Join us on this captivating journey into the fascinating world of live entertainment. Host Adam Sternberg brings you engaging conversations with remarkable entertainers, from magicians and jugglers to aerial artists and contortionists. Discover the unique stories behind their extraordinary careers, the challenges they've faced, and the motivations that drive them. If you're passionate about live entertainment or simply curious about the lives of these extraordinary performers, this podcast is a must-listen.

Episode Highlights

In this episode, Adam welcomes silhouette artist Charles Burns a performer–artist whose entire show fits into a pocket: paper and scissors. From a bruising boarding-school experience to art college and the Covent Garden piazza, Charles charts how drawing led him to live silhouette cutting, why imperfection makes entertainment memorable, and what it felt like to interrupt Queen Elizabeth II (successfully!) to cut Her Majesty’s profile. He explains his mirror-free, one-line cutting technique, the psychology of likeness, why some people “don’t look like themselves” in profile, and how lockdown sparked his global Zoom silhouette studio. We also hear about AI silhouettes, Disney’s influence on the American style, and an 18th-century automaton “artist” with a human under the table.

Key Discussion Points

• Origins & Early Training: Growing up in Somerset; boarding at Ampleforth; bullying; sanctuary in the art room with sculptor-teacher John Bunting; discovering that drawing was the foundation.
• Art Education: Foundation at Exeter; time at the École des Beaux-Arts (Lyon); degree at Wolverhampton; art as communication vs. art-therapy.
• Artist vs Performer: Why most artists perform (and most performers create art); Charles sits “on the cusp,” literally performing portraits in front of an audience.
• Covent Garden Beginnings: Late-1980s street portraitist; a visiting Spanish cutter inspires the switch to silhouettes.
• Technique & Tools: Pocketed papers, white backing sheet, cutting largely in one continuous line; right-profile preference for a right-handed cutter; rotating the paper, not the scissors.
• Work & Temperament: “One of nature’s self-employed”; office life felt like returning to school politics.
• Neurodiversity: Son’s diagnosis led to Charles’s own autism-spectrum diagnosis in his 40s; reframing meticulous preparation as a strength.
• Everyone Can Draw: Fear often comes from bad early teaching; skill = motivation + hard work; drawing as the base of all visual art.
• Royal Encounter: Cutting Queen Elizabeth II at a Ritz Golden Jubilee party—nerves, etiquette, and simply stepping in; other high-profile sitters mentioned by Adam include Nelson Mandela and President Clinton.
• Capturing Likeness: Children who won’t sit still; poor lighting at events; self-image vs. profile reality; audiences often “rescue” a likeness because they see you as others do.
• Entertainment Over Perfection: Some silhouettes are better than others—human variability is part of the show; the joy of imperfection and the retelling (magicians’ lesson).
• Live Demonstration: Charles cuts Adam’s silhouette on-air—narrating chest→chin→nose→glasses→hair; occasional “back-cutting” fixes; speed builds with warm-up.
• Human vs. Machine: Low-tech authenticity matters; guests often expect equipment and are astonished it’s “just scissors.”
• AI & Automation: Experiments with AI-generated silhouettes; yes, a laser could cut them—but the human...

Join us on this captivating journey into the fascinating world of live entertainment. Host Adam Sternberg brings you engaging conversations with remarkable entertainers, from magicians and jugglers to aerial artists and contortionists. Discover the unique stories behind their extraordinary careers, the challenges they've faced, and the motivations that drive them. If you're passionate about live entertainment or simply curious about the lives of these extraordinary performers, this podcast is a must-listen.

Episode Highlights

In this episode, Adam welcomes dancer, choreographer, and creative polymath Anthony Johns. From childhood tap shoes in Portsmouth to BBC studios, West End stages, Pinewood sets, and arena-scale royal spectaculars, Anthony’s life traces six decades of British variety at its most glittering and gritty. He shares priceless lessons from mentors, the power of ballet as the “maths and English” of dance, and the old-school craft of performing to the whole house - not the mirror.

