The Uncensored Critic Podcast Oliver Gower

Candida is an MD (musical director), composer and arranger whose worked across the globe on musicals and plays. Her work includes:



As composer:


The Little Prince at the Taunton Brewhouse
The Tempest and The Hostage at the Southwark Playhouse
Buckets at the Orange Tree Theatre



As an MD:


Woyzech, Old Vic with John Bodega
King Lear, Duke of York’s Playhouse with Ian McKellen
To Kill A Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre with Matthew Modine and Race Spall
A Strange Loop, West End and Barbican, the show received 11 Tony Nominations
The Hills of California, Harold Pinter Theatre, directed by Sam Mendes
The Lehman Trilogy, National Theatre, West End, Broadway and International Tour



Candida talks about her recent involvement in The Lehman Trilogy, both in the UK and Internationally. A show portraying the 163-year journey of the Lehman brothers, from Henry Lehman arriving from Ellis Island all the way to its dissolution during the 2008 financial crisis. 



Candida was the live pianist playing the score that accompanied the brilliant performances of the actors as they took the audience on a pulsating ride through the financial world. 



She discusses how the show evolved from the first day, putting the score together, working with Sam Mendes, Nick Powell and the original cast (Ben Miles, Simon Russell Beale and Adam Godley) on creating one of the most spectacular shows of all time. 



If you get the chance to see this show in the future I implore you to see it!



Thank you Candida! Stay tuned to for part 2!



Oliver Gower

Spotlight Link: https://www.spotlight.com/9097-9058-5261

Instagram: @goweroliver

For enquiries and requests: olliegower10@gmail.com



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Krupa trained at Drama Studio and has worked in audiobooks, film, TV and theatre. 



Her credits include:

- Love on the Menu - Audiobook

- Honeycomb Lodge - Film 



For Stage:



At the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre:

- Midsummer Nights Dream

- Othello 

- Cyrano de Bergerac

- Twelfth Night

- Masters are you Mad



As well as:

- Robin Hood

- Dinnerladies UK Tour 2009. 

- As SHE Likes It - UK Tour 2024. 



For TV:

- Hollyoaks

- Tin Star

- Silent Witness

- Mr Bates vs The Post Office



Krupa discusses her work in audiobooks, the process of recording a novel and how she lifts characters, situations and the world of fiction off the page. 

Not to mention her work in As She Likes It, written by previous guest Chloe Wade about the deep rabbit hole of abuse in Hollywood dating back to the 1920s. Furthermore, playing the real life story of Saman Kaur in what many call the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history in Mr Bates vs The Post Office. 



Thank you Krupa! 



Oliver Gower

Spotlight Link: https://www.spotlight.com/9097-9058-5261

Instagram: @goweroliver

For enquiries and requests: olliegower10@gmail.com


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Rachel is currently Head of Movement at the Guildford School of Acting.



She trained at the London Contemporary Dance School, graduating in 2006, and in 2009 she was selected for a unique choreographic programme, Dance Beyond Borders, which took her work across Europe, including Germany, Belgium as well as across the UK. 



She holds an MA in Choreography from Trinity Laban, a fellowship from the Higher Education Academy, moreover she’s an associate of the Institute for Leadership and Management and a Consent Forward Artist certified by the IDC (Intimacy, Director’s and Co-ordinators). 



She has collaborated with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the British Youth Music Theatre. 



Rachel talks me through her love of movement, how it means different things to different practitioners, her work with animal studies and how people who say “it’s not their thing” can grow to love and embrace it. Not to mention, how integral it is to the actor’s process, finding the body of the character, finding the big expressions and condensing it down into a natural character’s characteristics. Thus helping the actor to have a full body experience of the person they’re playing whether it’s for stage or screen. 



Check out Rachel’s website for more information on her work and how to get in touch: rachelbirchlawson.co.uk

Rachel’s Instagram: @rachelbirchlawson 



Thank you Rachel! 


