PAUL: Hello and welcome to Regrets,
I've Had a Few.

I'm Paul Hunter,

Artistic Director of Told by an Idiot,
and this is a podcast where I talk

to friends and colleagues, delving into
what made them the person they are today.

Hello and welcome.

My guest this month is a dazzling young

performer who is already
making a big impact.

I first met him in 2019 when I cast him as

Stan Laurel in the Idiot
production of Charlie and Stan.

He captures the spirit of this
iconic comic genius beautifully.

We then went on to collaborate with him
on two other Idiot projects our anarchic

family sketch show, Get Happy and our
new film, Seven Deadly Idiots.

He has recently been delighting audiences

in the West End in the New Vic production
of Marvellous, and I for one,

will be watching closely
to see where he goes next.

Welcome.
Jerone Marsh-Reid.

JERONE: Hey.

Thank you, Paul.

Thank you so much for your kind words.

It's always a pleasure to work
with you and see your face.

PAUL: Well, that's, likewise Jerone.

And that wallpaper,
I won't go on about that.

I'm just going to say
that wallpaper is spectacular.

Now I'm looking closely
to see where you go next.

I know where you go next.

You go back into Stan Laurel's trousers as

we revive Charlie and Stan
at Wilton's Music Hall.

It's an extraordinary venue, Wilton's,

and obviously we'll talk about Charlie
and Stan later in the episode.

But for those people who don't know

Wilton's Music Hall,
how would you describe it?

JERONE: It's amazing.

The space of it is like this old
music hall that is manages even now,

in 2022, it's still manages to keep
the authenticity of the space.

So when you walk into it, you're kind
of time travelling back into the days.

And I remember when we were talking about

Charlie and Stan,
people were adding comments about maybe

Charlie's parents would
have maybe performed there.

And I think they've done so well

in that space to keep it authentic
and to really look after the space.

I like to climb on things
when I get into the theatre.

And Wilson's Music Hall wasn't one
of those places where you can just put

your feet all over. And I must say, a
lovely, lovely bar. Just a

great place, and a really nice place where
the staff are brilliant.

And when you walk in there, you do
feel like you're walking back in time.

PAUL: Well, I really,
really look forward to walking back

in there with you, because I agree
that's a brilliant description of it.

It is a bit like time travelling and,

as you say, it's the perfect
space for our show.

So that's wonderful.

The other thing I need to mention before
we go into more detail, obviously,

we're recording this the day after England
managed to make it to the listeners.

I can see Jerone going mad in front
of the flowery wallpaper there.

So obviously you and I are big football

fans and football will
come up in this, I'm sure.

But I've got to ask you,

are you fearful of France
or what do you think?

JERONE: Well,
they played really well, didn't they,

France played really
well in their last game.

And so I am fearful of France.

However,
to see us beat Senegal so confidently,

to see the talent in our team, to see
defensively midfield and attacking,

we are actually a very, very
strong contender for winning this.

So I go into this next game
with confidence and I'm going to hold

on to that confidence
until we go two nil down.

I might change my tone.

Okay.

But must say I'm really
impressed with the boys.

I really think they're really shining
and they look so, so confident.

That's what I really like to see.
Yeah.

And I watched that at tenpin
bowling last night.

PAUL: What was the atmosphere like there?

JERONE: It was mixed, there were
people playing pool.

Every time there was a goal,
there was a big roar.

It wasn't quite pub vibes, but it was
nicer than being at home in a way.

PAUL: Where will you watch the quarter final?

JERONE: Well,
we decided to do some hosting next week

and I didn't think that,
I forgot that if we go through,

it'll be on that day,
so I'm now tweaking my hosting plans.

I think there's a few people
tweaking their hosting plans.

PAUL: Anyway, we'll come to football because I

know that's an important passion of yours
as it is mine, but let's go right back.

You were born in Stafford, is that right?

Yes, the mighty Stafford,
not far from Birmingham.

Of course, where I'm from, I always ask
this question because I'm intrigued.

Was there any kind of performance in your
family, in your background of any sort?

