6 episodes
Death and the Elephant Death and the Elephant
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- Society & Culture
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5.0 • 7 Ratings
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A brand new podcast getting under the skin of the biggest taboo of all, Death. It is hosted by Dr Hannah Harris, a GP in south London and Raz Shaw, an award-winning theatre director and writer.
Each episode, Raz and Hannah talk to someone they admire and endeavour to find out how they want to be remembered at the end of their life, their greatest achievements so far, their sliding doors moments up to this point, and what they want in their memorial service.
Hannah also presents Coronacast with her drama student daughter, talking all things coronavirus. Raz has had three very close brushes with death in his life, most recently in January 2020. In 1995, he had stage 4 cancer whilst also struggling with a gambling addiction and wrote a book about that moment in time called Death and the Elephant which was published in 2018.
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Lucy-Anne Holmes
This episode is all about SEX.
Oh, hello. That caught your attention didn’t it? A bit like the naked women on page 3 used to before our inspirational guest Lucy-Anne Holmes, in a moment of clarity, saw how exploitative and denigrating it was towards women. She started a revolution which, after two years of relentless campaigning, led to Rupert Murdoch pulling the 40-year-old feature from the Sun newspaper for good.
She tells us all about her journey to success and that future-changing campaign, as well as another personal mission she embarked upon to unlock the secrets and nuances of her own sexual identity, which she shared with the world in her memoir - a veritable trail-blazer to the feminism we see around us now in our everyday life.
We talk by turns about religion, motherhood, and of course mortality and how she wants to be remembered. And we laughed. A lot. We hope you will too.
Thank you for listening to our podcast.
Credits:
* Music composed and arranged by Mark Melville: markmelvillemusic.com
* Created and presented by Raz Shaw and Hannah Harris
* Edited by Hannah Harris
* Extract from Don't Hold My Head Down by Lucy-Anne Holmes, read by Lucy-Anne herself
* Feeling Good written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, sung by Lucy-Anne Holmes, and then by Nina Simone -
Brooke Kinsella
In this episode, Raz and Hannah talk to the multi-talented multi-faceted Brooke Kinsella. Brooke has been an actor since age 7, appearing in many shows on stage and screen, from CBBC as a child, to EastEnders. Six years ago, she gave up the acting game to become an agent, of which she has also made a huge success although, as we hear on the podcast, she still has the occasional 'what might have been' moment.
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Brooke’s younger brother Ben was tragically murdered in 2008 after going out to celebrate the end of his GCSE exams. She talks candidly about the dark and difficult days that followed Ben’s death, and the unique perspective this gives her on her own mortality more than a decade later.
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If you would like to find out more about Brooke’s work as a knife crime campaigner and the Ben Kinsella Trust, please do visit: benkinsella.org.uk.
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And if this episode raises issues that you find upsetting or you feel you need any sort of support with your mental health, please reach out to a friend, relative, your GP, or an organisation such as Mind or the Samaritans - which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year:
www.mind.org.uk
www.samaritans.org - call 116 123 for free
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Credits:
* Music composed and arranged by Mark Melville: markmelvillemusic.com
* Created and presented by Raz Shaw and Hannah Harris
* Edited by Hannah Harris
* Ben's essay was written by Ben Kinsella and read by Brooke Kinsella
* 'You Give A Little Love' was written by Paul Williams and performed by Ryan Kirwan and Jonny Walters: instagram.com/ryankirwanfilms -
Terence Frisch
In this episode, Raz and Hannah talk to actor Terence Frisch. His career has spanned more than 30 years and he has starred in stage, TV shows and films all over the world. Raz and Terry have worked together on a number of productions around the UK.
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As well as reflecting on his life so far, and what he would want in his memorial service, Terry talks about the importance (or not) of his work, pottering around in his garden during lockdown, and losing his dad at a young age, as well as his own experiences of serious illness.
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If you enjoy our podcast, please do tell your friends, and like, follow, rate, review, to help us reach a bigger audience - thank you.
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Credits:
* Edited by Harry Winteringham harrywinteringham.uk
* Music composed and arranged by Mark Melville markmelvillemusic.com
* Created and presented by Raz Shaw and Hannah Harris
* Leisure by W.H. Davies
* He Who Would Valiant Be, music composed by Ralph Vaughan-Williams, arrangement by Guy Bennett, played by Bedford Town Band -
Julie Hesmondhalgh
In this, the launch episode, Raz and Hannah talk to special guest, actress and all-round wonder woman, Julie Hesmondhalgh. They discuss life, theatre, activism, and her legacy as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street.
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Since leaving the cobbles, Julie has been on our televisions in award-winning dramas like Broadchurch, Doctor Who, The A Word and Happy Valley, as well as on stage in plays all over the UK.
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Raz has directed Julie in Wit at the Royal Exchange Manchester for which they both won awards, and most recently in The Greatest Play in The History of the World which played the Exchange, the Edinburgh Festival, and the West End. It is due to go on a 7-week tour of the North from the middle of May - pandemic permitting!
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Credits:
* Produced and edited by Harry Winteringham harrywinteringham.uk
* Music composed and arranged by Mark Melville markmelvillemusic.com
* Created and presented by Raz Shaw and Hannah Harris
* “Reach” composed by Cathy Dennis
* Excerpt from The Greatest Play In The History Of The World by Ian Kershaw, performed by Martha Kershaw -
Esh Alladi
In this, the pilot episode, Hannah and Raz talk to Dr Esh Alladi.
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Esh studied medicine at Cambridge University and worked as a doctor for a number of years before going to LAMDA to retrain as an actor. Esh’s acting credits are many and varied including shows at the National Theatre, RSC and Royal Exchange Manchester. In 2019 he won the UK Theatre Award for best supporting actor in Hobson’s Choice at the Royal Exchange Manchester. Esh predominantly works as an actor but since March 2020 he has been on the frontline as a doctor for the NHS.
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In this episode, Esh talks about the stark contrast at the moment between his two careers, how one job informs the other, and how his love of musicals will no doubt dominate his memorial service. He was, by turns, funny, insightful and moving and thus a perfect first guest for the first episode of this new podcast.
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Credits:
* Produced and edited by Harry Winteringham harrywinteringham.uk
* Music composed by Mark Melville markmelvillemusic.com
* Created and presented by Raz Shaw and Hannah Harris
* “Being Alive” from the musical Company by Stephen Sondheim, sung by Esh Alladi
* Desiderata by Max Ehrmann, read by Dr Ramana Alladi -
Trailer
Look out for the pilot episode of Death and the Elephant, set to land on your favourite podcast platform on Thursday 18th February 2021, with special guest, actor and doctor, Esh Alladi.