The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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

The WhatsOnStage Podcast episodes

June 14, 2024 1. Performing rights, Operation Mincemeat and amateur theatre
In their brand new podcast the chief theatre critic of WhatsOnStage and the managing editor Alex Wood talk about the ties that bind them to the theatrical world. And to Coventry. Plus their plans going forward.
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30 min
June 08, 2024 65. (ATASTTC) And it's goodbye from Nancy
After 60 episodes, Nancy's going to leave As the Actress Said to the Critic - but Sarah is launching a new podcast with WhatsOnStage. They talk about what has surprised them, what they've learnt - and plans for going forward. Stay subscribed for new adventures.
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33 min
May 30, 2024 64. (ATASTTC) Tom Holland's Romeo and Ian McKellen's Falstaff
Huge, enthusiastic queues are surrounding the Duke of York's theatre where Tom Holland, famous for Spider-Man is playing Romeo opposite Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as Juliet. Next door, veteran actor and star of Lord of the Rings, Ian McKellen is performing Falstaff for his own adoring fans. In this week's episode Nancy and Sarah discuss the two productions and what it shows us about Shakespeare - and about the new generation of actors.
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35 min
May 20, 2024 63. (ATASTTC) Food on stage - and guests for the dream dinner party
Nancy and Sarah discuss their attitudes to food on stage and off. Does Nancy eat before a show? Does Sarah write hungry or stuffed? And are there perilous foodstuffs that you might want to avoid on stage? Plus: who would they both invite to their dream dinner parties?
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45 min
May 03, 2024 62. (ATASTTC) The secrets of learning lines - plus Machinal and Love's Labour's Lost
Nancy and Sarah discuss terrific new productions of Love's Labour's Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Machinal at the Old Vic and Nancy reveals the secrets of memorising long parts - and why the writers whose words are hard to learn aren't always the ones that you'd expect.
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39 min
April 20, 2024 61. (ATASTTC) Last word on the Oliviers - and two new plays about friendship
Sarah and Nancy have been watching the Oliviers on screen - and wondering why it's so difficult for television to catch the spirit of theatre. Plus Nancy has been to see An Actor Convalescing in Devon at Hampstead Theatre and Sarah has watched The Comeuppance at the Almeida which prompts a conversation about two great American writers - Richard Nelson and Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins - and how they find ways into examining friendship, illness, death and the human condition.
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36 min
April 07, 2024 60. (ATASTTC) Brian Cox, Patricia Clarkson, the Brontes - and why cutting the creative arts is mad
Sarah and Nancy talk about a new compelling new production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, starring Brian Cox and Patricia Clarkson, and the new play Underdog: the other, other Bronte - both stories that lay bare the rivalries and difficulties of family life. And what is the UK government thinking about with its latest plan to cut funding for creative arts courses at universities? Plus more praise for Andrew Scott in All of Us Strangers, and tributes to Adrian Schiller and Trevor Griffiths.
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48 min
March 30, 2024 59. (ATASTTC) What's the point of critics if they can't agree?
The reviews of Opening Night, a new Rufus Wainwright musical starring Sheridan Smith, have ranged from utterly brilliant to absolutely abysmal. Sarah and Nancy talk about what this means about the state of criticism and whether this is a good or bad thing. Plus Andrew Scott's emotional speech at the Critics Circle awards
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45 min
March 24, 2024 58. (ATASTTC) Faith Healer, Keir Starmer and the arts, and the popularity of podcasts
It's been a busy time for Nancy and Sarah, with Nancy recording a new audio drama that builds on new ways of listening to plays and visiting the Royal Shakespeare Company to say goodbye to long-time artistic director Gregory Doran. Meanwhile, Sarah has been to the Lyric Hammersmiith to see a fine revival of Brian Friel's great Faith Healer. Plus Keir Starmer has set out Labour's vision for culture - and it feels unusually heartfelt.

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30 min
March 15, 2024 57. (ATASTTC) A final word on the Oscars
Nancy and Sarah have been watching the Oscars - and the Oscar-nominated films. Although Oppenheimer won most of the prizes, all this year's best picture nominees - from Poor Things to Zone of Interest, from Barbie to Anatomy of a Fall - are some of the strongest films to watch today. And all reveal that though individuals win awards, film is a matter of pulling together.
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28 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…