Written by: Tara Newton-Wordsworth
Published: Wednesday 26th August 2015

I wonder if Professor Mike Hodd realised what he'd started back in 1979 when he created NewsRevue? Thirty six years on and it's still making audiences laugh every week at The Canal Cafe Theatre in London. But why do people keep coming back? And how do you keep the spark alive after that length of time? I'm no marriage counsellor, but I do think that having an extremely well-oiled machine is a huge part of it. And, in this case, the one doing the oiling would have to be Emma Taylor. Emma is one of the strongest women I know (the other being my mother) and after producing NewsRevue for 16 years, I think it's safe to say that she knows the show better than anyone else.

I first met Emma when I auditioned for NewsRevue in 2013. I had just moved to London from Australia and hardly knew anyone in the industry. Getting into NewsRevue made me feel like I belonged. I was getting to do what I loved - comedy, singing, impersonations and dancing (actually dancing not so much) but I also felt at home and met other like-minded people. Some of my best friendships have come out of doing NewsRevue and, what I've realised is, that's actually the case for hundreds, if not thousands of other performers out there. It's almost like a rite of passage for London-based thespians. NewsRevue has had some amazing performers come through it including Bill Bailey (Black Books - what a legend), Sara Pascoe and many more. Even Ben Elton auditioned! Also a lot of NewsRevue's casts have gone on to form sketch groups together - including The League Of Gentlemen (the vet in that show still upsets me.)

Every six weeks about 300 people apply for the next run's auditions and four actors are cast (two guys and two girls). The cast, along with the director and musical director, then get an eight day rehearsal period to put together the show. There is a team of writers who send in news based songs, sketches and gags, so there is a lot of trying things out, editing and adapting that is done in the first few days. After the first week's show the subsequent shows are updated with at least 30% new material every week. So it's constantly changing, evolving and staying relevant. I think this is a major key to NewsRevue's success and why it's been able to continue for so many years.

Comedy can be such a powerful tool and what I think makes this show special is that the news is normally exceptionally depressing, so if you can laugh at the news then what can't you laugh at? Every day the media throws ridiculous headlines at us, encouraging us to retreat into fear and anger, hate and distrust. So there's something cathartic about sitting in a room, with a group of strangers and laughing together at those very headlines. In this room, we won't be told what to think by multinational corporations with agendas or by Rupert Murdoch and his team of Fox News buffoons. We will laugh and we will celebrate the freedom of speech we have, by making sure no one gets away unscathed! Except for Ed Milliband - and his angel face.

Directing this year's Edinburgh run of NewsRevue has been an absolute privilege. When Emma first informed me that I'd been successful in being chosen for the role, I was overwhelmingly excited and all at once, completely terrified. NewsRevue has a special reputation and notoriety to maintain, and audiences have certain expectations. Especially when they have been coming to see the show for years. So I felt a great deal of pressure to uphold that standing and have done my very best to do so. Thankfully the cast, musical director and technical director are absolutely brilliant, and with the help and support of everyone involved, I feel that together we have created a wonderful show. Obviously I genuinely hope the audience feels the same way, and that I don't get pelted with olives *.

It's been such an honour to work with so many exceptionally talented people on NewsRevue and keep being invited back. Although he may never know it, I will always be grateful to Mike Hodd. What he may have thought was just a little show that opened at The Queens Hall in Edinburgh thirty six years ago, has gone on to make hundreds of thousands of people laugh, provided a launch pad for actors, MD's, producers, directors and technicians, but even more than that, it has become a family. And as Tony Soprano said "once you're in this family, there's no getting out".

* Please note: if you want to pelt me with something, my preference would be marshmallows - thank you for your consideration.

'NewsRevue 2015' is at 6:30pm at the Pleasance Courtyard until the 31st August. Listing