In part two of my conversation with West End performer Jaime Tait, we talk about love, honesty and making up your own rules after almost 11 years with his partner James. Jaime opens up about colourism, in life and on stage, about what it costs to be the empath and the peacemaker, and how he protects his own energy. It's a conversation about authenticity, and about choosing to heal rather than hurt.

Missed part one? Start there first.

Follow Jaime on Instagram & TikTok at @jaaytait

Follow along on TikTok and Instagram at @christopherallenofficial, and follow on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Wednesday.

References mentioned in this episode:

- Legally Blonde The Musical, UK and Ireland tour (Jaime's current show): https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/legally-blonde/

- Urdang, now part of City St George's, University of London (where we trained): https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/about/schools/communication-creativity/performing-arts

- UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report 2026, Part 1: Theatrical (published March 2026): https://socialsciences.ucla.edu/hollywood-diversity-report-2026-part-1-theatrical/

CONTENT WARNINGS

- RACISM AND RACIST LANGUAGE

- OPEN RELATIONSHIPS AND SEX

- STRONG LANGUAGE

CHAPTERS

- 00:00 Intro

- 01:20 Almost 11 years with James, honesty and making up your own rules

- 04:16 Jealousy, feeling secure, and every version of yourself

- 08:29 Advice for talking to your partner about opening things up

- 13:48 Colourism: being a lighter-skinned Black performer

- 18:38 Representation on stage and screen, and why it still lags

- 24:15 Being the empath and the peacemaker

- 27:36 Filling your cup first, and stepping back from draining people

- 31:52 What authenticity means to Jaime now

- 33:52 Hurt people heal people, and looking inwards

- 35:57 A surprise for Jaime

- 38:19 Outro

This week, West End performer Jaime Tait joins me for part one of a two-part conversation. Jaime and I went to drama school together when we were just 21 and so I thought I knew him. This conversation opened up a whole new side to jaime that I had never seen and I"m truly grateful for this honesty and wisdom.

We go back to growing up in Birmingham as one of seven, what was expected of him as a Black boy, and the mindset that has kept him on stage for ten years and counting. It's a conversation about energy, self-belief, and feeling like you always have more to prove.

A quick note: the first 10 minutes or so are audio only because of a camera problem. The video comes in at about 12 minutes.

Follow Jaime on Instagram at @jaaytait

Follow along on TikTok and Instagram at @christopherallenofficial, and follow on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

New episodes every Wednesday. Part two is out next Wednesday ✨

References mentioned in this episode:

- Urdang, now part of City St George's, University of London (where Jaime and I trained): https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/about/schools/communication-creativity/performing-arts

- Legally Blonde The Musical, UK and Ireland tour (Jaime's current show): https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/legally-blonde/

CONTENT WARNINGS

- RACISM AND RACIST LANGUAGE

- HOMOPHOBIA

- A PARENT'S REACTION TO COMING OUT

- AN UNSETTLED HOME LIFE IN CHILDHOOD

- STRONG LANGUAGE

CHAPTERS

- 00:00 Intro

- 01:29 Knowing someone at 21, and ten years in the West End

- 03:15 Growing up in Birmingham as one of seven: what was expected

- 04:53 Becoming the people pleaser, and the empath in the middle

- 07:30 Knowing he was gay, and using comedy to change the subject

- 10:30 Signs, labels and rules: "we're all very free beings"

- 12:24 Keeping the love for performing, and why energy gets you hired

- 16:58 Telling his dad he was gay the day before moving to London

- 20:00 Dancing "like a boy" at Urdang, and embracing every side of himself

- 24:12 More to prove: being Black and gay in the cast

- 25:27 Minority stress, intention, and whether to correct people

- 31:51 The most powerful skill: staying in a good mood

- 32:40 Meeting James, self-belief and audition rituals

- 39:17 "I know I'm going to be a lead role"

Part two of my conversation with talent agent Yan Javeri. We pick up in Switzerland and follow him through being outed to his family, a move to LA that arrived alongside profound loss, and building his own company from nothing. It's a story about grief, defiance, and what he'd say to the boy with the crocodile briefcase now.

Follow Yan on Instagram at @yancameronj.

Follow along on TikTok and Instagram at @christopherallenofficial, and subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Wednesday.

References mentioned in this episode:

- The Visionaries, the talent agency Yan founded: https://www.thevisionariesagency.com/ @thevisionariesagency

CONTENT WARNINGS

- BEING OUTED WITHOUT CONSENT

- FAMILY ESTRANGEMENT

- A PARENT'S AGGRESSIVE REACTION (IMPLIED THREAT, NOT ACTED ON)

- TERMINAL ILLNESS AND THE SUDDEN DEATH OF A PARENT (TWICE)

- GRIEF

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

01:24 Finding freedom in Switzerland

02:52 Outed to his family

07:20 What being outed cost him

11:47 Leaving Switzerland for Australia and London

14:04 Becoming a talent agent by accident

17:54 Social media and the move to LA

20:17 Losing his father weeks after landing

23:29 When grief finally catches up

25:31 Losing his mother, then his job

28:15 No job, no visa, starting anyway

31:32 Nine years single

37:09 Advice for your thirties