The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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

The WhatsOnStage Podcast episodes

June 13, 2025 70. Behind the scenes at Jamie Lloyd’s Evita
As Rachel Zegler prepares to take on the role of Eva Peron in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s ageless classic, Sarah sets out to find out more about the London Palladium production. Plus what was it like working with Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell and how did they cope with the crowds mobbing Sunset Boulevard in New York
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46 min
June 11, 2025 69. Bonus episode: What happens when you win a Tony Award? With Sarah Snook, Jak Malone, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more
Sunday night saw the winners crowned at the Tony Awards in New York. While new musical Maybe Happy Ending may have been the big winner, there were plenty of awards dished out to UK-originating shows, including Operation Mincemeat, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and more! We hear from all of them… while Andrew Lloyd Webber explains why a Sunset Boulevard film may not be happening!
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16 min
June 06, 2025 68. Special guest Sonia Friedman talks career-firsts, the hardest shows she's worked on and why Broadway's model is broken
Description: With Tony Award-winning record breaker Stereophonic in previews in the West End, chief critic Sarah Crompton and managing editor Alex Wood hopped over to Sonia Friedman Productions offices to talk to Friedman in a wide-ranging interview. Topics included what makes new writing so enticing, why the Broadway model is so hard and why Broadway box office reporting is causing headaches all round. Plus how she's trying to find the next generation of audiences with Hugh Jackman, and why the future of UK theatre concerns her!
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38 min
June 04, 2025 67. Bonus episode: A gigantic new London theatre made for musicals, with special guest Rosemary Squire
In a bonus midweek episode, WhatsOnStage’s editor-in-chief Alex Wood made the trip to the gigantic Olympia event space, home to the new Olympia Theatre. Currently in construction, the Olympia is due to open to the public in 2027. Alex had a word with Rosemary Squire, the co-founder of operator Trafalgar Entertainment, about what theatregoers can expect from the 1575-seat venue: including 100 toilets, a huge playing space and top class amenities.

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11 min
May 30, 2025 66. A final theatre season to rule them all
In the week director Rupert Goold announced his farewell programme at the influential Almeida Theatre, Sarah and Alex talk about why his choices reflect his bold approach - and outline the excitements in store. And as Patti Lupone stirs controversy, can the old-fashioned, no holds barred interview survive?
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33 min
May 23, 2025 65. 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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43 min
May 21, 2025 64. 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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28 min
May 16, 2025 63. 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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46 min
May 09, 2025 62. 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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36 min
May 02, 2025 61. 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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29 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…