheffield Hallam University, speaks to playwright Chris Bush about the challenges of writing for the different Crucible stages and the rewards of writing about her home city. Chris is an award-winning playwright, whose work for Sheffield Theatres includes Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Steel and The Sheffield Mysteries. She is currently working on her most ambitious work, Rock/Paper/Scissors, which involves three different plays with he same actors being performed simultaneously in the Crucible auditorium, the Studio and the Lyceum.
In the first episode of the Crucible 50 Podcast Series, Ashley Barnes interviews Tedd George, son of the Crucible Theatres's founding artistic director, Colin George, about their book: 'Stirring Up Sheffield: The battle to build the Crucible Theatre', which was published by Wordville in November 2021. They explore the final years of the Sheffield Playhouse, the origins and development of the Crucible's radical thrust stage design and the controversies it stirred up, as well as the theatre's fortunes since its opening in November 1971.
You can get a copy of 'Stirring Up Sheffield' from Wordville here: www.wordville.net
Tedd George, Chief Narrative Officer of Kleos Advisory Ltd, chairs a podcast discussion on the findings of findexable's new report, 'Fintech in Africa: Scale Stoppers, Ramps & Roadblocks'. This episode is sponsored by findexable and the Department for International Trade’s African tech hubs. The speakers are: Simon Hardie, Co-Founder & CEO of findexable; Augustine Owusu, Trade Advisor at the DIT (Ghana); Lebo Mokgabudi, a fintech advisor in South Africa; Ali Hussein Kassim, CEO of Kipochi and Chairman of the Kenya FinTech Association; and Sheena Raikundalia, Director at the UK-Kenya Tech Hub. You can read the findexable report here: https://findexable.com
Tedd George, Chief Narrative Officer of Kleos Advisory Ltd, chairs a podcast discussion on 'Using Edtech to break through barriers to education and training in Africa'. This episode is part of the Department for International Trade's Tech for Growth Series, which explores the role played by technology in developing services across Sub-Saharan Africa. The speakers are: Dr Susann Dattenberg-Doyle, Founder of R:Ed and Queen of Gbi Kpoeta, Ghana; Alphonce Odhiambo, IT Network Engineer, Tunapanda Institute; and George Brown, CEO of PORGiESOFT. Full details of the Tech for Growth Programme can be found here: great.gov.uk/campaigns/tech-for-growth
Tedd George, Chief Narrative Officer of Kleos Advisory Ltd, chairs Part 2 of a podcast discussion on 'How mHealth is transforming the delivery of medical services in Africa'. This episode is part of the Department for International Trade's Tech for Growth Series, which explores the role played by technology in developing services across Sub-Saharan Africa. The speakers are: Israel Bimpe, Director, Africa Go-To-Market, Zipline; and Guillermo M Gauna-Vivas, founder of Ayúdame3D. Full details of the Tech for Growth Programme can be found here: great.gov.uk/campaigns/tech-for-growth
Tedd George, Chief Narrative Officer of Kleos Advisory Ltd, chairs Part 1 of a podcast discussion on 'How mHealth is transforming the delivery of medical services in Africa'. This episode is part of the Department for International Trade's Tech for Growth Series, which explores the role played by technology in developing services across Sub-Saharan Africa. The speakers are: Dr Andrew Bastawrous, CEO & co-founder of Peek Vision; Claire Morris, Director of International Programmes at Babylon Health; and, Shivon Byamukama, Managing Director at Babyl Health Rwanda. Full details of the Tech for Growth Programme can be found here: great.gov.uk/campaigns/tech-for-growth
Tedd George, Chief Narrative Officer of Kleos Advisory Ltd, chairs a podcast discussion on 'How AgriTech can transform Africa’s agricultural sector'. This episode is part of the Department for International Trade's Tech for Growth Series, which explores the role played by technology in financial services across Sub-Saharan Africa. The speakers are: Jim McDougall, Founder and Commercial Director of Outfield; Alia Malik, Founder of Farmsmart; Daniella Kwayu, Founder of Phemagri; and, Henry Clarke, CFO of SunCulture. Full details of the Tech for Growth Programme can be found here: great.gov.uk/campaigns/tech-for-growth
Tedd George, Chief Narrative Officer of Kleos Advisory Ltd, chairs a podcast discussion on the future of mobile banking in Africa. This episode is part of the Department for International Trade's Tech for Growth Series, which explores the role played by technology in financial services across Sub-Saharan Africa. The speakers are: Lesley-Ann Vaughan, Head of Product Strategy at the Mojaloop Foundation; Max Cuvellier, Head of Mobile for Development at GSMA; Rachel Balsham, Managing Director for the Emerging Enterprise Division at MFS Africa; and Kosta Peric, Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Full details of the Tech for Growth Programme can be found here: great.gov.uk/campaigns/tech-for-growth
Tedd George, Chief Narrative Officer of Kleos Advisory Ltd, chairs a podcast discussion on the importance of partnerships for scaling. This episode is part of the Department for International Trade's Tech for Growth Series, which explores the role played by technology in financial services across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The speakers are: George Odera, Head of Insurance Strategy at Safaricom / M-PESA; Josh Jost, CEO of Blu Network; Kristian Doolan, Founder and CEO of AgriVanguard; and, Simon Bransfield-Garth, Founder and CEO of Azuri Technologies.
Full details of the Tech for Growth Programme can be found here: great.gov.uk/campaigns/tech-for-growth