Daniel Bye speaks to theatre maker and performer Nicki Hobday, who’s recently worked with Forced Entertainment, Michael Pinchbeck and 30Bird. They talk about Manchester’s making communities, about making your own work as compared to appearing in that of others, and about ambition and career “ladders”.

In the second Faraway Tree podcast, Daniel Bye speaks to Bolton based theatre-maker Josh Coates about what “emerging artist” means – if anything – and about what is and isn’t happening in Greater Manchester performance-wise at the moment.

The first Faraway Tree podcast from Daniel Bye is a conversation with writer and performer Kieran Hurley, which took place in Glasgow on the day of Scotland’s independence referendum. They talked about what Yes or No votes might mean for him and his work, about ceilidhs, regional identity, John McGrath and quite a lot more.

Catherine Love and Dan Hutton talk to Chris Thorpe about his Edinburgh Fringe show Confirmation.

Catherine Love and Dan Hutton visit the rehearsal room at the Lyric Hammersmith to chat Secret Theatre Show 5 with performer Nadia Albina and dramaturg Joel Horwood.

“I’m in a big, cold, mostly empty, disused shop in Folkestone, alone, surrounded by lots of pieces of coloured card which were scribbled on yesterday, two wooden chairs, a list of things to write, and my medical file from the Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma. A medical record, neater and more compact than I expected it to be, containing all the necessary information and data, for the sixteen weeks I spent undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy. I pick it up, and start reading it, out loud.” Laura will be at BAC with her show Head Hand Head on the 21st & 22nd of March.

I’m in Edinburgh where each day for two weeks my solo show, Head Hand Head takes place in a small studio on the top floor of an old building. The room is tatty, fading pink walls, school-red carpet and a crumbling window frame. Each day before the show I spend about an hour in here, alone, waiting.

Phil Soltanoff discusses the revival of his piece Plan B, a collaboration with Peter Soltanoff and Compagne 111, celebrating its tenth anniversary as part of the London International Mime Festival. Together with host Dick McCaw, he explores issues surrounding circus, authorship, visual dramaturgy and geometry onstage. Recorded at the Southbank Centre.

Letter’s End, by acclaimed theatre clown Wolfe Bowart, is a delightful fusion of fantasy, memory and theatrical tricks. Hailing from Australia, Bowart combines the pensive humour of French physical theatre with the slapstick of Charlie Chaplin, with the aid of an array of marvellously inventive props and surprises. In this discussion, hosted by Dick McCaw at the Southbank Centre, Bowart discusses trade secrets, the nature of the clown, and his 99-year-old grandmother-in-law’s take on his work.

Birmingham based theatre company Stan’s Cafe (pronounced ‘caff’) on their latest production The Cardinals at the Roundhouse studio space, a chaotic and jubilant romp through key Bible stories, the Crusades, and with a final gesture towards Israel/Palestine’s current turbulence. Graeme Rose, Gerard Bell and Craig Stephens, and director James Yarker, discuss the show with host Dorothy Max Prior.

Honour talks to Ross Sutherland, John Osborne, Molly Naylor and Tom Searle from Show & Tell, about not quite being poets, genre distinctions, and something personal to share. Accompaniment is provided by a lawnmower.

Notes from where bucolic meets cutting edge.

Gareth returns to get elbow-deep with Our New Girl at The Bush.