• Origins & Early Training: Growing up with two sisters who danced; a childhood accident, shyness, and finding confidence through classes. Tap at five, jazz soon after, and secretly at first - ballet, the technical foundation he calls essential “poise, posture, and strength.”
• First Stage Sparks: Local festivals, “Hello, Dolly!” solos, and a family who took him to everything from lavish musicals to the Royal Ballet; memories of Nureyev, Antoinette Sibley, and Anthony Dowell.
• West End Breakthrough: Cast at 13 in Gypsy (1973) with Angela Lansbury and Bonnie Langford at the Piccadilly Theatre; the realities of child-performer licenses, nightly commutes from Epsom, and matron Mrs Langford’s mantra: scan the audience and sparkle.
• The Performer’s Gaze: Why mirrors can stunt stagecraft; learning routines faster without them; the difference between today’s mirror-trained focus and the old pros who “bring you in.”
• Film Set Education: Bugsy Malone at Pinewood custard-pie chaos, backstage legends (hello, Chitty’s Child Catcher cage), and candid on-set memories of Jodie Foster and fellow young stars.
• TV & The Young Generation: Joining the BBC’s Young Generation at 16; working on New Year spectaculars with Dame Vera Lynn, Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark, and more; later presenting children’s TV segments and choreographing for BBC training shoots.
• Choreography Philosophy: Let instinct lead often the first idea to music is the truest; concept-driven work and designing the whole picture (movement, costumes, mood).
• “Forbidden Blackpool”: A bold, pre-burlesque, Moulin-Rouge-tinted concept show built around a keyhole motif; role reversal with boys in feathers, girls in suits; Anthony’s own costume designs and nightclub-cabaret vibe inside a large theatre.
• Defining Variety: From comics and dancers to sopranos and specialty acts “educational but entertaining” and how Sunday night Light Entertainment once shaped family rhythm.
• Dougie Squires & 43 Years of Life and Work: Meeting at 18; a partnership that spanned TV series, stage tours, and later the Royal pageants.
• Royal Spectacles: From the Queen’s 40th at Earl’s Court (Cameron-scale stages, thousands of horses, and Salad Days for Her Majesty) to Windsor galas with Helen Mirren and Tom Cruise; priceless Evelyn Laye waving anecdote.
• The Working Life: Why long runs weren’t for him after rapid-turnover TV; keeping the mind alive with new routines; passion over mortgage-logic.
• Advice to Young Performers: Perform from the heart, cultivate generosity, learn every backstage craft you can (even sewing a zipper), and remember your job is to make the star and the audience...

Join us on this captivating journey into the fascinating world of live entertainment. Host Adam Sternberg brings you engaging conversations with remarkable entertainers, from magicians and jugglers to aerial artists and contortionists. Discover the unique stories behind their extraordinary careers, the challenges they've faced, and the motivations that drive them. If you're passionate about live entertainment or simply curious about the lives of these extraordinary performers, this podcast is a must-listen.

In this episode, Adam Sternberg welcomes Natalie Haverstock, internationally acclaimed balloon artist and performer, better known by her stage name Miss Ballooniverse.

A natural entertainer with roots in acting and comedy, Natalie has transformed the humble balloon into an art form blending creativity, humour, and craftsmanship into something truly extraordinary. From teaching balloon-making to global audiences online, to dazzling celebrity guests at high-end events, her story is as uplifting as her creations.

Adam and Natalie explore her colourful journey from the theatre stage to the balloon stage, the art behind every twist and fold, and the resilience required to reinvent oneself in an ever-changing creative industry.

• A Musical Start: Growing up in North West London, Natalie was surrounded by creativity, her father was a violinist who even appeared in Fiddler on the Roof. Though she trained in classical acting at Rose Bruford College, comedy and improvisation soon became her passion.
• Improvisation & Performance: As the former Artistic Director of London Theatre Sports, Natalie honed her quick wit and stage presence, tools that would later prove essential to her success as a performer.
• Discovering Balloons: A chance introduction to a balloon agency in 2008 sparked her unexpected new career. What began as a side hustle quickly became a full-fledged art form as Natalie discovered the power of balloons to connect, amuse, and amaze audiences.
• From Beginner to Master: Her trip to Belgium’s Millennium Jam convention transformed her skills and inspired her signature style from wearable balloon dresses to Jeff Koons-inspired creations.
• Art Meets Psychology: Natalie shares how balloon modelling, like acting or magic, is all about reading the room and evoking emotion proving that every squeal of delight is part of the performance.
• The Celebrity Connection: From Britain’s Got Talent to private charity galas, Natalie’s balloon caricatures of famous faces have charmed stars like Simon Cowell and delighted crowds around the world.
• Adapting Through Adversity: During the pandemic, Natalie pivoted to virtual workshops, teaching balloon art to teams and families across continents proving that joy is still possible through a screen.
• Balloons Without Borders: From Dubai to London, her craft transcends language and culture. As she puts it, “Laughter is the same in every language and balloons are a universal symbol of fun.”
• The Aztec Connection: Ever the curious creator, Natalie even shares how ancient civilizations inflated animal intestines as early balloon art connecting history, humour, and creativity.
• Performance Over Perfection: While technique matters, Natalie insists her real art lies in the performance: “It’s 60% entertainment, 40% balloons.”

The Balloon Dog Lesson:

Natalie gives Adam a hilarious hands-on crash course in balloon art, guiding him through the twists and turns of crafting the classic balloon dog. The result may not win awards, but it...