Podbit · The Rest Is Entertainment
Richard Osman and co-writer Tom Bastian staged an informal table read of the Thursday Murder Club play with comedy actor friends in a West End rehearsal room. Six weeks later, Richard had finally finished the next draft — because only after hearing it performed did he know exactly what needed fixing.
Where this was said
At 9:43 · chapter starts 3:35
Jane Burrows's question opens a rich, insider conversation about one of TV and film production's most misunderstood rituals: the table read. Richard explains that they typically sit at the very end of pre-production, with the script often in a near-final-but-not-final state, and that actors perform at around 50% — partly by choice, partly because they're frequently seeing the material for the first time [2] — Richard Osman "A table read is not a rehearsal — it's the writer's most valuable diagnostic tool. Actors perform at roughly 50%, heads of departments are …" 05:57 . The Game of Thrones final season table read is highlighted as especially charged: actors were discovering in real time which characters lived and died after up to a decade on the show, and the emotion was visible on their faces [1] — Richard Osman "The Game of Thrones final season table read was unlike any other because actors were discovering their characters' fates for the first time…" 06:56 . Richard also reveals that Friends actors weaponised the format, deliberately misdelivering jokes they disliked so that the laughs would die and the writer would cut them [3] — Richard Osman "You can see people suddenly thinking, oh my gosh, hang on, I'm dead. Okay, it's been a decade of their life or something." 07:10 . Marina adds the perspective of heads of departments in the room — the costume and lighting teams, who are simply scanning the stage directions for logistical cues rather than assessing comedy. She then shares the recent Thursday Murder Club table read: an informal gathering of comedy actor friends in a West End rehearsal room, after which she spent six weeks rewriting the script. Ben Elton's difficult experience with Blackadder's opinionated cast is also raised, illustrating the tension between actor instinct and writer authority at the table.
A table read is not a rehearsal — it's the writer's most valuable diagnostic tool. Actors perform at roughly 50%, heads of departments are mentally logging costumes and lighting cues, and the writer is listening for rhythm, laughs, and the devastating silence where a joke should have been.
Actors discovered their characters' fates in real time at the final season table read, making it uniquely emotional after nearly a decade on the show.
The Game of Thrones final season table read was unlike any other because actors were discovering their characters' fates for the first time, live in a room, after nearly a decade on the show. You could see it on their faces — the moment someone realised their character was dead.
Actors at table reads typically perform at around 50% capacity — they're often seeing the script for the first time and deliberately hold back.
According to a staffer quoted by Richard Osman, Friends actors would deliberately misdeliver jokes they disliked at table reads to get them cut.
Friends actors weaponised the table read. If they didn't like a joke, they'd deliberately misdeliver it so it got no laugh — and the writer would have it cut. It's a power move that reveals just how much leverage actors hold even before a frame is shot.
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Howard Ashman had one insight nobody else had: animated Disney films should be Broadway musicals. The third song of every great musical is the character sitting alone explaining what they want. That's 'Part of Your World.' That structure — combined with Alan Menken's compositions — generated Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, and turned Disney Animation into the most profitable creative engine in entertainment history.
The Lion King musical has been running for 30 years across Broadway, London's West End, and global touring companies. It has grossed over $11 billion in total revenue — more than Avatar, more than Avengers: Endgame, more than any album, more than any video game. It generates an average of $350 million in revenue every single year. Disney owns it outright.
The anonymous French artist Invader has hidden 1,500 pixelated mosaic artworks across Paris alone, with thousands more scattered across 80+ cities — affixed to the Eiffel Tower, the Hollywood sign, and even sent to the International Space Station. He might be even busier than Banksy.
The Flash Invaders app turns city streets into a treasure hunt, letting players scan Invader's hidden mosaics for points. Players have collectively logged over 47 million flashes. Unlike most mobile games that glue you to a screen, this one forces you to look up and engage with your surroundings.
New York draws thousands of young, talented performers every year chasing Broadway stardom — but the hard truth is that most of them never make it. Zelig Williams was one of the rare exceptions.
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