The WhatsOnStage Podcast

By Sarah Crompton & Alex Wood

WhatsOnStage managing editor Alex Wood and chief theatre critic Sarah Crompton host a weekly podcast on all things theatrical. News, views, frank exchanges and lists offer an unmissable guide to what’... more

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FAQs about The WhatsOnStage Podcast:

How many episodes does The WhatsOnStage Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 130 episodes available.

The WhatsOnStage Podcast episodes:

May 23, 2025 Why British theatres are on the brink of going bust
As a new report highlights the crisis in British theatres, Sarah and Alex reveal the depth of the difficulties caused by standstill subsidy and rising costs and in particular the challenges for regional theatre and touring

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43min
May 21, 2025 Bonus episode: Special guest Hadley Fraser on juggling a West End show, solo concert and gardening!
In a mid-week bonus episode, West End star Hadley Fraser discusses his array of new endeavours, including a brand new album, a major solo concert at Cadogan Hall and appearing nightly in the West End in The Deep Blue Sea. He also chats about gardening, parenting and his daughter’s reaction to seeing him as a king in Disney’s Snow White.
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28min
May 16, 2025 How do you stage an unfinished musical?
Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood dive headfirst into Stephen Sondheim and David Ives' Here We Are, wading through the history and themes of the show as it makes its European premiere at the National Theatre. After that, they swim through a wellspring of topics including the Young Vic's exciting new season (with four of Sarah's favourite directors involved) and Cynthia Erivo's fang-tastic West End return in Dracula.
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46min
May 09, 2025 The best shows to see this summer - from Stereophonic to Jesus Christ Superstar
Sarah and Alex get out their diaries to do some planning for some of the most exciting events in the months ahead from Eugene O’Neill to Shucked and from the reopening of Theatr Clwyd to a late Shakespeare revival in Stratford
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36min
May 02, 2025 Bonus episode: Jamie Lloyd, Tom Francis and Jak Malone discuss their Tony nominations!
After Tuesday's main episode, Alex dials into New York to hear from three Tony Awards nominees as a bonus feature. Jamie Lloyd, Tom Francis and Jak Malone each reflect on a stellar Broadway season in their respective shows.
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29min
April 29, 2025 The National Theatre begins a huge new chapter – but what should audiences expect?
Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood head to the National Theatre to hear the venue's new director Indhu Rubasingham unveil her bumper season of productions, mapping out plans right the way through to 2027. With huge star names like Paul Mescal, Nicola Coughlan, Lesley Manville and Letitia Wright slated for appearances, there's plenty for audiences to get excited about. But more than that – what does Rubasingham's approach and character mean for the future of the NT?
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39min
April 25, 2025 Greatest theatre feuds in history, warm-up games and swings, covers and more decoded in our latest Q&A episode
Alex and Sarah return for their third Q&A episode, this time diving into the murky depths of theatre feuds and backstage friction. They then turn to the calmer and cheerier waters of warm up drama games, Paddington the Musical, set to make a splash in the West End, and the truly incredible role played by swings, covers and more.
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43min
April 18, 2025 How Oklahoma! changed my life - with special guest Anoushka Lucas
Sarah meets Anoushka Lucas, currently starring in Rhinoceros at the Almeida Theatre, to discuss the impact of theatre on her life. She’s always called versatile but says she takes on new projects because she just wants to learn more. She reveals what it was like to work with Daniel Fish on the award-winning reimagining of Oklahoma!, why Rhinoceros is such a play for our times and how she wrote Elephant, her first play, in lockdown. Plus a bit about being a woman in the music industry and the lessons of the Stamford experiment.
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51min
April 16, 2025 Is London theatre in rude health?
In a bonus episode, editor-in-chief Alex Wood chinwags his way around the Olivier Awards winners' room discussing the state of London theatre, new writing and emerging talent – featuring chats with the creators of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the team behind the record-breaking Fiddler on the Roof and the three Olivier Award-winning creatives in Giant – John Lithgow, Elliot Levey and Mark Rosenblatt. As subsidised venues reduce their programming output, what does the future of British theatre look like?
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16min
April 11, 2025 Everything you didn't see at the Olivier Awards
Alex returns from sabbatical to report from behind the scenes at the Olivier awards where Giant, Fiddler on the Roof, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Years were among the big winners. He and Sarah discuss what the prizes reveal about London theatre, the artistic directors making waves - and announce a couple of shows that might be in the running for awards next year
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38min

FAQs about The WhatsOnStage Podcast:

How many episodes does The WhatsOnStage Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 130 episodes available.

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