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 210 episodes available.

The WhatsOnStage Podcast episodes:

July 04, 2025 75. Rachel Zegler, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more discuss Evita's secrets
As we put out our main episode two days early (go back and give it a listen!) – here's something to take you through the weekend. In what is our last episode on Evita for a while (we promise), we sit down with star Rachel Zegler and team behind the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita at The London Palladium. They spill the beans on that infamous balcony scene, the chance to revitalise classic musicals for new audiences, that staggering choreography and what the future might hold for the show...
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18min
July 02, 2025 74. Is Evita the show of the summer? And if not, what is?
In an excitable episode (fuelled by the heatwave), Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood unite to chew over Jamie Lloyd's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita, starring Golden Globe winner Rachel Zegler – now that the embargo has lifted. After that, the pair discuss other shows that have wowed them in recent weeks – including a surprise and special hit in the form of Intimate Apparel at the Donmar Warehouse.

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37min
June 27, 2025 73. Why seeing a play from the cheap seats can change your life - with special guest playwright Beth Steel
As her brilliant play Till the Stars Come Down transfers to the West End, playwright Beth Steel talks to Sarah about her unexpected discovery of theatre and the mental blocks and financial obstacles that stop working class voices being heard
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34min
June 20, 2025 72. Bonus episode: Special guest Katie Brayben on the magic of returning to a role
With this week's main episode coming out two days early, special guest Katie Brayben joins Alex Wood for a Friday chitchat. The two-time Olivier Award-winner will be returning to the role of Elizabeth in the hit Bob Dylan musical Girl from The North Country, now playing once more at the Old Vic in London. Other topics include Brayben's time in Tammy Faye, the state of new musicals and the problems performers face with social media.
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33min
June 18, 2025 71. Will social media be the end of theatre critics? And are there too many standing ovations?
It's a two-part episode as Alex and Sarah reunite after a few weeks out in the wild! Social media is all abuzz with clips of Rachel Zegler's performance of "Don't Cry For Me Argentinia" in Evita at The London Palladium. The only ones not talking about it? Theatre critics – who have to wait until early July to give their verdicts on the show. With weeks of embargoes, are critics having a tough time either cutting through the social media noise, or even being able to say anything before a show's initial excitement has died down? Separately, Sarah has some thoughts on the increasing trend towards the obligatory standing ovation – do more audiences need to sit down and stop rocking the boat?
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44min
June 13, 2025 70. Behind the scenes at Jamie Lloyd’s Evita
As Rachel Zegler prepares to take on the role of Eva Peron in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s ageless classic, Sarah sets out to find out more about the London Palladium production. Plus what was it like working with Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell and how did they cope with the crowds mobbing Sunset Boulevard in New York
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46min
June 11, 2025 69. Bonus episode: What happens when you win a Tony Award? With Sarah Snook, Jak Malone, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more
Sunday night saw the winners crowned at the Tony Awards in New York. While new musical Maybe Happy Ending may have been the big winner, there were plenty of awards dished out to UK-originating shows, including Operation Mincemeat, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and more! We hear from all of them… while Andrew Lloyd Webber explains why a Sunset Boulevard film may not be happening!
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16min
June 06, 2025 68. Special guest Sonia Friedman talks career-firsts, the hardest shows she's worked on and why Broadway's model is broken
Description: With Tony Award-winning record breaker Stereophonic in previews in the West End, chief critic Sarah Crompton and managing editor Alex Wood hopped over to Sonia Friedman Productions offices to talk to Friedman in a wide-ranging interview. Topics included what makes new writing so enticing, why the Broadway model is so hard and why Broadway box office reporting is causing headaches all round. Plus how she's trying to find the next generation of audiences with Hugh Jackman, and why the future of UK theatre concerns her!
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38min
June 04, 2025 67. Bonus episode: A gigantic new London theatre made for musicals, with special guest Rosemary Squire
In a bonus midweek episode, WhatsOnStage’s editor-in-chief Alex Wood made the trip to the gigantic Olympia event space, home to the new Olympia Theatre. Currently in construction, the Olympia is due to open to the public in 2027. Alex had a word with Rosemary Squire, the co-founder of operator Trafalgar Entertainment, about what theatregoers can expect from the 1575-seat venue: including 100 toilets, a huge playing space and top class amenities.

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11min
May 30, 2025 66. A final theatre season to rule them all
In the week director Rupert Goold announced his farewell programme at the influential Almeida Theatre, Sarah and Alex talk about why his choices reflect his bold approach - and outline the excitements in store. And as Patti Lupone stirs controversy, can the old-fashioned, no holds barred interview survive?
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33min

FAQs about The WhatsOnStage Podcast:

How many episodes does The WhatsOnStage Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 210 episodes available.

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