The Standard Theatre Podcast

Joining us from the launch of their new musical, Why Am I So Single?, Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow talk to our chief theatre critic Nick Curtis. Nick and Nancy Durrant line up the shows they’re really excited about this year, and the ones you should totally be booking or pinning in your diary… In news they discuss the hot topics of the week: Tickets for Jamie Lloyd’s Romeo and Juliet starring Tom Hol...

Our chief theatre critic Nick Curtis meets former Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman to discuss her role in Hir at the Park Theatre. They also discuss: -Why she chose a play at one of London’s smallest theatres -Her early career, Desperate Housewives, and studying at RADA -Living in London again, how the city has changed since Huffman’s twenties, spotting celebrities -What she hopes audien...

🍰Happy birthday to The Standard Theatre Podcast! Coming up in this very special first anniversary episode, we review Plaza Suite at the Savoy theatre , starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick (who also tell us about what they discuss post-show). Our chief theatre critic meets director Ola Ince at The Globe for her new revival of Othello and she tells him why she decided to relocate th...

Packed with Nineties hit music, we review the musical take on Cruel Intentions at The Other Palace , which is based on the 1999 blockbuster movie that starred Reece Witherspoon and Buffy actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. Plus, we revisit Six the musical as the show celebrates its sixth year on stage, and is now on at the Vaudeville theatre. Hear Nancy’s interview with writer Charlie Josephine , who’s...

Anaïs Mitchell, the creator of Hadestown, joins us to chat the musical's return to London. In a very special first for our podcast, Mitchell plays two songs from the show: Way Down Hadestown and We Raise Our Cups. Saddle up as Nancy and the Nick's ride into town (well Sloane Square) to review Cowbois at the Royal Court, and The Good John Proctor at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Elsewhere in news, we...

The Enfield Haunting , starring Catherine Tate and David Threlfall. Does this story of things that go bump in the night have the audiences screaming, or just the critics? The Evening Standard’s going out editor, David Ellis, pops in to tell us about the pubs you can find near West End theatres. Nick, Nick and Nancy also discuss the latest news, including Prince’s Purple Rain being adapted into a B...

From the Noël Coward Theatre, we join Tuppence Middleton to chat about her role as Elizabeth Taylor in The Motive and the Cue, directed by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes. Middleton, who stars opposite Johnny Flynn and Mark Gatiss, tells us about being in a play about putting on a play (Hamlet on Broadway in the Sixties), her experiences with obsessive compulsive disorder, and her new memoir.  Nancy...

Indulge us please, as we look back at a year of amazing London theatre. From Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Boulevard to Andrew Scott in Vanya, plus Guys & Dolls and Crazy for You. And of course, Joseph Fiennes in Dear England, as well as The Motive and the Cue, A Streetcar Named Desire...just to name a few. Plus, we talk about the West End shows arriving in 2024, that we are very excited about,...

This episode discusses themes some listeners may find distressing. Jared Harris (Mad Men, Chernobyl) and Joe Cole (Gangs of London, Peaky Blinders), join us at the Young Vic to talk about their time in Harold Panter’s The Homecoming , directed by Matthew Dunster. For our reviews this week it’s Ulster American at Riverside Studios , by David Ireland and directed by Jeremy Herrin, starring Woody Har...

We’re joined by Hattie Morahan at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Hattie stars in Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins. This play is a first for Shakespeare’s Globe... And our reviews this week are: Harold Pinter's The Homecoming , directed by Matthew Dunster and stars Jared Harris (Chernobyl, Mad Men), Joe Cole (Gangs of London, Peaky Blinders), and Lisa...

Oklahoma! star Patrick Vaill, who’s starring as Dr Brenner in the new stage production of Stranger Things - The First Shadow, joins us to discuss everything from the upside down. We review Alice Birch’s adaptation of Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, starring Dame Harriet Walter and Isis Hainsworth, directed by Rebecca Frecknall. And for our second review it’s Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Co...

Actor Luke Thallon joins Evening Standard chief theatre critic Nick Curtis to discuss his role in Cold War at the Almeida Theatre, his fourth play at the north London venue. Nancy and the Nicks review Roald Dahl’s The Witches at the National Theatre , and Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) at the Kiln Theatre. They sprinkle in more of the goss from The 67th ES Theatre Awards – two words:...

From Claridge’s, this is the 67th Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Hear highlights and interviews with some of the night’s winners, such as Nicole Scherzinger, Anjana Vasan and Jack Thorne. We also give our reactions to the awards for Best Actor, the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress, Best Play, and Best Musical. Plus, we chat to Jake Shears for this year’s Unsung Hero celebration, sponsor...

