118 - Michael Ball on Les Miz, Sweeney Todd, Performing For Royalty & Battling Nerves

118 - Michael Ball on Les Miz, Sweeney Todd, Performing For Royalty & Battling Nerves

From Call To Stage with Amber Davies by Amber Davies/W!ZARD Studios

May 6, 2026 · 40 min · Episode 118

About this episode

Amber Davies interviews Michael Ball about his illustrious career in theatre and his experiences performing for royalty.

We're joined by a true legend of the British stage on this episode of Call To Stage - the endlessly charming, irrepressible, genre-defining Michael Ball. With over four decades in the industry, two Olivier Awards for Best Actor in a Musical , two BRIT Awards and GRAMMY nomination - Michael is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in the industry. Having made his West End debut originating the role of Marius in Les Mise´rables (a show he has returned to multiple times in his career), he has gone on to define such iconic roles as Edna Turnblad in the West End production of Hairspray , Sweeney Todd in the revival of Sweeney Todd and Alex in Aspects of Love (which led to him charting in the Top 5 UK Singles Charts). Michael has also had renowned starring roles in The Phantom of the Opera and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , released numerous albums and has sold out every venue from the Royal Albert Hall to Radio City in New York. Michael Ball's new album Glow is out on May 22nd. You can order it here: https://michaelball.tmstor.es/ On this episode of Call To Stage , Amber and Michael talk about the advice that has underpinned his four decade career, his experiences performing in front of…

People in this episode

Host: Amber Davies

Guest: Michael Ball

Topics covered

  • theatre
  • performing arts
  • musicals
  • celebrity interviews
  • nerves and superstition

Keywords

  • Michael Ball
  • Les Misérables
  • Sweeney Todd
  • Hairspray
  • performing for royalty
  • nerves
  • superstition
  • musicals
  • theatre

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Royal Albert Hall

Products: Glow

Books & works: Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, Aspects of Love, The Phantom of the Opera, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Places: Radio City

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