Join me in conversation with the queer actor, comedian, playwright and podcaster, Tino Orsini. We talk about immigrating to the UK, coming out, mental health difficulties, addiction, the importance of sharing our stories as queer people and his deeply personal and intimate play, Ghosts of West Hollywood.

Tino Orsini has deep roots in theatre and has performed in festivals including Edinburgh Fringe, Vault Festival, Voila! Festival, and the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, building a reputation for bold, character-driven work. He is performing Ghosts of West Hollywood in London this June and then in Edinburgh in August.

In this episode I speak with Alexis Gregory, a queer playwright and performer, on topics such as:

• his play Smoke, including what it's been like to write and perform it,
• theatre,
• art,
• queer community,
• queer mental health,
• addiction,
• psychosis,
• the feel of community spaces over time
• and how we can support each other.

You can see that, like his new play, Smoke, we don't shy away from talking about some difficult things. Of course there are many different experiences that people in the queer community have and pieces of art like Smoke can be brilliant conversation starters and it is our hope that this can be part of the deepening conversation around queer mental health.

• You can find dates and tickets for Smoke on tour 2026 here: https://linktr.ee/AlexisGregory
• My website: www.caroledianecoaching.co.uk
• My email address: office@caroledianecoaching.co.uk

With the Frozen franchise, we focus on Elsa a lot. In this episode we look at what we can learn from turning some of that focus onto Anna so that we can learn from both characters at the same time. F*ck Elsa is not because there's anything wrong with her, it's just that we get a richer and more balanced view from considering her and Anna at the same time. Covering Frozen 2 in an episode was requested by a listener and I really hope they find something interesting and original in this. I certainly found a different narrative than I had been expecting!
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Website: www.caroledianecoaching.co.uk
Email: office@caroledianecoaching.co.uk