Welcome to The Big Smoke Variety Show!

This week we lean into that strange, in-between season — when winter lingers, spring teases, and the city begins to stir once more.

From the quiet reflection of Covent Garden’s Actors’ Church to the tidal rhythms of the Thames, we explore how London — and perhaps all of us — finds its way from darkness into light.

Kevin is joined by Reverend Simon Grigg, rector of St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, affectionately known as The Actors’ Church. Together they uncover the remarkable history of a parish that has cared for London’s performers since the 17th century — from the licensed playhouses of Charles II to the plaques of theatre legends that line its walls today. But beyond the history, the conversation turns to something more immediate: how we navigate the bleakness of late winter, the meaning of Lent, and why this season isn’t about “organised gloom” at all, but renewal, joy, and finding space for reflection in a world that rarely pauses.

From the pulpit to the riverbank, we head down to the Thames foreshore with our resident mudlark Sean Clark. Among the shingle, a small fragment of Tudor pottery reveals a brilliant piece of theatrical history — and the origin of the phrase “box office smash”. It’s a story that takes us back to Shakespeare’s London, where money boxes were quite literally smashed open at the start of a performance. Another reminder that beneath the surface of the city, history is always waiting to be found.

Then it’s time to pop into the local for a quick Pub Quiz, testing your knowledge of Theatrical Superstitions. From the curse of The Scottish Play to the traditions performers follow to keep fate on their side, this round celebrates the rituals and folklore that still shape life on stage.

So as the days grow longer and the light begins to return, wherever you find yourself — emerging from winter or stepping into something new — there’s always a place for you in The Big Smoke.

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Pub Quiz: Theatrical Superstitions – Answers

1. The Macbeth curse ritual - Tradition says that if someone says “Macbeth” inside a theatre they must leave the theatre, spin around three times, spit (or curse), and knock before being allowed back in.
2. Merde - French performers wish each other “merde”. The tradition dates from the 19th century, when audiences arrived by horse-drawn carriages. A successful performance meant lots of carriages waiting outside the theatre — and therefore lots of horse manure in the street. More merde meant a bigger crowd and a successful show.
3. Whistling backstage - Many early stagehands were former sailors, and they used whistle signals to control scenery and rigging, so random whistling could accidentally trigger cues and move heavy stage machinery.

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🎭 St. Paul's Covent Garden, The Actors’ Church

🚶🏻‍♂️ Sean Clark the Mudlark’s Walking Tour

🤲🏻 Hands on History Mudlarking Exhibition

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Chapters

(00:00) Intro & Show Menu

(01:51) Reverend Simon Grigg Interview

(43:03) Sean Clark the Mudlark’s Latest Find

(50:00) Pub Quiz: Theatrical Superstitions

(51:39) Outro

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Credits

Hosted & Executive Produced by Kevin Bennett

Produced & Edited by Alex Graham

Original Music by Giles Terera

Music arranged and played by Joseph Atkins

Welcome to The Big Smoke Variety Show!

This week we stroll the hard streets of South London, tracing the world that shaped one of the greatest entertainers of all time, and the music halls that lit up Victorian London. Along the way we celebrate the city’s living performers too, from Underground buskers to a little magical mischief on our own audio stage.

Kevin is joined by curator and author Dr Jacqueline Riding to explore the working-class neighbourhoods that formed the young Charlie Chaplin. Drawing from her book Hard Streets: Working Class Lives in Charlie Chaplin’s London, Jacqueline reveals the vibrant, precarious world of Victorian music halls, workhouses, and the communities that produced some of the era’s most extraordinary performers. From the explosion of population south of the Thames to the gritty realities of the Poor Law system, the conversation paints a vivid portrait of the lives behind the laughter — and how creativity offered a path out of hardship.

From the stage to the subterranean, our Parish Notices turn to the buskers of the London Underground. With the help of musician Charlotte Campbell, we explore how busking transforms anonymous commuter spaces into fleeting moments of connection and community. Whether loved or loathed, street performance continues a tradition stretching back centuries — turning passing crowds into temporary audiences and ordinary journeys into something a little more magical.

Back on our audio stage, The Strange Brothers return for another attempt at mastering the mystical arts. This time a mysterious spellbook appears, an ancient incantation is unleashed, and things escalate rather more dramatically than expected. Apprentice magicians Salazar and Craig may not yet have perfected their craft — but they’re certainly finding some real magic along the way.

