The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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

The WhatsOnStage Podcast episodes

August 03 190. Bonus episode: The cast of Game of Thrones: The Mad King join the WhatsOnStage Podcast for an exclusive chat
Welcome to this bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast! A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to take a very exciting trip into the rehearsal room for Game of Thrones: The Mad King, to chat to the lead cast about their time bringing Westeros to the stage. Currently in previews in Stratford-upon-Avon, the new stage play is penned by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke. Joining the podcast are Tanisha Spring (who appears as Ashara Dayne), Elizabeth Ayodele (as Princess Elia Martell), Mariah Gayle (as Queen Rhaella Targaryen), Callum Woodhouse (as Lord Robert Baratheon), Michael Shaeffer (as King Aerys II Targaryen), Harmony Rose-Bremner (as Lyanna Stark), Luke Brady (as Brandon Stark), Noah Ritter (as Prince Rhaegar Targaryen) and Michael Abubakar (as Eddard Stark).
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40 min
July 30 189. Roger Allam on returning to the Old Vic, Les Misérables and playing a testicle for Alan Ayckbourn
With Sarah on foreign shores, Alex heads to the Old Vic rehearsal room to chat to stage and screen legend Roger Allam. Known for his TV and stage appearances in the likes of The Thick of It, Les Misérables and Frank and Percy, Allam is back on stage this summer in How The Other Half Loves at the Old Vic. And, apparently, he played a certain body part in an Ayckbourn radio play. Allam also touches on the topic of amplification and seeing his greats at the Old Vic when he was young.

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26 min
July 27 188. Bonus episode: Shaking up the West End with Phelim McDermott
Welcome to this bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast! Phelim McDermott has staged everything – gargantuan operas, intimate shows and even forays into the world of Studio Ghibli with My Neighbour Totoro. He now brings his show Tao of Glass to @sohoplace for a West End season – mixing puppetry, the music of Phillip Glass and pseudo-memoir in an experience hoping to redefine what a West End show can be.
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34 min
July 23 187. The Best Plays of the Century Part Seven: the years 2012/2013
The year of the London Olympics and its successor sees theatre at a red hot peak. Sarah and Alex discuss plays from James Graham’s breakthrough to Lucy Prebble’s The Effect and Lucy Kirkwood’s era defining Chimerica. Plus The Audience with Helen Mirren and the groundbreaking The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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57 min
July 22 186. Bonus episode: Tim Sheader on new Donmar season announcement + Hadestown stars on their film
Welcome to this midweek bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast! Today, the Donmar Warehouse's artistic director Tim Sheader (fresh from directing Jesus Christ Superstar at The London Palladium) reveals two brand new shows in his 2026 season – a new comedy involving Elvis' dead body, and a revival of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land. He also calls on more new comedies in UK theatre. After that, we head over to America where the stars of Hadestown discuss taking the award-winning musical to the big screen.
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47 min
July 17 185. The Oresteia, the Odyssey and Lloyd Webber warns of Broadway tragedy
Sarah and Alex discuss Simon Stone’s new adaptation of The Orestia, out in the same week as Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster, and another example of the huge appeal of the Greeks. They talk about the cult surrounding Jonathan Larson, the composer of Rent, and ask whether Andrew Lloyd Webber is right when he puts the early closure of Cats:The Jellicle Ball down to the impossibility of producing theatre in New York’s famous heartland.
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41 min
July 13 184. Bonus episode: No sooner Shed than done – producer Francesca Moody on her Edinburgh projects
Producer Francesca Moody has brought some iconic shows to the stage: Fleabag, Baby Reindeer and Weather Girl amongst their number. This year, she's taking three new productions to the Edinburgh Fringe, even working with partners like Global Creatures, the minds behind the Moulin Rouge! and Muriel's Wedding musicals. Shedinburgh will also be shooting down south to the Young Vic for a London spell, in a big step forwards for the artist-led project. Moody also reflects on her programming strategy and always developing work with a long life in mind.
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29 min
July 09 183. Bonus episode: Hamilton's Thomas Kail on directing Moana and stage legend Frances Ruffelle discusses I Can Die Too
An interview double bill to end the week! Our main episode ran early to coincide with the barnstorming Palladium production of Jesus Christ Superstar at The London Palladium, but we had to wrap up the week with something special. Firstly, you can hear award-winning director Thomas Kail discuss his work on the live-action version of Moana, now sailing into cinemas across the world. We also ask Kail if he'd ever give Hamilton the same treatment... secondly, we head to Pitlochry Festival Theatre where stage legend Frances Ruffelle is premiering I Can Die Too, a brand new play with music co-created with Alan Cumming and Sally George. Ruffelle unpacks the fascinating, metatheatrical new work.
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38 min
July 07 182. Jesus Christ Supersized + Sarah talks Pride
What's the buzz? Our main episode has landed a few days early to coincide with the opening night of Jesus Christ Superstar at The London Palladium! Sarah and Alex discuss Sam Ryder's performance and the show's ability to awe on the largest stages. Elsewhere, it was a big, bold, exciting opening for Pride at the National Theatre, while Sarah and Alex mull over big news stories from the NT, RSC and Bridge.
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35 min
July 02 181. Russell Tovey in The Guilty, art by actors, and memories of Tom Stoppard
Actress Nancy Carroll returns to the podcast while Alex Wood takes a break. She and Sarah talk about their theatre outings to The Guilty at the Donmar Warehouse and Springwood with Robert Lindsay at Hampstead and the MAMA (Many Actors Make Art) exhibition Nancy is organising. Plus as a theatre is named the Stoppard, Nancy reveals his favourite thing in rehearsals - and why Arcadia is a perfect play.
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32 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…