100 episodes

Cuppa filled conversations about Entertainment, Food & Fitness.

Hosted by Writer, Director and Actor Raimu Itfum.
Chai with Rai is a weekly podcast on which I bring on a guest from the Food, Fitness or Entertainment industry and we discuss all things Life and Culture.
Or as I like to call this show, my jukebox of hidden gems.
Think of it as listening in on friends having a deep meaningful conversation but with banter and maybe some filth.

I hope you enjoy and don‘t forget to follow, like, subscribe, comment and share. Your support really helps the show and the message of it grow.

Chai with Rai raimuitfum

    • Arts

Cuppa filled conversations about Entertainment, Food & Fitness.

Hosted by Writer, Director and Actor Raimu Itfum.
Chai with Rai is a weekly podcast on which I bring on a guest from the Food, Fitness or Entertainment industry and we discuss all things Life and Culture.
Or as I like to call this show, my jukebox of hidden gems.
Think of it as listening in on friends having a deep meaningful conversation but with banter and maybe some filth.

I hope you enjoy and don‘t forget to follow, like, subscribe, comment and share. Your support really helps the show and the message of it grow.

    “Thinking Tiramisu” w/ Riana Howarth

    “Thinking Tiramisu” w/ Riana Howarth

    at down with the wordsmith that is Riana Howarth to discuss a blossoming  and emerging career in theatre and more. We also dove into her audio story ”She’d Sit” from the audio series ”Symphonies of Beaded Threads”-  the experience of writing that and what she hopes the listeners take from it. 

    About Riana:

    Riana is an aspiring writer and illustrator with a curiosity for all/most things weird and wonderful. With a background in acting and experience in assisting in youth theatre classes at the Questors Theatre, she uses this knowledge to inspire her creative writing. Between writing theatre reviews for North West End UK, she is trying to develop a consistent writing practice, exploring various themes, topics and styles. She is currently part of the Fresh Direction Program at The Young Vic Theatre (2022/2023).

    To Listen to Riana’s short audio story Click HERE. 

    To subscribe to Patreon  and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

    Social:

    Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

    Guest: https://www.instagram.com/art.riiii/ & https://creatorsprogram.youngvic.org/member/10091

    Links:

    Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

    https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

    Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

    • 25 min
    “Outside of Gender” w/ Gayathiri Kamalakanthan

    “Outside of Gender” w/ Gayathiri Kamalakanthan

    Had such a wonderful time discussing community and opportunity as freelance writers in the industry with the wonderful Gayathiri Kamalakanthan. And of course we discussed the writing process for the audio story ”Chemo in the Summer”. 

    About Gayathiri:

    Gayathiri is a Tamil poet and sex education facilitator. They’re interested in how language shapes childhood and how we use it to queer the future. Gayathiri won the Faber & Andlyn Publisher’s Prize 2022, the Primadonna Fiction Prize 2021 and they were shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize 2022. Gayathiri runs the poetry workshop series WORD-BENDERS at The Common Press bookshop in East London. Gayathiri is currently a member of the Southbank New Poets Collective. Their debut novel in verse is forthcoming with Faber.

    To subscribe to Patreon and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

    To listen to Gayathiri’s audio story CLICK HERE. 

    Social:

    Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

    Guest: https://www.instagram.com/unembarrassable/ 

    Links:

    Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

    https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

    Guest: https://linktr.ee/gayathirikamalakanthan 

    Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

    • 22 min
    “Sisters not Twins” w/ Bethany Gemmell

    “Sisters not Twins” w/ Bethany Gemmell

    I have to say and say it I will! If you are a writer! You must and you must listen to structure and how just telling this conversation is especially if you are an emerging writer. So many great antidotes to take and implement into your world. 

    Sitting down with the stunning Bethany Gemmell to discuss writing and how a world is created and how ”Catherine” was made for Symphonies of Beaded Threads . 

    About Bethany: 

    Bethany Henry Gemmell LLM (he/him) is a Northern non-binary artist in London, working as Production Coordinator for a multi-award-winning company. In 2022, he quit working as a teacher and dove into theatre and television full-time. Career highlights so far include: producing, directing and writing for Neurospace Theatre’s showcase presenting autistic work at Barons Court in February 2022; stage-managing for Black British Theatre-nominated Saturn Returns at Brixton House/Southbank Centre/Northern School of Contemporary Dance; and being assistant director for the LGBT+ play Welcome Home at Soho Theatre in January 2023. His biggest creative passion is writing. Currently, he is a part of Young Vic’s selective Creators Program and he has a television show in development that is based on his play M. E. Trout, which is about an autistic woman dealing with grief and broken relationships. When he is not working, he is building a trans theatre company (Twitter: @transgrtheatre) and reading about sociopolitical issues, so much so that he has recently graduated with a Masters in Human Rights Law - as such, he gets quite nerdy about that sort of thing. His staged short play Wolf (2023), which was his first ever submission to Theatre503’s Rapid Write Response scheme, is the latest achievement in Bethany’s emerging writing career.

