The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Alex Wood comes to you from the Musical Theatre Conference 2026 at the Soho Theatre Walthamstow - a huge event that saw writers, producers and venue owners come together to mull over trends and issues facing the world of new musicals. We hear from Jethro Compton, one of the masterminds behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, about how his global perspective on making work has informed his process and helped him build a career.

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A new version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House gets Sarah and Alex thinking about new writing. Plus a stage musical of Thelma and Louise has been announced. How will that work? And a final mop up on the Oliviers.

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It was a huge night at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday as the Olivier Awards took place – with seven awards going to the much-loved Paddington The Musical. Elsewhere there were wins for Rachel Zegler, Into the Woods, Rosamund Pike, Jack Holden, James Graham and more – all of whom you can now hear in action.

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Sarah and Alex are inspired by Rosamund Pike’s starry performance in Susie Miller’s Inter Alia to think of other great dramas about the law. And ahead of the Manchester United versus Leeds Premier League clash they chose the best teams from actors born in the cities

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On this bonus episode, we talk to Calam Lynch and Noah Ritter, two of the stars of Please Please Me, Tom Wright's play about Brian Epstein, often known as the "fifth Beatle." Lynch plays Epstein, with Ritter as the iconic John Lennon, with the play having its world premiere at the Kiln Theatre later this month. Ritter explains why he was destined to play John Lennon, while Lynch celebrates a return to the Kiln.

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Sarah has been hither and thither this week reviewing very long plays (with some very late endings) – with Romeo and Juliet starring Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe clocking in at three hours, while Les Liaisons Dangereuses with Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner not far off the same duration. It brings up all sorts of questions about love stories on stage, the importance of dance for bringing out unspoken truths, and whether or not you should smile during a curtain call.

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Two rising stars in the acting world, Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe, are headlining a brand new production of Romeo and Juliet. We sit down to chat to the duo on their opening night, accompanied by co-stars Clare Perkins (Sweat, The Wife of Willesden) and Clark Gregg (the Marvel Cinematic Universe). As part of the conceit, the show involves a series of "what-if" moments, all exploring how the tragedy truly unfurls.

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Welcome to this bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast! Our brilliant deputy editor Tom Millward has been busy recently, interviewing the great and good across the UK theatre world! So here's our interviews featuring Hayley Atwell, James Graham, Paapa Essiedu, Bryan Cranston, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Rebecca Lucy Taylor...

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Awards season is trundling along with the Standard Theatre Awards and the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards all happening in the same week. If that's not enough to keep Alex and Sarah busy, they've also been trekking to Stratford-upon-Avon and a soggy Manchester, but found enough time to mull over the implications of the decision not to let national critics into the world premiere of One Day the Musical at the Edinburgh Lyceum.

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On this bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast, we meet the new Witch taking over from Kate Fleetwood in the Bridge Theatre's multi-award-nominated production of Into the Woods at the Bridge Theatre. A beloved WhatsOnStage Award-winning star, she's tackling Sondheim for the very first time!

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