Rope Drop

The Other Palace

Interview with Jordan Li Smith and Ayesha Patel (Stars and creators of the show)

This weekend, Disney magic was brought to The Other Palace and if you missed it, here's a little snippet of what it was all about. 'Rope Drop' by Ayesha Patel and Jordan Li Smith is an unofficial Disney park cabaret, where the two sing and reminisce about their favourite Disney memories. The show itself is filled with magic that they both create with their wholesome stories. Of course, there are some brilliant guests who join them on their Disney journey!

The show was first put on at Crazy Coqs on 23/03/2026, where it made its incredible debut. It was incredibly well received by audiences, and then it's now grown and planted its roots at The Other Palace this weekend. If you were lucky enough to see it, then you would know how beautiful, magical and wholesome it is. It spreads infectious joy to audiences, and it is impossible to leave without that heartwarming feeling that Disney gives us. Whilst I was not able to see it, I was lucky to see it at Crazy Coqs, where I laughed and cried. I know that it would be just as magical, if not more!

Want to hear a little bit from the inspirational creators? Then, keep on reading, and they will tell you all about it. They are quite the dynamic duo!

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Q: How has the show developed since Crazy Coqs?

JORDAN: Massively. Crazy Coqs was really the first time we got to test whether the concept

actually worked in front of an audience.

AYESHA: And thankfully, they laughed!

JORDAN: Which was reassuring. Since then, we’ve expanded it into a much fuller theatrical

show with more story, more comedy, more audience interaction, new material, projections,

and a much stronger journey through our “perfect day” in the parks.

AYESHA: We also learnt so much from that first audience about what people connected

with. At its heart, it’s still a love letter to Disney Parks, friendship and fandom, but I think

we’ve been able to dig a little deeper into why those places and stories mean so much to us.

Q: What are you most excited about?

AYESHA: Honestly, getting it back in front of an audience. We’ve spent months living inside

this show and rewriting it, so I’m really excited for it to belong to an audience again.

JORDAN: There comes a point where you’ve stared at the same script for so long that you

desperately need another human being to tell you whether it’s funny.

AYESHA: I’m also really excited about the rotating guests.

JORDAN: We’ve got different special guests at every performance, so each show genuinely

has something unique about it. There’s an unpredictability to Rope Drop that I love.

Q: How will the show now being at The Other Palace change the dynamic of the show?

JORDAN: The Other Palace gives us much more room to expand the theatricality. Crazy

Coqs was perfect for the original version because it was intimate and incredibly immediate.

AYESHA: Whereas now we can actually build more of a Disney Parks world around the

audience.

JORDAN: We’ve got projection, more props, a fuller visual language, more structured

audience interaction...

AYESHA: More things for us to potentially break.

JORDAN: Exactly. But we still want to keep that intimacy where it feels like the audience are

spending the day with us rather than just watching us.

AYESHA: The new version literally begins with everyone rope-dropping with us, so from the

very start they’re part of the day.

Q: How did you feel after performing it for the first time to an audience?

JORDAN: Relieved!

AYESHA: Very relieved.

JORDAN: Until Crazy Coqs, so much of Rope Drop had basically existed as jokes between

the two of us and things we found funny about our own slightly ridiculous obsession. But

there was always the question of whether anyone else would find it funny.

AYESHA: And then hearing people laugh was amazing, but what surprised me was how

much they connected with the more heartfelt parts too.

JORDAN: That was the bit that made us realise there was something bigger in it than simply

two friends making each other laugh.

Q: If you were able to go to Disney to do research for the show, what would you do?

JORDAN: Firstly, I’d like to establish whether a six-week round-the-world Disney Parks

research residency is tax-deductible.

AYESHA: We would absolutely try.

JORDAN: I’ve been very lucky to have visited five of the six Disney resorts around the

world. I love seeing the cultural differences between the parks — how people rope drop,

what they eat, how they behave in queues, what the hardcore fans obsess over. Disney

Parks culture is unbelievably specific, which is why it’s such good comedy material. But I’d

love to go to Disneyland in California, the OG, and experience the place where it all started.

AYESHA: I’ve only ever been to Paris and Florida. I’ve watched and read so much about all

of the parks around the world, and I really want to experience them for myself. Tokyo

DisneySea has been an absolute dream! There isn’t much that I wouldn’t do to visit Fantasy

Springs, try the Disney-themed food, and ride Journey to the Centre of the Earth and

Sinbad. I also haven’t been to Galaxy’s Edge yet, and my soul yearns to sit in Oga’s

Cantina. I’d want to experience all the things people get really emotionally attached to in

each park; the traditions, the food, the little things you have to do every visit, and what

makes the parks magical for so many people.

JORDAN: Although realistically, we’d probably spend the first three hours arguing about

whether we turn left...

AYESHA: ...or whether we go straight through the castle.

JORDAN: And there we are.

Q: If you could have a character guest, who would it be?

JORDAN: Figment.

AYESHA: Of course you’ve said Figment.

JORDAN: Absolutely Figment. He represents everything wonderfully strange and cultish

about being a Disney Parks fan. If you know, you know.

AYESHA: I think I’d want Mickey. If we’re allowed anyone, go straight to the boss.

JORDAN: Fine. You can have Mickey. I’ll be backstage with Figment.

Q: What was your favourite part to perform?

AYESHA: There’s one particular scene where we check into our Disney hotel, the Hotel

Santa Fe at Disneyland Paris, and we have an absolute ball performing one of the signature

songs from Cars.

JORDAN: But there’s a little twist in there for the musical theatre fans, which is very fun.

AYESHA: It’s one of those moments where the show gets to be completely ridiculous and

really theatrical at the same time.

JORDAN: And it probably sums up Rope Drop quite well: very Disney, very silly, and with an

MT reference never too far away.

Q: What are your future plans for the show?

JORDAN: We’ve put so much into developing this version that I think we really want to see

how audiences respond at The Other Palace before deciding exactly what comes next.

AYESHA: But we definitely think it has a life beyond these performances.

JORDAN: The format lends itself really naturally to different guests, new material and even

different versions depending on where you take it.

AYESHA: As long as it always stays what we wanted it to be in the first place: two best

friends sharing something they genuinely love.

JORDAN: And being completely unashamed about it.

I look forward to hearing all about how audiences received the new and developed version, and I know it will have sparked so much joy among the audiences! With quite the lineup of talented performers, it will have been a different joyful atmosphere every night. Ayesha Patel and Jordan Li Smith are such a hard-working pair and have such a comic and lovely dynamic that just makes you smile. It's a very Disney-coded friendship to see on stage; they bounce off each other and have so much energy. If you were lucky enough to see one or more of the performances this weekend, please let me know all about it; post, share and spread the word. There is a bright future for this show, and I look forward to following the two on their journey.