The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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

The WhatsOnStage Podcast episodes

November 01, 2024 21. Return of the Actress
Nancy’s back! Former co-host of the WhatsOnStage Podcast’s predecessor As An Actress Said to the Critic returns to talk adapting and starring in the critically acclaimed new staging of The Cabinet Minister at the Menier Chocolate Factory, and a plethora of exciting upcoming projects - including a very exciting Hamlet at the RSC…

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32 min
October 25, 2024 20. Will the West End rule over Broadway in 2025?
This week, Sarah and Alex turn their attention to the Great White Way – something that a whole raft of West End productions seem to be doing at the moment. With Operation Mincemeat, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Tammy Faye set to join Sunset Boulevard and The Hills of California over in New York this Tony Awards season, all the signs are there… Closer to home, The Lion King’s 25th anniversary provided a poignant moment of reflection.
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33 min
October 18, 2024 19. London theatre enters its tragic era
As Robert Icke tackles Oedipus and Alexander Zeldin reinterprets Antigone as The Other Place, Alex and Sarah talk about the ways Greek tragedies speak to our modern age - and why great actors such as Mark Strong, Lesley Manville, Emma D’Arcy and Tobias Menzies are signing up to star. Plus: And what does it all have to do with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis’ new musical?
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32 min
October 11, 2024 18. Look back in anger - or dismay?
Theatres at the moment are working like time machines, whisking audiences back to the 1950s as a new generation of directors explore the work of the past. Sarah and Alex explore the revivals from Look Back in Anger and Roots at the Almeida to Waiting for Godot starring Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati
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31 min
October 04, 2024 17. Special guest James McArdle talks Tom Stoppard, Macbeth and how to save regional theatre
Sarah sits down for a wide-ranging conversation with James McArdle, currently starring in The Real Thing at the Old Vic. He talks about returning to the stage, his new film, playing opposite Saoirse Ronan as the Macbeths, what he learnt from Kate Winslet - and why an actor should always be able to make you laugh. Plus a radical idea to help regional theatre.
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36 min
September 27, 2024 16. Ghastly or a joy? End of an era at the National Theatre
Sarah and Alex report from behind the scenes of the press conference at which the retiring artistic director announced his final season of work. What was the mood - and what do we think of his choices of work as he reaches the end of a decade in the hot seat?

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29 min
September 20, 2024 15. The wonder of Ian McKellen
The release of The Critic, a new film starring Ian McKellen and written by Patrick Marber prompts Sarah and Alex to discuss McKellen’s passion for theatre, the fortitude of his generation of actors - and the changing face of critics. Are they really this nasty?
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26 min
September 13, 2024 14. Special guest Carrie Hope Fletcher talks love, motherhood and taking a new show on the road
In this week's special episode, Alex talks to musical theatre sensation Carrie Hope Fletcher about her career so far, her dream roles and the changes in her life and thinking since she gave birth to her daughter. Plus what makes her Love Letters tour so unique.
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36 min
September 06, 2024 13. What happens when critics get it wrong?
Sarah and Alex lift the curtain on the complicated moment when a critic starts to wonder whether they are on the wrong side of history - and confess to a few reviews they’d like to rewrite
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33 min
August 30, 2024 12. What are the unmissable shows this autumn?
After a summer of Scottish trips, Sarah and Alex are now back and ready for the start of the autumn. What a season to look forward to! With shows across the nation piquing their interest, here's what can't be missed for theatre fans up and down the UK over the course of the next few months – including productions in Sheffield, Leeds, Chichester, the West End and beyond.
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40 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…