Just Imagine - a podcast series from Imagine Theatre
Just Imagine – a podcast series from Imagine Theatre, one of the world’s leading producers of professional pantomime. With over 250 productions to their name, Imagine are true experts in this uniquely British theatrical tradition.
Join host Martin Ballard as we go behind the scenes to meet the people who bring the magic to life – discovering their stories, their roles, and answering that all-important question: what do they do for the rest of the year?
Along the way, we’ll explore the pantomime genre itself – its quirks, its history, and why it continues to delight audiences across the UK. Whether you’re a panto fan, theatre lover, or just curious about what it takes to stage hundreds of shows at once, Just Imagine offers a fun and fascinating listen.
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MEET THE HOST
Martin Ballard
Martin is an actor and veteran of thirty seasons of pantomime (eighteen of those for Imagine Theatre) where he usually plays the dame.
He spent thirty-seven years as a radio presenter with the BBC working primarily in local radio. He was one of the last people to interview celebrities Eric Sykes, Larry Grayson, Norman Wisdom, Geoff Hamilton and Danny La Rue. Other famous name guests have included the legendary entertainers Sir Cliff Richard, Roseanne Barr and Michael Crawford, actors Derek Jacobi, Emma Thompson and Lord Richard Attenborough, singers Donny Osmond, Michael Bolton and Andy Williams, sports legends Gordan Banks, David Gower and Martin Johnson and a host of politicians including Neil Kinnock, Paddy Ashdown, William Hague and Tony Blair.
He has produced/presented numerous documentaries including a recent podcast for BBC Sounds on the anniversary of the discovery of DNA. In the last few years he also hosted a BBC World Service programme to an estimated 300 million global audience and appeared on television in Judge Rinder’s Crime Stories and the two-part drama Code of a Killer.
Martin has also presented a rugby podcast and is now the host of the Curve In Conversation theatre podcast as well as working as a compere, speaker, event host, writer and the stadium announcer for the Leicester Tigers RFC.
