
Hosted by Radio X · EN

Christmas is a magical time of year, which is why our Christmas episode is with certified childhood member of the Bradford magic circle, Nick Mohammed, here to talk us through some of the tricks of his youth. These include starting every word with R, dazzling at 50th birthday parties and a choice gag about a cheese grater. We also hear the outline and one song from a previously hilariously titled musical and a recipe that came with its own sound effect instructions. Plus Rhys reads a poem Nick has no qualms about calling “absolute nonsense.” Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com

When Solange wrote A Seat At The Table, Catherine Bohart related to it, because she was picturing the grown-ups table. Precocious x 1 billion, bard-chat and petition based revenge is how Catherine spent her youth when she wasn’t busy dominating debate club. It’s all very impressive, but the early work is baffling, cryptic madness, frankly. A lot better than Rhys’s though which elicits screams of incredulity from Bohart. Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com

Katy Wix had a very weird red nose day one year as a child and this is your chance to hear about it. Honestly, it's wild. She didn't just swing by the EW Zoom for that though, she also brought poems in a plethora of styles, from the jaunty to the dark to the sexually naive. Plus some choice criticism for Rhys's poetry which it's hard to believe hasn't already been said, and complete ambivalence at Rhys's unfathomable accuracy in his guess of what she was like at school. Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com

Fizzing creative genius Sara Pascoe proves it was sort of always like this, as she pops into Early Work mansions to discuss a childhood of Doing Things™, like setting up a bullying line and making everyone sing in assembly or remixing Oliver Twist with her sister. Work-wise we get into some very surprising parody songs, a hard-drive of dread-inducing poetry with some dramatic endings and quintuple word meanings, before closing out with a rewrite of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme tune to be about Hamlet. Yeah - Sara raps it. Hoooo boy! Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com

Hi Early Work fans! Radio X are releasing Season 2 of a podcast we think you’ll enjoy. That’s A First! is hosted by comedians Maisie Adam and Tom Lucy and in each episode they’re joined by a guest who reveals some interesting firsts from their life… and then gets ripped to shreds. In series 1 we heard about the first time Romesh Ranganathan soiled himself just before he was due to go in stage and series 2 promises to be just as revealing with guests such as Joel Dommett, Kiri Pritchard McLean and Chris Kamara! This is a quick taster from Maisie & Tom. If you like it, search ‘That’s a First!’ and subscribe on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.

Riskiest comic in the biz Jordan Brookes swings by to chat being an obnoxious prankster at school, embracing his stagecoach family roots, and tales passed down from generation to generation to find their way onto this podcast. Spooky ghost stories (and boy are they spooky), some poems (and boy are there some fo them) and a funny joke (ok). Plus there's a wooden head in his grandad's house and you won't understand much more about that from listening. Lots to unpack, plus an extremely deep poem opening line from Reej himself. Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com

The only person evert to cast Rhys off the back of an audition, David Baddiel zooms into Early Work with the hefty anecdote collection you’d expect. School revues that turn you cool and inspire the writing process for one of the most famous songs in British history, plagiarising famous poets and getting away with it, misinterpreting flirtatious guitar lessons for an actual interest in learning the guitar. All the hallmarks of a teenager who had practically no choice but to turn to comedy. Not to mention the pretentious deep poetry with countless quotable lines to scribble onto your pencil case. Plus - an actual recording of a song(!) And Rhys reads a poem that breathes furious energy into David who doesn’t hesitate to tell Rhys what he thinks of it. Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com

Some players dedicate their entire careers to just one club. John Terry, Ledley King, Paolo Maldini. But some Playaz (see 'Don't Hate The Playaz' [ITV2]) spread themselves across 8, 9, even 10 clubs - that goes with the Playa territory. This playa, Amelia Dimoldenberg, was in every club you can imagine existing, and if you can't imagine it existing, she founded it. With precious sights set on being Vogue editor, Amelia dedicated her youth to making Vogue necklaces, reviewing Vogue articles and destroying her Vogue rivals. This is all while thriving in magazine club and newspaper club too. Her favourite band? S Club 7. We didn't get onto biscuit bars,but we didn't have to - it was left off her famous 'List Of My Favourite Things' because it goes without saying. Unlike warm cozy beds. Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com

What could a self-proclaimed uncreative boarding school attendee like Ivo Graham have to offer the Early Work archive? Well, very on brand tales of finally putting himself out there creatively and getting roundly humiliated, of course. Ivo reads some short stories about monsters killing his friends, a book that's dangerously thrilling, a storm which turns out to be largely about Gary Neville, and a very innocent, 9 year old's view of what adults get up to in pubs - and how they get home. Plus, after some chat about their lockdown poker game, Rhys reads a poem about poker he wrote almost 15 years ago to prove just how long this habit has been going on. Oh god. Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com

Performance levels go up a notch as accidental graduate of RADA and soon to be Hollywood superstar, O.T. Fagbenle, Skypes into Early Work from, you guessed it, Tanzania. From Frank Sinatra style songs for his girlfriend to a one-man-show based on a real exchange with a homeless lady and a barbershop in San Francisco (with professionally trained accents obv), all the way to a teenage poem called Larry’s Fall. Plus, maybe Rhys’s worst poem yet - and the scoring isn’t sugarcoated just because these two have never met before. Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod or you can follow him @rhysjamesy Email your Early Work to earlyworkpodcast@gmail.com