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Tom trained at RADA and has been involved in a vast array of projects such as:

- Film: My Bloody Galentine

- Clusterf*ck - Web Series

Short Films - Number 11 and Digging

Animations - Kill Clause and Video Game - By Grit Alone

As well as on stage where he understudied a number of parts in "The Shark is Broken", a dramatisation of what happened behind the scenes on the set of Jaws at the Ambassador's Theatre. Including A Little Life, covering Jude St Francis (James Norton) and Willem (Luke Thompson) at the Harold Pinter and Savoy Theatre in London.

Tom talks his experience of preparing for multiple roles and being on alert for anyone falling ill so he could step in and cover. Talking about how understudies rehearse at the same time as the main case in different rooms, liaising with the main director and cast. Working together to make sure that if anyone can't perform one night, there is always someone there to cover.

Furthermore, we discuss how important understudies are, how you should prepare for these kind of jobs and how vital they are to a production.

Oliver Gower

Spotlight Link: https://www.spotlight.com/9097-9058-5261

Instagram: @goweroliver

For enquiries and requests: olliegower10@gmail.com


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The return of Kate Godfrey!

Kate is an actress, voice coach and one of the leading Shakespeare experts of our time.

She returns to the show to unpick some Shakespeare monologues with me. Showing how she works with actors one on one to find the meaning in the text, helping them with how verse speeches are written and to play them as best you can.

Paying attention to the punctuation, how long or short a thought is, and asking what the sub-text/wider story is and why would they be saying the things they're saying now? All culminating in the actor knowing the best way to communicating the speech to their fellow actors or the audience alone whilst serving the text accurately.

The two pieces we look at are:

- Iago, from Othello: "Thus do I ever make my fool my purse" - Act 1 Scene 3.

- Gloucester, from Henry VI Part 3" "I can add colours to the chameleon" Act 3 Scene 2.

Kate takes me through both speeches and together we dissect the rhythm, identify the thought patterns, the motivations of the characters and uncover the best way to perform them.

I loved this episode and I hope you watching/listening who are actors who love your Shakespeare got as much from it as I did.

Keep a look out for our second Shakespeare analysis on the more comedic and light-hearted monologues coming soon, watch this space!

Thank you again Kate, always a pleasure.



Oliver Gower

Spotlight Link: https://www.spotlight.com/9097-9058-5261

Instagram: @goweroliver

For enquiries and requests: olliegower10@gmail.com

Please Like, Download and Subscribe!


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Jane Moriarty is a director, writer and filmmaker that has been a finalist in both the JMK Director's Award in 2019 and the Genesis Future Director Award with the Young Vic in 2018. She trained at Mountview after achieving her undergraduate degree in English, Drama and Theatre studies at the University of Cork.

She has worked extensively as an associate director on productions such as:

- Taming of the Shrew at The Globe

- Christmas Tree and Queen Ann at the RSC

- The Birthday Party at the Harold Pinter Theatre, dir. Ian Rickson

- The Inheritance, dir. Stephen Daldry

- Prima Facie, dir. Justin Martin

As well as director on:

- Rough for Theatre I and II by Samuel Beckett at the National Theatre Studio, where she was resident director in 2016-17 and 2021.

- The Apologists - Sydney and VAULT Film Festival in 2019

- Burn It Down - Theatre Royal Stratford East

She is also a brilliant filmmaker with her debut short film "Kitchen Tales" premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival with music by Oscar winning composer Stephen Warbeck. As well as her other short "I Called You" currently doing the film festival rounds.

To see "Kitchen Tales" and more information about her upcoming work can be found on her website: janemoriarty.com

Jane talks about her work as an associate director, what the job is and how she works with the director for shows in the theatre. She was also part of the Prima Facie creative team that brought Suzie Miller's play to life with Jodie Comer, directed by Justin Martin.

We discuss how the show developed in the rehearsal room and the impact the show had on it's audiences. How they felt comfortable talking about their stories and how it relieved them from their past experiences similar to what the character of "Tessa" went through.

We mention her film work, the process of making them and how they make it from words on a page to in-action on the screen.

Check out her film "Kitchen Tales", a beautiful film about an Indian family emigrating to the UK and how their relationship is told through the type of food that's made in the kitchen.

Oliver Gower

Spotlight Link: https://www.spotlight.com/9097-9058-5261

Instagram: @goweroliver

For enquiries and requests: olliegower10@gmail.com


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