The WhatsOnStage Podcast

By Sarah Crompton & Alex WoodTV & Film Society & Culture Arts Performing Arts

The WhatsOnStage Podcast episodes

August 27, 2025 90. Bonus episode: Tony Award winner Laura Benanti explains why nobody cares
As she wraps up a month at the Edinburgh Fringe, Laura Benanti travels south to present her solo comedy show Nobody Cares. She explains her inspiration for the show, why it isn't like anything else she's done on stage, and how she's found a month of performing at the iconic Scottish arts festival. Oh, and why it's such a scary time for comics in the current climate.
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25 min
August 22, 2025 89. Is stage door etiquette getting worse?
It's a packed agenda on this week's episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast. First up, Sarah reflects on her latest trip north of the border to talk on a panel about all things criticism, alighting on the subject of critic Arifa Akbar's wonderful series on criticism available on BBC Sounds. From there, Alex and Sarah mull over Sarah's fantastic interview with Alicia Vikander, due to sail onto the London stage this autumn in The Lady from the Sea. Finally, the pair discuss the hot topic of stage door etiquette and expectations, after Broadway legend Audra McDonald posted a video about an intense experience after a performance of Gypsy.
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40 min
August 20, 2025 88. Bonus episode: What happens when your press night goes wrong?
In this episode, we’re joined by two leading lights of musical theatre who are stepping into one of the most beloved shows in the canon. Phillip Attmore and Lucy St. Louis star as Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont in Top Hat at Chichester Festival Theatre this summer, taking on roles made famous by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
We also discuss how the Harlem Renaissance influenced the original film, what it was like when press night had to be restarted, the importance of representation on stage, and why musical comedy performances don’t always get the recognition they deserve.
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48 min
August 15, 2025 87. Why Liam Gallagher is wrong about festivals
Sarah has been to the Edinburgh Festival at the same time as Oasis and Liam Gallagher chose to make a few choice remarks about there being another event up the road. She and Alex discuss why his comments - he said the festival consisted of people “juggling f---ing b------s… swallowing swords” and “s----y card tricks” - cut against the spirit of festivals. And why a new book about the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival’s first 30 years sums up the unique appeal of that particular event.
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38 min
August 12, 2025 86. Bonus episode: Bridgerton star Luke Newton talks returning to the stage – and why it is his safe space
Luke Newton has won over millions of hearts as Colin Bridgerton, but will face a wholly different challenge when he stars in Darrah Cloud’s House of McQueen off-Broadway at The Mansion at Hudson Yards. Newton will take on the role of Lee Alexander McQueen, more commonly known simply as Alexander McQueen, in a show based on the iconic fashion designer's life.
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18 min
August 08, 2025 85. Who’s getting married in the morning?
It’s wedding season and Alex is away at one of the numerous celebrations he’s been invited to this summer. Which made him and Sarah think about the way that weddings are used on stage, screen and television. As Beth Steel’s Till the Stars Come Down packs them in in the West End, they look back at plays by writers such as Lorca, Shakespeare and more surprisingly Brecht have used the conventions, tensions and hidden dramas of marriage to unpick uncomfortable truths about human nature and how sometimes a wedding ceremony will reveal more than than the bride and groom had bargained for.
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33 min
August 06, 2025 84. Bonus episode: Rosalie Craig talks Good Night, Oscar, working alongside Sean Hayes and an actor-musician Company with Jonathan Bailey
West End star Rosalie Craig will be returning to the stage this summer to appear alongside Sean Hayes in the London transfer of Good Night, Oscar, now playing at the Barbican Theatre. We sat down to have a virtual chat about the show, why it fits the Barbican so well and how for Craig, it's something of a homecoming. Beyond that, she also pined for an actor-musician version of Company – perhaps reuniting with her former co-star, and clarinet-playing friend, Jonathan Bailey...
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31 min
August 01, 2025 83. Has the New York Times sent shockwaves through the theatre world?
Sarah and Alex pick up the debate about the role of criticism triggered by the New York Times decision to take three critics off their customary beat. And apply the lessons to the extraordinary range of reactions to Burlesque. And Alex reports back from Jesus Christ Superstar at the Watermill and Top Hat at Chichester.

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38 min
July 30, 2025 82. Bonus episode: How do we build theatre audiences of the future?
We checked in with Emma De Souza, executive director of audience and commercial at Society of London Theatre and the mastermind behind the long-running audience development initiative, Kids Week. The scheme provides free theatre tickets for youngsters accompanying paying adult punters – a huge move in order to encourage the audiences of the future into the West End and beyond.

Decades on from its launch, De Souza reflects on where Kids Week went so right, and why we live in unprecedented times for theatre audiences – and those who may one day build a lifelong love for all things stage. If you want to know more about how you can benefit from Kids Week, it runs until the end of August – so plenty of time to participate!
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30 min
July 25, 2025 81. Burlesque's turbulent arrival in the West End – and directors arguing with their reviewers
Sarah is still swanning it up in bella Italia (the country, not the restaurant), so Alex has brought in TheaterMania's editor-in-chief David Gordon to comb through two big stories in theatre this week. First of all, the turbulent Burlesque the Musical has had its opening night at the Savoy Theatre, with Alex giving his verdict on the production – and whether or not the behind-the-scenes controversy was over-sensationalised. Then – David reflects on his trip to Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts - where lines from a review spark public outcry from a production's director. Can creatives respond to reviews? And how does ALL of this play into what's happening at the New York Times?
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49 min

About The WhatsOnStage Podcast

From the publisher's feed

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…