JERONE: No, not that I know of, actually.

I'm the first performer in my kind
of immediate family

but you can feel that across
all the people they've got kind

of a performer attitude
but never really pursued it.

PAUL: It's interesting that, isn't it?

Because I'm one of,

youngest of five children,
so my eldest sister had left home when I

was born, so I only discovered
things as you grow up.

But I remember my other sister saying

that Margaret, my older sister,
was very desperate to be a performer,

but my parents at that time didn't think
it was the right thing for her to do.

So you never know sometimes, do you,
what people wanted to do or didn't do.

Do you know what I mean?
JERONE: Yeah.

Actually, that being said, you just

reminded me my sister did one year
at college

to try and do performing and I think more
than anything, maybe the nerves of being

actually on stage and a confidence thing,
really, that was kind of what stopped her.

But it's weird because she never spoke

about it actually, when we
were growing up or anything.

It's kind of a little secret mission

that she went on and I think she realised
that maybe it wasn't for her

but, yeah, you've just reminded me now
that there was one person in the family

that wanted to do it
but didn't quite pursue it.

PAUL: Now, that's interesting.

And also the notion that she
decided to keep it to herself.

An interesting idea, that it was obviously

personal and she didn't want
to necessarily reveal that.

What about any early memories of going
to see performance of any sort?

Do you have any early memories of that?

JERONE: Only got one, and it was amazing.

We went to go see Aladdin with the school.

I don't know what theatre it was.

It was one of those trips on the Coach,
primary school.

And we got there and we saw
Aladdin, and it was so fun.

There was toilet roll flying everywhere.
It was amazing.

And one actor just forgot his lines.

He was the lead actor,

and I think he was playing Jafar or
somebody, and he forgot his lines and they

pulled out a script and he started
doing loads of impressions.

He did some Darth Vader impressions
and all that while he was reading his

script on stage and in a beautiful
fashion, just came straight back into it.

But I remember as an adult,

I think watching that would kind
of make my skin crawl a little bit.

But as a kid, I loved it, I was like,
oh, yeah, this is really cool.

It's like an added part to the show.

PAUL: Well, that's quite interesting,
that notion that as a kid,

you clearly enjoyed the fact
that something had gone wrong.

JERONE: Yes.

PAUL: And also you then enjoyed the way

in which that performer dealt with it,
which, in a sense, is something that I've

always been fascinated
at Told by an Idiot, we're fascinated

by that, as you know,
that sense of spontaneity

and the declaring of things like
in Charlie and Stan moments, where

we've got people out of the
audience to do something.

And I'm always fascinated by how

an audience does connect
when something goes wrong.

We might touch on that a bit later.

So would you say when you were growing up,

that it was more the football sport thing
that you were into than performing?

JERONE: Yes, I'm going to out
my dad at this point.

Yes.

I wanted to play for Manchester United
up until about year five.

PAUL: So how old is year five?

JERONE: I think I was about 10.

PAUL: 10, Okay.
JERONE: Yeah.

Ten ish.

And my dad - I'd only see my dad

on the weekends because
my mum and dad separated.

And my dad would always ask me,
oh so, son, what do you want to do?

And up until year five, wanted to play
football for Manchester United.

And he said to me one day, he said,
Son, are you the best in your class?

And I said no.

Well he first asked me,
Are you the best in the school?

I said no.
He said, Are you the best in the class?

I said no.

And he said, it's quite a
hard thing to play for Manchester United,

especially if you're not even
the best in your class situation.

And it broke me.

And he said, you should think about maybe
another career choice or something else.

And I got really upset and really angry,
but it was a moment of realisation.

And so from that point,
I decided that maybe football wasn't I

still played it, but wasn't
going to be my kind of end goal.

So, yeah, mainly into sports until year
five, when my dad crushed my dreams.

PAUL: Also, I like the fact that he started by
saying, are you the best in the school?

No.
Are you the best in the class?

I also like your honesty.

I like your kind of sense
that you didn't go.

Yeah, I am.
JERONE: Yeah.

PAUL: No, I'm not, actually.