    To Listen to Bethany’s audio short story CLICK HERE. 

    To subscribe to Patreon and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

    Social:

    Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

    Guest: https://www.instagram.com/hgemmellian/ & https://twitter.com/hengemmell 

    Links:

    Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

    https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

    Guest: https://creatorsprogram.youngvic.org/member/11946

    Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

    • 30 min
    “YouTube Rabbit Holes” w/ Yasmine Dankwah

    “YouTube Rabbit Holes” w/ Yasmine Dankwah

    The incredible soul that is Yasmine Dankwah sat down and discussed her process of storytelling, YouTube rabbit holes and of course Spoken word vs poetry. 

    Here is the link to Yasmine’s short story titled ”An Epic: as told by my grandma’s photo album ” for Symphonies of Beaded Threads 

    About Yasmine: 

    Yasmine Dankwah is a British-Ghanaian spoken word artist and writer based in South London. She is interested in exploring how resistance in the form of identity-based discrimination can act as a springboard for joy in live performance by using music, spoken word poetry and lyricism. She is currently an artist on Boundless Theatre’s Accelerator programme and part of the Emerging Writer’s Group at the Bush Theatre. Last year, she became a recipient of the Francis Chagrin award and was featured on BBC Radio London for her audio play I Used To Know H.I.M, which was commissioned by Chronic Insanity Theatre.

    To subscribe to Patreon  and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

    Social:

    Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

    Guest: https://www.instagram.com/yasminedankwah/ & https://twitter.com/yasmined77?lang=en 

    Links:

    Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

    https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

    Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

    • 28 min
    “Cats bring joy or Allergies” w/ Carmina Bernhardt

    “Cats bring joy or Allergies” w/ Carmina Bernhardt

    Finally and I mean Finally managed to get Carmina Bernhardt for an intevrview. Carrying on with the series we grabbed a cuppa and discussed the inspiration behind Carmina’s piece ”Brainfreeze” from the audio series ”Symphonies of Beaded Threads” and her love of cats and more!

    About Carmina:

    Carmina Bernhardt is a Vancouver-born and London-based actor, writer, director, script reader, and coach for stage and screen. Graduated with Distinction from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s MA Acting for Screen, and completed a BA in Music Theatre Performance from Capilano University. Recipient of the London Library’s Emerging Writers Award, and selected for New Earth Theatre’s BESEA Professional Writers Programme.

    To listen to Carmina’s short story ”Brainfreeze” CLICK HERE. 

    To subscribe to Patreon  and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

    Social:

    Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

    Guest: https://www.instagram.com/carminabernhardt/ & https://twitter.com/dasbernhardt?lang=en

    Links:

    Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

    https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

    Guest: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6486835/ & https://app.spotlight.com/9179-0197-9303 

    Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

    • 20 min
    “Lease on Life” w/ Afriya- Jasmine Nylander

    “Lease on Life” w/ Afriya- Jasmine Nylander

    Carrying on with the interview series with the writers from ”Symphonies of Beaded Threads” diving into the mind of Afriya- Jasmine Nylander. who wrote the short story titled ”Professional Daydreamer”.  

    About Afriya:

    Afriya-Jasmine Nylander is a Writer, Actor and Producer based in West London. She studied Theatre at the Brit School where she performed Shakespeare at Stratford-Upon-Avon, was chosen for the NSDF Festival 2021, and was a part of the Bridge Company. 

    In 2023, she had her professional Debut in Charli Josephine’s play “Flies”and was involved in The Lyric Hammersmith stage response project of “The African Mean Girls”. She has worked with the National Theatre as an assistant producer of “Death of England: Closing Time” written by the award-winning Clint Dyer and Roy Williams. She is also a part of the National Theatre alumni Writers group.

    She currently works at the Kiln Theatre and is writing her debut play “Everyone’s Invited”. 

    To subscribe to Patreon and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

    Social:

    Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

    Guest: https://www.instagram.com/afriya.j/

    Links:

    Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

    https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

    Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

    • 24 min

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