Ian Cheeseman presents Break-a-Leg on Tameside Radio, which is packed with great guests and theatre music. He's been chatting to former soap star Katie McGlynn about her upcoming stage debut at The Lowry.
As far as I’m concerned, theatre is an all-encompassing word, which doesn’t just mean standing on a stage and performing.
As well as musical theatre, plays, ballet and opera, I guess that those who appear in film and TV share many of the same skills. I’d consider all actors, singers and comedians to be part of the theatrical world.
You’ve probably seen Katie McGlynn on TV shows like Hollyoaks, Waterloo Road and as Sinead Tinker in Coronation Street. She also showed us her dancing skills in Strictly Come Dancing.
Later this month you’ll be able to see her make her stage debut in “Wish You Were Dead”, the Peter James crime thriller at the Lowry Theatre in Salford. She plays Cleo.
I interviewed Katie recently for my Tameside Radio show (Sundays at 7pm) and she admitted she was feeling a little nervous ahead of opening night, “At the same time it’s super exciting to be able to be in a show like this and to be immersed in such a great story.
Being on stage is a lot different, you have to project because you’re on stage and you have to think about a lot of different elements. On TV you have your marks and your camera and you do it shot by shot.
“On TV you tend to film it all out of order while on stage it’s start to finish which I love, meaning you can really be on the character’s complete journey. On TV you can reshoot a scene, whereas on stage you can’t go again. The other thing about being on stage is that the audience are absolutely with you and you get that instant reaction. The crew are lovely on TV but you are literally acting to a camera. TV and stage are different but have their pros and cons.
“When I was about seven or eight I was really shy and my Mum wanted me to come out of my shell a bit so she took me to a drama school, down the road, and it helped me transfer into this little actress who loved to be on stage. I was never sure it would lead me to where I am not but luckily it has.”
Katie’s stage appearance at the Lowry might be even more pressure filled by the fact that many of her friends and colleagues from the nearby Coronation Street set are bound to be there on opening night.
“It’ll be great to have all that support but I have told them not to tell me they’ll be there. It will be lovely to be on stage at the Lowry Theatre, which is effectively my home town and it’s a theatre I’ve visited all my life.”
I’m sure she’ll love every minute and if you want to see Katie on stage, in the Lyric Theatre, “Wish You Were Dead” is at the Lowry from 23rd to 27th May.
My guests on Break-a-Leg from 7pm this Sunday include the writer and star of “The Way Old Friends Do”, Ian Hallard, which is in the Quays Theatre at the Lowry the same week, 22 to 27 May. It’s a comedy about devotion, desire and dancing queens who form the world’s first Abba tribute band in drag.
I’ve also been to a rehearsal of Ashton Operatic Societies “Chorus Line”, this week, which will be at Hurst Community Centre next week, from 17 to 20 May. I chatted to Gary Jones, who looks ahead to his role, fresh from starring in Mossley’s Bridges of Madison County recently and the musical director of Chorus Line, both fascinating guests!
You can join Ian for Break-a-Leg on Tameside Radio 103.6FM every Sunday evening from 7pm to 9pm and Wednesdays from 9pm to 11pm. You can also catch up on previous episodes here.