JERONE: Actually Dad, no I'm not.

PAUL: I was probably similar,
I have to say, very similar to you.

In that I would say maybe even I
was deluded for slightly longer.

I think I probably clung onto it till I

was about twelve, thinking I would play
for Aston Villa and that moment

of thinking, 'oh,
this isn't going to happen'

it's a weird one, isn't it?

I'm not going to play for Aston Villa?

And obviously you've met Dexter,
my son, who is obsessed with football.

And I'm not sure if I'll be
following your dad's advice.

Yeah, I'll let you know how that goes.

But I suppose that's my first
question around regret.

Obviously, at the time,

you're ten and it's your life and all
you want to do is play football.

Do you look back on that with any kind

of regret, or is it just
a distant kind of thing now?

JERONE: No, there's no regret there.

It makes me laugh.

More than anything, it makes me laugh.
It's character building,

because that was a hard pill to swallow,
but it was a milestone in my life

of going, that isn't
the only career that I can do.

Because it's weird, isn't it, when you
just think, yeah, I'm going to do that.

That's what,

I'm going to play for Manchester United,
so I don't regret it.

And if anything, I like
bringing up to my Dad.

It's one of those.

PAUL: Yeah, it's a very good story.

I do like it.

We've talked a bit,
a little when we've been together,

rehearsing and touring around
the country and stuff.

And I think even though we're very

different generations,
I think the things that connect us,

not just sport, but
I think about you talked a bit about your

school and I talked a bit about mine,
and I seem to remember when you came

to see our show,
Would You Bet Against It - Against Us?

You enjoyed the moment where I was beaten

on stage,
lots of people enjoyed that not least Kyll

who delivered the beating I think he took
quite a lot of pleasure

in it! Am I right in saying without going
into any details school wasn't always

the most kind of creative
of places for you?

JERONE: No, I think for me.

Yes, you are right, because school for me
was interesting, especially high school.

I started smoking when I was quite young.

I kind of was in with the crowd that would
kind of cause trouble,

but they were troublemakers,
but they were really good people.

I need to make sure that it's very clear.

PAUL: Yeah, of course.

JERONE: And so as I got to school,
my attention started to kind of float.

I stopped wanting to play

for Manchester United and I
didn't know what I wanted to do.

And I wasn't necessarily the smartest kid

at most things, so I just
messed around for a bit.

And I'd always try to make
people laugh in class.

My report would always be,

Jerone is a bright young man, but he's
the biggest distraction in the room.

And my dad would always
call me the class clown.

He would say, oh, you're the class clown.

Everyone's getting good grades while

you're making them laugh and making
school easier for everyone.

And so it's quite fitting that now

I get paid to be a clown, really,
because I think that's how it segued in.

It was one of those and it wasn't
a horrible place for me to be.

I had a lot of friends, luckily,

I enjoyed socialising,
but in terms of grades and satisfaction

from achieving good grades,
that wasn't in there for me.

PAUL: It's interesting
that the biggest distraction in the room

is nice to think of the title
of your autobiography.

Was there a point when
you started - because I know there's

another element - we've talked about
football and we've talked about

performance, but more specifically,
I wanted to ask about dance,

because dance was, was that your
way into performance before acting?

JERONE: Yes.
So I remember dancing in the mirror to,

like, Chris Brown and all these people
and actually wanting to be good at it.

I have got an embarrassing story
that I'll make quite short.

I went on holiday.

This kind of like Haven style holiday.

And I entered a talent contest and
it's embarrassing.

And so we were waiting and two people

before I was on, there was two amazing
great dances, great dancers,

and they were doing amazing
in sync choreographed routine.

And I was about to go on with a whole
freestyle that I hadn't even worked on.

So after the dancers, there was
a great singer, everyone's clapping.

Whooping.
And me and my brother Kieran at the time,

he was going to beatbox
while I started dancing.

So he starts beatboxing.

I started freestyling and I
jumped in the air to do the worm.

And instead of worming down,

I just landed on my stomach and winded
myself in front of this whole audience.

It was like the night, the talent night,
and everyone's laughing.

