The WhatsOnStage Podcast

By Sarah Crompton & Alex Wood

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 what’... more

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FAQs about The WhatsOnStage Podcast:

How many episodes does The WhatsOnStage Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 192 episodes available.

The WhatsOnStage Podcast episodes:

September 19, 2025 Exclusive: Indhu Rubasingham and Nima Taleghani on why they’ve put the god of theatre on stage at the National Theatre
Nima Taleghani is best known as Mr Farouk in Netflix’s Heartstopper. Now his first play - an adaptation of Euripides’ Bacchae - has become the first debut play in the Olivier theatre. And it opens his director Indhu Rubasingham’s first season as artistic director of the National Theatre. They talk to Sarah about making classics contemporary, rhyming verse and why theatre - like life - is best when it’s a little bit cheeky and a little bit risky
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31min
September 16, 2025 Children will listen: Kate Fleetwood talks playing the Witch in Into the Woods
In a WhatsOnStage Podcast first, we exclusively reveal that Kate Fleetwood will be playing the Witch in Jordan Fein’s upcoming Into the Woods revival, playing at the Bridge Theatre from early December. We want to hear about how it feels for the performer to appear in their first EVER Sondheim production, and what might be in store for audiences when they head over to the Bridge this winter…
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31min
September 12, 2025 The best autumn theatre part two
Sarah and Alex make their top picks for shows towards the end of the year from plays such as End, The Line of Beauty and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo to the great raft of musicals coming our way. Plus, how will Paddington tackle the bear question?
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33min
September 10, 2025 Bonus episode: Podcast chaos with Lucie Jones, David Hunter and the writers of 13 Going On 30
Another mid-week bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast sees Alex talking to the team behind the world premiere production of 13 Going On 30 The Musical, which opens this September in Manchester. Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith, who penned the original Hollywood classic, are back at the helm of the new stage production, which reunites Lucie Jones and David Hunter.
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33min
September 05, 2025 Emma Rice starts a new chapter – and wants to solve the touring problem
This week, Emma Rice rechristened her company Wise Children with the new name Emma Rice Company, and we took the opportunity to sit down and reflect on her career so far – from touring new work, to enchanting families at Christmas and taking productions across continents. She explains her efforts to try and solve the problems around regional tours, her opinions on her time as artistic director at Shakespeare's Globe, and the magic of working with Ncuti Gatwa. And, controversially, that she thinks Chekhov is boring.
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31min
September 03, 2025 Kyle Soller talks Romans, bringing Albee to Star Wars and what to do about modern-day men
In this episode, we sit down with Olivier Award-winning actor Kyle Soller to talk about his latest role in Romans, a novel, Alice Birch’s ambitious new play at the Almeida Theatre. Directed by Sam Pritchard, the piece is a sweeping exploration of masculinity from the nineteenth century to today. Kyle reflects on what drew him to the project, the challenges of embodying such expansive storytelling, and how Romans fits within his acclaimed career spanning stage and screen, from The Inheritance to Andor (and that famous bed scene).
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32min
August 29, 2025 The best autumn theatre part one: from Bacchae to Romans, from Joe Locke to Alicia Vikander
As the nights draw in, Sarah and Alex discuss some of their favourite shows about to hit the stage in the next couple of months including a stage version of The Hunger Games, the return of the Conor McPherson classic The Weir and appearances from Joe Alwyn, Nicola Walker, Letitia Wright, Susan Sarandon and many more
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37min
August 27, 2025 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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25min
August 22, 2025 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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40min
August 20, 2025 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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48min

FAQs about The WhatsOnStage Podcast:

How many episodes does The WhatsOnStage Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 192 episodes available.

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