Getting to The Hilltop – Behind the Scenes at our Theatre Live Show! (Patreon)

The Clapham Grand, London, has a long and storied history. It opened in 1900 as a music hall, a venue where people could expect all sorts of entertainment, from performances of popular songs, comedy, acrobatics and more.  

(Image description: A photograph of The Clapham Grand, a tall Victorian theatre venue on a busy London Street.)

Since then, thousands of performers have entertained there, from Charlie Chaplin to more recent musical acts such as Oasis and Muse. The Grand was even the filming location for the very first season of Taskmaster and subsequent seasons have recreated The Grand’s stage and interior for the studio portions of the show.  

And now, Rusty Quill is bringing something completely new to The Grand’s stage: MAGNUS LIVE: THE HILLTOP. More than a podcast live show, The Hilltop is a full cast theatrical production with sets, costumes, lighting, special effects, something terrifying lurking in the shadows, programmes, merchandise and more.  

(Image description: Five square black and white photographs of performers underneath the title: Magnus Live: The Hilltop Cast Announcement. On the top row, from left to right: Shahan Hamza as Samama Khalid, an office worker; Jonathan Sims as Jonathan Sims, a trapped memory; Alexander J Newall as Martin Blackwood, a trapped memory. On the bottom row, from left to right: Lowri Ann Davies as Celia Ripley, an apocalyptic survivor; Sasha Sienna as Georgie Barker, an apocalyptic survivor).

It’s been a long journey to get here, starting with a remote table read all the way back in March 2025. Here, the cast got to read the play for the first time, and were briefed by director, Alexander J Newall, on what to expect in the coming months.  

(Image description: A screenshot from the digital table read, which was held on an online call. The cast and crew appear on webcams, from top left to right: Jonathan Sims, Alexander J Newall, Sasha Sienna. From bottom left to right: April Sumner, Lowri Ann Davies and Shahan Hamza. Two people on the call have their cameras off: Hattie Quinlan and Jessica Anson).

As the cast learned their lines, Alex, producer and production designer April Sumner and producer Jessica Anson got to work on pre-production tasks: commissioning backdrop artwork, sourcing props, creating costumes and developing lighting and sound design.  

(Image description: A photograph of five people on The Hilltop team outside the Phoenix Theatre, London, after a research trip to watch Stranger Things: The First Shadow. From left to right: Lowri Ann Davies, Jessica Anson, Alexander J Newall, Hattie Quinlan, April Sumner.)

The cast and crew undertook a week of intensive rehearsals at the beginning of October. With everyone off book, the most important tasks were blocking, testing out important props and trying on costumes.  

Since the beginning of this week, we’ve been in London, running various tech rehearsals and getting set up in The Grand.  

The team arrived to discover the venue had been extensively decorated for Hallowe’en, with the foyer, boxes, and bar area covered in cobwebs, spiders and creepy mannequins – unexpectedly perfect for Magnus! 

At the time this is being posted, we are now finishing our final preparations for the very first performance. In a few hours, the very first audience will start to arrive, ready to explore the strange world of The Hilltop.  

Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets, who backed the Kickstarter, and for supporting us here on Patreon, which has made The Hilltop possible.