I get up and I get to them,
I don't want to do this anymore.

And everyone's just laughing.

My little brother's still
beatboxing and to the point,

I was so embarrassed, so much that I went
over and helped him with the beatboxing.

And I walked back towards the table and I

could see my whole family, especially
my Dad, crying, laughing at this point.

And it was a moment like that where I

thought, I either never do this
again or I get really good at this.

And so not long after that, I
started a breakdancing company.

I started going to classes
and I really grafted.

I used to busk with them and they let me

join the crew, Nu born Cru,
a lot of fond memories.

And that's kind of my connection

with Birmingham, really, because I used to
go and busk in the centre in Birmingham.

And from that I have a friend, Ryan,

who was an enemy at primary school, who is
now my best friend, which is quite cute.

And he was like, what are you doing?

Like, what are you going to do in college?

And I was like, I'm not too sure.

I'm still lost at this point.

I think I might do electrical engineering

because my dad does that and I
could work with my Dad, maybe.

And he was like, you're such a performer,
because I always make jokes or whatever.

He's like, you should come to college

with me and you have to do singing,
acting and dancing.

And I was like, okay, well,
I'll come to college,

but I'm not going to sing and I'm not
going to act, I'm just going to dance.

And he kind of agreed with me,

but obviously when I got to college,
that wasn't the case.

They had me singing and acting before
I knew it, and that was my way in.

It started at a park
on Meadow Road in Stafford.

My friend just striking the question,
what are you doing?

You should come and join me.

And from then, the tutors were really kind
of pushing me to do more acting stuff.

They gave me a lead role at the end.

They would always,
they believed in me, to be honest.

And so even now,
when I just done my West End debut,

sending me messages, just thinking how far
I've managed to come since those days.

PAUL: Yeah, I think that's amazing, Jerone.
I really do.

And I know it's really important.

Those like, you say that they supported

you and provoked you and, you know,
you went wanting to dance,

but they provoked you into acting
and singing and those things go deep.

I was just listening on the radio this
morning where they spoke to a coach

from Birmingham City who coached
Bellingham when he was seven years old.

And this guy clearly was a big mentor, has
become a big mentor for Jude Bellingham.

And Bellingham was talking about
him after the game, clearly.

And I think those people that really shape

you or provoke you become
key in your life, don't they?

It's a big thing.

JERONE: It is.

It's a massive thing,
those, like, milestones.

Like the day I realised I wasn't
going to play for Manchester United.

There was a day at college where I knew
I was going to pursue more acting stuff.

And it was down to the teachers,
their belief in you,

and I'm not saying at school no teachers
believed in me, but there was a real sense

of belief that you can do it,
you are good enough.

And that's what people need sometimes.
They need to be,

PAUL: Of course

JERONE: You are worth it.

This is an investment worth pursuing.

And so, yeah, that was massive.

Do you remember a moment?
PAUL: Oh, yeah.

No, I think I touched on it when
we made Would You Bet Against Us?

About my attempts to get
into show business.

What you say strikes a real chord.

So was this a BTEC course?

JERONE: Yes, because I didn't get
the grades at school.

I did a level two first,
which was one year to get my grades up

until I could do the level three
extended Diploma in Performing Arts.

PAUL: Brilliant.
And then what was the journey from there

to thinking, oh,
I could go to drama school?

How did that happen?

JERONE: My friend Ry, who's my best friend now,

his uncle is an actor, he's done quite
a few things and he went to drama school.

And so Ry was like
he was honed in on going to drama school.

I didn't know anything about it,
but I took a lot of inspiration from Ry,

so I was like, oh, maybe I
could go to drama school.

And I got a foundation offer at E - sorry,

I got a foundation offer at Italia Conti,
but I couldn't afford it.

But luckily, my friend Ry,
he could, so he managed to do that.

And I was in my last year
of college when he was there.

So I saw what drama school life was
and I wanted it and I wanted it bad.

So I did one year at uni because I
couldn't afford the foundation offer.

And then, luckily,
I auditioned for the Physical Theatre

course, and I got in and
it changed my life, really.

