A podcast celebrating all that's good about Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood Musical Theatre Society is no stranger to The Brentwood Buzz, featuring in S3Ep19 and S1Ep17 as well as a decent mention in the recent chat with actor Stephen Moyer.
BTMS’s next show is Evita at the Brentwood Theatre from 19th to 23rd May 2026, so we’ve been back to talk to some of the Society’s long standing members and find out why being part of this fabulous community theatre group is a real family affair.
Graphic designer and Brentwood mum, Jill Busby, of Hive Art Studios is bringing her artistic skills to the King George’s Playing Fields Pavilion on 14th May with a “Sip and Paint” evening.
Wineglasses are some of the smaller items Jill paints, as The Brentwood Buzz discovered when visiting Jill’s studio.
Brentwood’s independent record shop, Hey Joe Music, hosted the Essex leg of comedian Alastair Clark’s national tour in which he brings comedy to record shops.
Alastair worked in a record shop for ten years before giving up the glitz, glamour and admin duties of trading vinyl for the glitz, glamour and admin duties of life as a stand-up comedian.
The Brentwood Buzz caught up with him at the end of his gig in Hey Joe’s to talk about the tour, his forthcoming Edinburgh show, and collecting comedy records.
https://www.instagram.com/alastairclarkcomedy/
8th May – Rough Trade, Nottingham, 13th May – The Record Cafe, Bradford, 16th May – Vinyl Tap, Huddersfield, 22nd May – Rough Trade, Bristol, 30th May – The Vinyl Whistle, Leeds, 31st July – DayGlo Studios, St Leonards, 8-30th August – Slow Progress Record and Coffee, Edinburgh, 26th Sept – Rough Trade, Liverpool
International TV, film and theatre actor, Stephen Moyer, was in Brentwood last night for a fundraising event at Brentwood Theatre.
Stephen grew up in Brentwood and started his acting career at St Martin’s School and Brentwood Theatre – and he’s now the theatre’s patron.
Last night’s Evening With… hosted by Bill Wells (see S4Ep13 for a chat with Bill and with Stephen’s mum, Jean) was a great success. The theatre was packed and there was a huge feeling of pride and fondness for Stephen as he described his early days in theatre and his life now as an actor.
He even had time to talk to The Brentwood Buzz about some of those memories.
It was an early start at Hey Joe Music off Crown Street in Brentwood this morning with record collectors gathering from just before midnight onwards for Record Store Day, and the chance to buy exclusive pressings of some of the world’s finest pop musicians.
The Brentwood Buzz joined Marc Sardinha of Hey Joe Music for the early shift and to meet some of the people who are willing to give up a night’s sleep to get the records they want.
The Chicken and Frog Bookshop on Crown Street, run by Natasha Radford, is a good friend to The Brentwood Buzz – there’s always something interesting going on and there’s a quiet space for podcasts to be recorded too.
But Chicken and Frog is not just a bookshop; it’s a safe space which encourages writers, illustrators and content creators to come together to talk about their work and share their experiences.
One of those writers is Amanda Claire from Doddinghurst, a foot health practitioner, mum, bad allotmenteer and self-published author of stories for children. Amanda is joining Natasha and others to talk about writing, publishing and illustrating books on 23rd April, so The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet her to find out why her writing takes precedence over weeding.
Sir Douglas Mole and Allot of Antics is available from the Chicken and Frog Bookshop on Crown Street in Brentwood.
If you would like to take part in any of the events taking place at the Chicken and Frog, you can see what’s going on and book tickets here: https://chickenandfrog.com/events/
Internationally acclaimed actor, director and well-known vampire, Stephen Moyer, is returning to Brentwood – his home town – for a fundraising event for Brentwood Theatre.
Stephen, who is the theatre’s first patron, will be interviewed by friend of The Brentwood Buzz, Bill Wells, whose work with pretty much every theatre group in town makes him something of a local legend.
Bill will be talking to Stephen at Brentwood Theatre on Tuesday 21st April at 7.30pm (tickets are £25 and available from the theatre website) but The Brentwood Buzz managed to catch up with him, and Stephen’s mum, Jean Wilson, at the Marlborough Theatre Club this week for a bit of a preview.
https://brentwood-theatre.co.uk/event/an-evening-with-steven-moyer/
Having had an overview of the activities on offer at King George’s Playing Fields in the last episode of The Brentwood Buzz, this week we’ve returned to focus in on one of the groups which meets at the Pavilion.
Create Yourself Calm is a Community Interest Company which runs sessions in the Borough of Brentwood combining creativity with mindfulness. They are run by three Brentwood women with backgrounds in primary school teaching, HR and counselling who, like so many women we’ve heard from on The Brentwood Buzz, needed to find something to do which fitted in with their personal and caring responsibilities, so they set up their own company.
The Brentwood Buzz has been along to one of the sessions to meet the team and those taking part in the art.
King George’s Playing Fields, with its new pavilion, splash park, children’s playground, rugby and football facilities, skatepark and woods is a popular place for people of all ages to visit throughout the year.
The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet Keeley Heasman, who is the General Manager for King George’s Playing Fields for Everyone Active, to hear more about what’s on offer for outside fun and entertainment.
https://www.everyoneactive.com/centre/king-georges-playing-fields/
The Marlborough Dramatic Club has been putting on plays for the people of Brentwood for one hundred and twenty five years, and members are currently rehearsing their latest production, ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’ by Roy Horniman.
The Marlborough Dramatic Club meets at Brentwood School and performs in the school’s Memorial Hall. The Brentwood Buzz has been along to rehearsals to find out about the club’s history and to meet up with some of the cast – who, it turns out, are old friends of the podcast.
Kind Hearts and Coronets is on at the Memorial Hall, Brentwood School, on 9th, 10th and 11th April, and you can get tickets by calling 07746 915348 or online at http://www.marlboroughdramaticclub.uk
The Brentwood Buzz