The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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...

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...

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 pla...

Welcome to this bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast! In a double bill, we head first to Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to hear from three of the cast members of A Midsummer Night's Dream – Jenny Rainsford, Terique Jarrett and Mary Malone. The trio explain why Shakespeare's comedy is such a tried-and-tested hit at the beautiful outdoor venue.  Secondly, we hop to The Other Palace for the...

We've hit the 2010s! Sarah and Alex continue their odyssey through the top plays of the century, which in this episode has two central themes: plays about climate catastrophe and the gargantuan success of the Royal Court under Dominic Cooke. At the same time, playwrights like Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Alice Birch are entering the mix... while Laura Wade correctly predicts Partygate a decade early...

Gregory Doran stops by on this bonus episode to discuss his production of Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis, performed by puppetry and narrated by Simon Russell Beale. As part of the chat, Doran also dives into the prompts behind his new book Walking Shadow, based on diary entries and experiences following the death of his husband, the legendary actor Antony Sher. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

Awards season may be over but the theatre news does not slow down! James Graham is back with a brand new play landing direct in the West End, while news from New York sees that indomitable bear Paddington making its furry way to Broadway. Also - Judi Dench will have a theatre named after her, and there's great news from the Bush as part of its 2026 season. Plus, Sarah mulls over what she thinks of...

In this bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast, Alex sits down with Stephen Lambert, one of the masterminds behind the hit TV series The Traitors, as well as writer John Finnemore and director Rob Hastie, who explain how exactly they plan to bring The Traitors to the stage – in a multi-show experience like nothing else seen in the West End. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

If you're looking for our main episode, we released it two days early as the dust settled on this year's Tony Awards. That said, we had to get a bonus episode in to help with your weekly theatre fix, so below is our interview with the two stars of the forthcoming West End transfer of Cyrano de Bergerac, Adrian Lester and Susannah Fielding, who will be returning to the roles of Cyrano and Roxane fo...

What's this? The main episode of the week coming out two days early? As the dust settles on another Tony Awards season, Sarah and Alex have a lot to chew on – topics include Brits thriving on Broadway, the sacrifices mothers have to make to succeed in the performing arts and, after an incident at Inter Alia, the mobile phone etiquette debate. If that's not enough, they also pick the six summer sho...

While Alex has been manning the fort back in London, Sarah has sailed over to the Great White Way for a small Broadway bonanza ahead of this weekend's Tony Awards. She observes the "Miller moment" that seems to be ongoing with productions of Death of a Salesman, All My Sons and Broken Glass all making headlines over the last year. After sampling the best New York has to offer, she makes some predi...

In this bumper episode, we are celebrating the world of new musicals with two great insights into the experience of staging new world. In the first part, we bring you our on-stage discussion with the music team of Redcliffe, Jordan Luke Gage's brand new musical having its world premiere at Southwark Playhouse Borough. In part two, we head across the Atlantic to talk to Sam Tutty and Christiani Pit...

As part of their long-running series, Alex and Sarah end the 00s with a bumper exploration of two pivotal years for playwriting this century – with Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem, Lucy Prebble's Enron, John Logan's Red, Lynn Nottage's Ruined and so many more to mull over. But which plays will be Sarah's top picks? And what have we forgotten from the month before? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

Ten years on from Waitress' Broadway bow, we had a virtual chat with composer and lyricist Sara Bareilles to discuss the lasting and profound effect of the show, from its much-loved numbers to its now-instantly recognisable characters. What's more, Bareilles is working on a brand new musical, and reflects on this second-time experience as she prepares to bring it to the stage.  Hosted on Acas...

In another busy week Sarah and Alex sit down to discuss whether Peter Schaffer’s Equus is really the Adolescence of its day - and how relevant Brecht’s warnings about totalitarianism and war still feel. Plus a new report on theatre pricing prompts some new thinking Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we take an exclusive look at Jermyn Street Theatre’s newly announced 2026 autumn season, including the UK premiere of Simon Stephens’ A Slow Fire and a revival of Richard Eyre’s Ghosts . We discuss what A Slow Fire might bring to London audiences following its Dublin premiere, and why Kwame Owusu’s direction of Ghosts continues the theatre’s commitment to developing emerging voice...

And who gives a Krapp about Beckett? Sarah and Alex have been ranging across the country, seeing shows in Bowness-on-Windermere and Brighton recently, but still find time to mull over the biggest news stories of the week – from the plans for Ian McKellen to return to the stage in a new version of King Lear at the Yard, and the National Theatre's report into the impact of streamed theatre. Plus, Sa...

Alex sits down with the two stars of Hit Machine – Josh Radnor (known for playing Ted in How I Met Your Mother) and Noah Galvin (of The Good Doctor, Theater Camp and Dear Evan Hansen fame) – who will be performing at the Soho Theatre this summer. The new play by Jonathan Caren follows two estranged brothers, one a record mogul and the other an aspiring musician. It features original music by multi...

UK theatre fans had reason for cheer with Tuesday's Tony nominations, with recognition for Sam Tutty, Layton Williams, Lesley Manville, Luke Evans, Mark Strong, Rob Icke and many more, but does the full list reflect something more concerning about the state of Broadway? Alex and David mull on a very rocky season for the Great White Way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yesterday saw the Tony Awards nominations being revealed - in a great moment for UK theatre, with 41 nominations. We chat to producer Sonia Friedman (Oedipus), star Lesley Manville (Oedipus) and writer Mark Rosenblatt (Giant) about the success of their respective shows – Friedman also reflected on a very exciting period coming up for her company as it prepares to open a wave of new productions. Ho...

In a packed week of theatre news Sarah and Alex discuss Cynthia Erivo halting a show to stop filming —and Lesley Manville declaring war on photos. Is technology ruining or helping theatre? Plus: troubled waters at The Bridge, Broadway transfers and whether theatre could learn something from ParkRun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's bonus episode, Alex chats to Omar Elerian, the director and adaptor of Kohlhaas, a brand new work making its world premiere in the first week of the Brighton Festival. Elerian is also the co-founder of There & Then, a new theatre company that will bring a starry West End season of White Rabbit Red Rabbit to the Duchess Theatre this summer, with stars including David Tennant, Riz...

In part four of the series, Sarah and Alex discuss the mighty War Horse, sublime new work from Complicité, incredible Scottish writing and blistering debuts. They also finally mull over the question – what actually is a play? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 proc...

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.