PAUL: Yeah.

It's interesting, isn't it?

Obviously, that's ultimately how I met
you, was because of that training.

And then us looking for actors,

and there's clearly something quite
special that goes on in that course

and how it's put together and the kinds
of performers they bring together,

and also the journey
that those performers go on.

That was two years?
Three years?

How long was that?

JERONE: Yeah, it was a three year course.

And it's clever.

It's really well put
together, I must admit.

Simon Hunt, who's the head of our physical
theatre course, he knows what he's doing

in terms of the start of it,
is kind of like Grotowski ,

which is kind of breaking down your ego
and coming down to the base of yourself.

And you go through all these journeys.

You do mine, you do gat, which is
gymnastics, acrobatics, tumbling.

You do loads of different things.

Puppetry - everything that's kind
of on the theatre at the moment.

You touch upon it for a module,
and so by the end, you're making work

with all of these different elements,
and then you go to the theatre and you see

it all on stage and you think,
oh, I could do that.

I could do that because
I've trained in it.

So it gives the performers the confidence

to know that they can go out into the
industry and do it and offer things.

It's not just about the director telling

you what to do, it's about thinking for
yourself and giving the director options.

PAUL: I think that's, again,

a really good description of what,
as a director, what I perceive performers

that I've met,
and you're not the only one.

I mean, Kyll, who he worked
with on Would You Bet Against Us?

was brilliant and also came
from year below you or?

Two years below you?
JERONE: Year below me, yeah.

PAUL: And I think what you say about making

offers and performers that
can really collaborate,

I think that's clearly a key thing,
which for me, obviously,

and Told by an Idiot,
is exactly what we're looking for.

But if we come to this point where I first
met you, which was at the audition,

I read somewhere a quote where you said it
might have been in a Stage interview,

but you said, as a British Caribbean
actor, I never thought that I'd get

the chance to audition
for the role of Stan Laurel.

So even the audition
for the part was a surprise?

JERONE: Yeah, it really was.

At first,
I think I was in Budapest when the tape

came through
as a birthday treat and I saw the role

and then I looked and said,
I remember these two.

And I thought, oh, this is great.
Do they want me?

Am I going to be playing Stan?

Or did they just want to see me kind

of for Stan, but maybe for other
characters or whatever?

And I was very fresh out of drama school.

I'd done one job before,
but not like a theatre theatre job.

And so I was kind of just going
in and just seeing what happens.

But I didn't expect
to even be playing Stan.

I was so surprised by it.

And I met the brilliant Steve Harper,
who made me feel at ease straight away

and was so good at opening
the room and allowing that space.

And you as well.

I remember actually doing the piece that I
created and you were, like, laughing.

It sounds like a weird thing,

but some auditions you go to, they stay
so stern, even if they are enjoying it.

But the fact that the room was so open

and free, I left that audition thinking,
I actually really want to do this.

And what a great company, kind of,

to kind of go into my
first big job really?

PAUL: Well, it was interesting because
obviously, I suppose,

and we've talked about this,
but from my point of view it was very

clear to me that I had no interest
in trying to find someone who looked

exactly like Stan Laurel or someone
who looked exactly like Charlie Chaplin.

So the fact that Charlie is played

by a woman brilliantly by Dani
and previously by Amalia and yourself.

For me, it was always about
the spirit of something.

Otherwise I don't see the point.

You might as well watch a documentary or
see the real thing, but you have something

of that playful, naive spirit
that obviously is perfect for Stan.

But it seems obviously,

we're coming back to the show again and
we've done it in lots of exciting places.

It is something that wonderfully speaks
to a wide audience, this notion of,

in a sense, what you get to audition
for or what you get seen for.

Do you think that's getting better?

Do you think it's getting wider for you
or does it still feel fairly narrow?

JERONE: I've got to admit, I do actually think it

is getting better,
and I say that I think about that a lot.

Yeah, of course I actually mean it.

I do think the things that I'm being seen
for are things that I wouldn't expect

to be seen for probably about four years
ago, or like coming out of drama school,

not knowing am I'm going to be typecast? A
nd the stuff that I was interested in,

because I knew that would be
what I would probably play.