Finally, we pop into the local for a quick Pub Quiz, testing your knowledge of Cockney rhyming slang — the playful coded language born in the streets of 19th century London.

So wherever you’re listening from — strolling the South Bank, riding the tube, or simply daydreaming about the magic of the city — there’s always a seat waiting for you in The Big Smoke.

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Rub-a-dub (Pub) Quiz: Cockney Rhyming Slang — Answers

1. “The first question should be lemon squeezy.” Lemon squeezy = easy

2. “Watch your plates of meat. Those apples are old and rickety!” Plates of meat = feet Apples and pears (apples) = stairs

3. “Got any sausage? I’m cream crackered and need some sticky toffee.” Sausage and mash (sausage) = cash Cream crackered = knackered / very tired Sticky toffee = coffee

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Links

📚 Get the book – Hard Streets

🎩 Charlie Chaplin’s London – Lambeth Walk

✍🏼 Jacqueline Riding

🎶 Busker Charlotte Campbell

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Chapters

(00:00) Intro and Show Menu

(02:02) Dr Jacqueline Riding Interview

(57:54) Parish Notices: Underground Buskers

(1:08:12) The Strange Brothers

(1:16:57) Pub Quiz: Cockney Rhyming Slang

(1:19:06) Outro

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Credits

Hosted & Executive Produced by Kevin Bennett

Produced & Edited by Alex Graham

Original Music by Giles Terera

Music arranged and played by Joseph Atkins

Parish Notices and episode research by Blanche Coy

The Strange Brothers written and performed by Jamie Sandersfield and Matthew Nicholson

Welcome to The Big Smoke Variety Show!

This week, we step into the ‘undiscovered country’ — and explore the one subject we so often avoid: death. But rather than dwelling in darkness, this episode asks a more vital question: what can mortality teach us about how to live?

Kevin is joined by social historian and bereavement counsellor Dr Molly Conisbee, author of No Ordinary Deaths: A People’s History of Mortality. Together they explore how death was once woven into everyday domestic life — cared for at home, ritualised by communities, marked visibly through mourning dress and shared customs. From Victorian mourning warehouses, to Irish wakes, Jamaican Nine Nights, and the rise of the death-positive movement, Molly reflects on what we’ve lost as death moved behind hospital doors — and how reclaiming conversation, ritual, and radical acceptance might liberate us in the present.

To balance the existential weight, Archie McAlpine returns with a fresh Neuro Nugget on the science of laughter. What actually happens in the brain when we laugh? Why is it contagious? And in an age of caution and cancellation, how do we protect humour as a force for bonding, healing and social synchronisation? This is laughter under the microscope — and a timely reminder that humour is medicine.

Then, we pop to the local for a quick Pub Quiz, raising a glass to the incomparable Catherine O’Hara. From Home Alone to Best in Show and Schitt’s Creek, we test your knowledge of one of comedy’s greats.

Finally, Audio Archives opens the vault once more. In this unsettling tale from an early smart home, we meet Tristan and the ever-listening Iris. What begins as weather checks and chicken cooking queries spirals into something more revealing — a story of birthday cake, Drake playlists, and the uncomfortable truth that being truly heard might mean being truly seen.

So wherever you are on this strange and splendid rollercoaster of life, there’s always room for you in The Big Smoke.

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Pub Quiz: Catherine O’Hara the Great — Answers

1. At a funeral parlour
2. ‘God Loves a Terrier’
3. Soap opera actress

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Links

⚱️ No Ordinary Deaths by Molly Conisbee

🧠 Archie McAlpine — Neuro Nuggets

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Chapters

(00:00) Intro and Show Menu

(02:24) Dr Molly Conisbee Interview

(50:24) Archie’s Neuro Nuggets: Laughter

(57:53) Pub Quiz: Catherine O’Hara The Great

(1:00:23) Audio Archives: Hey, Iris

(1:15:19) Outro

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Credits

Hosted & Executive Produced by Kevin Bennett

Produced & Edited by Alex Graham

Original Music by Giles Terera

Music arranged and played by Joseph Atkins

Audio Archives: ‘Hey, Iris’ written by Aidan Parker and performed by Matthew Nicholson and Cait Roddam Jones