Rating: ★★★★★
Venue: The Other Palace, London
Cast: Amber Davies, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Dame Arlene Phillips, Natalie May Paris and Ben Joyce
Following the chart-topping launch of her acclaimed podcast Call To Stage, star of the stage and screen Amber Davies hosts Call To Stage LIVE for one night only at The Other Palace.
Call To Stage LIVE promises to be an unforgettable on-stage experience featuring surprise appearances from the West End’s leading stars as well as audience Q&As and exclusive performances – the only way to get this close to centre stage is to be at The Other Palace on November 24th.
At the beginning of the year, West End leading lady, Amber Davies, announced the arrival of her new podcast: Call To Stage. A podcast where musical theatre takes centre stage. Since launching the podcast just ten months ago, she's interviewed the likes of Lucie Jones, Hannah Lowther, Tom Francis, Alice Fearn and Rob Madge, to name but a few. This week's episode will see Amber interviewing the cast of smash-hit film, Wicked.
When Call To Stage Live was announced, I immediately booked both shows. Having followed Amber's journey since Bring It On back in 2021 and having listened to every episode of the podcast, I was excited to see how it would translate onstage.
The podcast guests for the two shows were kept as a surprise, which I think ensured ticket members were there purely to support Amber herself and celebrate the podcast, rather than attending just to see a certain guest. The calibre of the podcast guests were nothing short of sensational. For the afternoon's show, we were treated to West End superstar Carrie Hope Fletcher, and the evening show, we were wowed by the legend that is Dame Arlene Phillips.
Amber offers a warmth to both her guests and the audience that instantly makes you feel at ease, and as though you're sitting down having a catch up with a friend, as opposed to watching a show. While the nerves were apparent at the beginning, she quickly settled into her role as host, and led the conversations at a steady pace, creating a safe space that allowed the guests to share stories and secrets comfortably.
Carrie Hope Fletcher shared her thoughts on becoming a new mum, her time on Heathers, her upcoming Calamity Jane tour...and even chatted about her time on Bad Cinderella. Dame Arlene Phillips talked about her time on Strictly, her sensational work on shows such as Starlight Express and even treated us to stories of fellow legends such as her time with Whitney Houston!
Each show lasted around 90 minutes, with the podcast taking up around an hour of that time. The remaining time was used as a live Q&A with the audience, as well as a performance by Amber herself, joined by (more!) special guests. In the afternoon show, Natalie May Paris joined Amber on stage to sing "For Good" from Wicked, which was enough to move me to tears. In the evening show, Ben Joyce was our guest and sung a heartbreakingly beautiful duet with Amber of "Only Us" from Dear Evan Hansen.
I can only hope there are more opportunities to see Call To Stage Live again in the near future. Amber is warm, chatty and witty, while also offering an insight into the industry that we've not heard in this much depth before.
You can find out more about Call To Stage, here.
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