For instance,
I thought I'd be into more kind of dramas

and stuff and I'm still
completely interested in that.

I never really, in drama school,
loved clowning, really.

This is a very strange thing that I've
gone out to do so much of it

because I didn't necessarily see myself
in any of those roles or doing any

of those jobs, or even
understanding what clowning is.

You have to be in a room full of clowns
sometimes, or people that can be silly

to go, wow, this is work that I want
to create and this is what I want to see.

It's getting better, Paul.

We've got some journey to go on still,
of course, but I will openly say

for myself, I believe it's
getting better, for sure.

PAUL: That's very interesting to hear.
And also, obviously,

you're now going on and working with loads
of different people in different ways.

And you know this because
a gang of us came to see you.

I thought Marvellous was a fantastic night

at the theatre and you were brilliant
and part of a wonderful ensemble.

But I was talking to one of the producers
from the new Vic,

Martin the other day on A Zoom and I
was congratulating him on the show.

People don't know it's based on the life

of Neil Baldwin, a TV with Toby Jones and
now brilliantly reworked for the stage.

But what I thought was wonderful was

it felt like it really captured
something of the feeling of the time.

I think there's an innate kindness about

the show and in the show
and about community.

And I felt when I sat in the audience,

that people really
connected to that feeling.

Did that come across to you on stage?

Did you have that feeling
as a company of actors?

JERONE: Yeah, the story
from Stoke to London didn't change.

Sometimes you feel like,

I'm going into the West End now,
so I need to jazz it up,

we need to put a dance number in here,
we need to do this, that the other.

But the story was Neil.

Neil helped write the show.

And because Neil is so infectious and so
loving and has the most amount of friends

I know anyone to have,
you are, as a performer,

making friends through Neil
with the audience

and that theatre offers seats where you
can sit down right next to somebody

and have a little chat
with them for a second.

It offers that.

And I think that is one thing I must say,

I think it's brilliant from the New Vic,
from Theresa is allowing us to keep

the story, the Stoke, Newcastle Under Ly
me story, and take it to London.

And people do say people from the Midlands

are friendly and approachable,
and I think that's what the show is.

It's an invite to this story as opposed

to being told you can like it, or not,
but, you know, it's a brilliant story.

You know, Neil's life
is a spectacular one.

PAUL: I think that's a really good way

of putting it, Jerone the idea
of it being an invitation.

And I think that's what theatre should be.

It's something that you're inviting
people to share this, to be part of this.

And actually, Martin was saying whether

they were in any way a little worried
that it might feel too local as a show,

but actually
it transcends all of that because it's

very universal in what it's about,
about how we look after each other,

the sense of being a community,
whether that's at football or in church.

And obviously it's also
wonderfully funny and playful.

And it won't surprise you,
I enjoyed the theatricality of it.

That really appealed to me.
Yeah.

That was one of my great nights
at the theatre this year, for sure.

Now, as we draw to a close Jerone,

it's been really great chatting
and we will be chatting a lot more.

I'll be shouting from my megaphone
in there, what is it doing?

I always end by asking seven rapid fire

questions to which you say the first
thing that comes into your head.

So the first question.

Late night or lie in?

JERONE: Late night.

PAUL: Jude Bellingham or Kylian Mbappé?

JERONE: Mbappé

PAUL: Pilates or yoga?

JERONE: Yoga

PAUL: LA or New York?

JERONE: New York.

PAUL: Sushi or pasta?

JERONE: Pasta

PAUL: Winning an Oscar or scoring the winning
goal in the Champions League final?

JERONE: Ooooh an Oscar

PAUL: I was watching you wrestle
with your ten year old self.

Finally.
Parkour or bungee jumping?

JERONE: Parkour

PAUL: Jerone, it's been lovely seeing you.

Have a great day, mate.

I'll see you in rehearsal.
JERONE: Both you, mate.

Amazing to speak to you soon.
All the best.

PAUL: Cheers Jerone, take care mate.

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