Acting on Experience

Ian Talbot ran the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park for twenty years, but his route into the industry began with a teacher, a producer's tip-off and a favour pulled in from a theatre manager in Barrow-in-Furness. In this episode of Acting on Experience, Michael Jibson sits down with the actor and director to trace a career that stretches from weekly rep in the 1960s to Hairspray, Mrs Doubtfire and his recent national tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the age of 83.

Ian talks candidly about the apprenticeship actors used to serve in stage management, what it was like to open a new play every Monday. He reflects on handing early jobs to Benedict Cumberbatch, Marianne Elliott, Damien Lewis and Joanna Riding, and why Regent's Park became a genuine repertory home for musical theatre performers and classical actors alike. The conversation turns to how the industry has changed for younger actors, the pressure of eight recalls for a single role, the strange etiquette of self tapes, and why Ian still insists on a proper chat in every audition room.

He is honest too about the hardest chapter of his life, running the park while his first wife was terminally ill, and the company who carried him through it. For actors, drama school leavers, directors and anyone fascinated by British theatre history, musical theatre revivals, open air Shakespeare and the realities of a lifelong acting career, this is a warm and quietly instructive listen.

Acting on Experience is the podcast where Olivier Award winner Michael Jibson has honest conversations with experienced actors and performers about the craft, the industry and the stories that rarely get told, made for actors and anyone fascinated by life on stage and screen.

Discover more and join our free newsletter with bonus content at https://actingonexperiencepod.com

Timestamps:
02:51 Priscilla on tour and still working at 83
04:18 Breaking the ice with a young company
05:34 Co-directing Eugenius and the director mindset
08:31 From tennis court to Central School
10:04 The 'mafia' favour that got him started
11:14 Life as an ASM and sleeping in the theatre
15:55 The brutal reality of weekly rep
18:22 Getting an agent by not corpsing
23:18 Self tapes, Zoom and the lost art of audition
28:05 Why acting is harder now than ever
29:52 Mentors and the Regent's Park offer
31:22 Lying his way into directing
38:45 Auditioning himself for The Boyfriend
42:02 Reinventing musicals at Regent's Park
45:06 Losing his wife while running the park
46:28 An ass's head and 400 terrified kids
48:45 Pamela Anderson at Wimbledon Wetherspoons
50:01 The young talent he helped launch
51:40 Manners, luck and never dreading work
Music by Stuart Hancock. Produced by Ian Miller for somethingreal.media

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Michael Jibson sits down with three time SAG Award winner Lesley Nicol, best known as Mrs Patmore in Downton Abbey, for a warm and wide ranging conversation about a life in acting. Lesley traces her journey from a pathologically shy boarding school girl who sneaked into rehearsals at Manchester Library Theatre, through to training at Guildhall and then into Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace Theatre, and on to the roles that shaped her career, including Mrs Beaver in the BBC's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Ella in East is East, Mamma Mia in the West End, Mr Bates vs The Post Office and most recently, Ballet Shoes on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre.

Along the way, Lesley and Michael talk candidly about the working actor's life in the UK today. They cover the loss of the repertory system, the emotional cost of self tapes with no feedback, how availability checks really work, why she recently changed agents after decades, and what it feels like to be offered a role at the National rather than audition for it. Lesley shares mentor stories about musical director Tony Bowles and her friendship with Anne Reid, plus a brilliant Anthony Hopkins anecdote from the last season of Downton Abbey.

For actors, drama school graduates and anyone curious about a long acting career, this episode is full of honest advice on shyness, resilience, saying no to the wrong jobs, creating your own opportunities, and why the best work can genuinely come later in life. Lesley's message is simple, keep swimming in the right waters and trust that things arrive when they are ready.

Acting on Experience is the podcast where Olivier Award winner Michael Jibson has honest conversations with experienced actors and performers about the craft, the industry and the stories that rarely get told, made for actors and anyone fascinated by life on stage and screen.

Discover more and join our free newsletter with bonus content at https://actingonexperiencepod.com

Timestamps:
01:08 Meet Lesley Nicol, from Downton to Ballet Shoes
02:27 How Michael and Lesley met on Our House
05:27 A shy child finds her place on stage
07:10 Sneaking into Manchester Library Theatre
11:02 Auditioning for Guildhall and drama school life
12:20 Tony Bowles, the mentor who cracked her open
14:27 Landing Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace
17:08 When Dad suggested a plan B
19:21 Availability checks and swimming in better waters
21:50 Changing agents after 20 years
25:30 The loss of rep theatre and the rise of self tapes
29:08 Anne Reid
31:22 Three big breaks, Mrs Beaver to Downton
35:30 Why Mrs Patmore had real depth
37:54 Shyness, insecurity and finding the work
41:40 The Anthony Hopkins anecdote at Ealing
46:30 Eight shows a week at the National at 72
50:28 Saying no, creating your own opportunities
Music by Stuart Hancock. Produced by Ian Miller for somethingreal.media

New episodes released regularly. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Acting On Experience, a podcast about actors: the craft, career, and real-life stories behind long and varied careers in the entertainment industry.

Hosted by Olivier Award winner Michael Jibson (Hamilton, Our House, The Crown, Bodies, Quiz, 1917, Les Misérables), each episode is a candid conversation with an experienced actor or creative from theatre, film, or television, who has spent decades honing their craft and adapting to an industry that never stands still. Through warm conversation, guests reflect on how they got started, what has kept them going, how the profession has changed around them and why they still love what they do after many years of work.

Our aim is to capture a snapshot of the industry and how our guests have helped to shape it, all via stories, anecdotes and the sharing of the hard-earned lessons that we all discover on our journeys in making art. At the heart of the podcast we want to preserve the stories that don't always get shared and the wisdom that years of experience in the creative space can provide. All told in the words of our guests.
Music by Stuart Hancock. Produced by Ian Miller for somethingreal.media

New episodes released regularly. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.