Theatre
Call To Stage | Karen Mavundukure on Legally Blonde, Tour Digs & Dreamgirls
Call To Stage is the podcast from Amber Davies, where musical theatre takes centre stage.
Amber Davies
Published 17 June 2026
Call To Stage with Amber Davies / W!ZARD Studios

This is Call To Stage, the podcast from Amber Davies, where musical theatre takes centre stage. From unforgettable backstage stories to exclusive news and insights, each week musical theatre and Dancing On Ice star Amber is joined by stars of the stage (and sometimes just fans of it!) to chat, laugh… and maybe even sing.

On this episode of Call To Stage, we're joined by the sensational Karen Mavundukure - Amber's Paulette, partner in on-stage comedy crime and self-described forever sister.

Karen's journey into musical theatre came almost by accident. After moving to the UK from Zimbabwe as a child and studying straight music at LIPA with no intention of going into theatre, she stumbled into the industry via The X Factor and a chance audition, going on to play alternate Effie in the original West End cast of Dreamgirls.

She has since starred in The Color Purple (UK Tour), Stranger Things: The First Shadow (West End), and now stars as Paulette in the UK Tour of Legally Blonde.

On this episode of Call To Stage, Amber and Karen talk about the unconventional route Karen took to landing Paulette, unique creative freedom of director Nikolai Foster's rehearsal room and the comedic chemistry between Paulette and Elle that has become one of the heart-and-soul moments of the show.

There are also brilliant stories from Dreamgirls, The Color Purple and Stranger Things, as well as a candid conversation about the toll of pushing through illness on tour, touring digs gone wrong, and letting go of vocal-health rituals that had become more of a burden than a help.

Follow Call To Stage
Instagram: @calltostagepod
TikTok: @calltostagepod
YouTube: @calltostage

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