Peckham-born actress, writer, director - and contestant on the current series of Taskmaster - Susan Wokoma, joins us this week. Susan is hosting the 67th Evening Standard Theatre Awards and we get the inside scoop on how she’s feeling ahead of London theatre’s big night, which takes place at Claridges this Sunday. Nancy and the Nicks discuss news that Ian McKellen will play Falstaff in Robert Icke...

Robert Bathurst, star of Toast of London and Cold Feet, joins us to talk about his play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell at the Coach & Horses pub. In conversation with Nick Curtis , they discuss James Hillier’s one-hour adaptation of the play made famous by Oscar-winner Peter O’Toole. The play focuses on the writing and wit of late Spectator journalist Jeffrey Bernard, a “notorious drinker” in the S...

West End stalwart Jenna Russell joins us to discuss her star role Flowers for Mrs Harris. Jenna tells us about her close relationship with late composer Stephen Sondheim, her journey into the arts when her parents struggled with money, memories of Guys & Dolls and Sunday in the Park. In this week’s reviews, Nick Curtis and Nancy Durrant discuss Penelope Skinner’s Lyonesse at the Harold Pinter...

From London’s Theatreland, we’re joined by Broadway and West End stars Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga at the Gielgud Theatre. The duo are performing in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, devised by Cameron Mackintosh, and directed by Matthew Bourne. Nick Curtis and Nick Clark review Hamnet , which is now on at the Garrick theatre. Then, Nancy Durrant and our chief theatre critic review Lynn Nottag...

This week, we talk to Clint Dyer, deputy artistic director of the National Theatre, about the organisation’s 60th anniversary and how it is looking to the future. Charlie Brooks joins us at the Noel Coward theatre to talk about her role in The Ocean at the End of the Lane – the former EastEnders star’s first time on a West End stage. Nancy, Nick and Nick go to see Nicole Scherzinger in Jamie Lloyd...

This week, Conversations with Friends star Alison Oliver joins Nick Curtis to talk about playing the title role in Portia Coughlan which opens soon at the Almeida Theatre. We review Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends at the Gielgud Theatre, which stars Lea Salonga, Bonnie Langford, and sees Broadway legend Bernadette Peters make her West End debut. Also, our verdict on Close Up: The Twiggy Musical , d...

Antonia Thomas, who starred in E4's Misfits and The Good Doctor, and writer Nina Segal, join us to talk about new play Shooting Hedda Gabler at the Rose Theatre. Nina discusses why she decided to do a play about making a film of Hedda Gabler, rather than adapting Ibsen’s masterpiece directly, how the MeToo movement influenced the work and issues actors can face on set. Antonia talks about the...

We catch up with Joseph Fiennes in Wembley as he prepares to play England football manager Gareth Southgate in the West End. Dear England, by James Graham , about how Southgate changed the toxic culture of English football, opened earlier this year at the National Theatre and played to packed houses. Nancy, Nick and Nick review Andrew ‘Hot Priest’ Scott’s bravura performance in all the roles of Si...

Nick Butcher and Tom Ling, two of the creators behind the hit new show The Little Big Things running at @sohoplace, join us in the studio. They reveal how they adapted Henry Fraser’s inspirational memoir – about how a diving accident changed the sportsman’s life forever and what happened next – into an inspirational new musical, which has been given the seal of approval by Andrew Lloyd Webber. We...

Actor Paul Bazely joins us to talk about The Father and the Assassin, at the National Theatre. He tells us about the challenges of playing one of the 20th century’s most recognisable figures, Mahatma Gandhi. Our reviews this week are God of Carnage at the Lyric Hammersmith , and Red Pitch, starring Sex Education’s Kedar Williams-Stirling, at the Bush Theatre. Plus, how will the National Theatre ce...

Stage and film royalty Sir Ian McKellen and Roger Allam join us this week for their play Frank & Percy at The Other Palace. Allam describes the show as a 'gay rom com' but it ‘will appeal to anyone’, says McKellen. This episode is dedicated to an uninterrupted wide-ranging conversation, with the pair covering the audience behaviour, freedom of speech, the sadness and fear around ageing and the...

Succession writer Miriam Battye and award-winning director Katie Posner join us to talk about their new show A Strategic Love Play at the Soho Theatre. They reveal their worst dates, why they think the pursuit of romance can be so exhausting, and discuss how the lack of funding and arts in schools is blocking many young writers. We review I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical at Wilton’s Music Hall,...