The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Sarah Crompton & Alex Wood

154 episodes

1 day ago

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’s happening on stage (and in film and on television) now, in the past and in future. From musicals, to plays, to immersive shows, to interviews with the biggest stars, there's something for everyone!

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

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Performing Arts

Society & Culture

All content for The WhatsOnStage Podcast is the property of Sarah Crompton & Alex Wood and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

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’s happening on stage (and in film and on television) now, in the past and in future. From musicals, to plays, to immersive shows, to interviews with the biggest stars, there's something for everyone!

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

Show more...

Performing Arts

Society & Culture

Episodes (20/154)

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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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2 days ago

33 minutes 26 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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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1 week ago

32 minutes 32 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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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1 week ago

43 minutes 5 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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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2 weeks ago

45 minutes 43 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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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2 weeks ago

15 minutes 41 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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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3 weeks ago

37 minutes 24 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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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3 weeks ago

10 minutes 18 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

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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1 month ago

32 minutes 16 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Why British theatres are on the brink of going bust

As a new report highlights the crisis in British theatres, Sarah and Alex reveal the depth of the difficulties caused by standstill subsidy and rising costs and in particular the challenges for regional theatre and touring

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1 month ago

42 minutes 3 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Bonus episode: Special guest Hadley Fraser on juggling a West End show, solo concert and gardening!

In a mid-week bonus episode, West End star Hadley Fraser discusses his array of new endeavours, including a brand new album, a major solo concert at Cadogan Hall and appearing nightly in the West End in The Deep Blue Sea. He also chats about gardening, parenting and his daughter’s reaction to seeing him as a king in Disney’s Snow White.

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1 month ago

27 minutes 3 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

How do you stage an unfinished musical?

Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood dive headfirst into Stephen Sondheim and David Ives' Here We Are, wading through the history and themes of the show as it makes its European premiere at the National Theatre. After that, they swim through a wellspring of topics including the Young Vic's exciting new season (with four of Sarah's favourite directors involved) and Cynthia Erivo's fang-tastic West End return in Dracula.

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1 month ago

45 minutes 22 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

The best shows to see this summer - from Stereophonic to Jesus Christ Superstar

Sarah and Alex get out their diaries to do some planning for some of the most exciting events in the months ahead from Eugene O’Neill to Shucked and from the reopening of Theatr Clwyd to a late Shakespeare revival in Stratford

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1 month ago

35 minutes 54 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Bonus episode: Jamie Lloyd, Tom Francis and Jak Malone discuss their Tony nominations!

After Tuesday's main episode, Alex dials into New York to hear from three Tony Awards nominees as a bonus feature. Jamie Lloyd, Tom Francis and Jak Malone each reflect on a stellar Broadway season in their respective shows.

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1 month ago

28 minutes 53 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

The National Theatre begins a huge new chapter – but what should audiences expect?

Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood head to the National Theatre to hear the venue's new director Indhu Rubasingham unveil her bumper season of productions, mapping out plans right the way through to 2027. With huge star names like Paul Mescal, Nicola Coughlan, Lesley Manville and Letitia Wright slated for appearances, there's plenty for audiences to get excited about. But more than that – what does Rubasingham's approach and character mean for the future of the NT?

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2 months ago

38 minutes 17 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Greatest theatre feuds in history, warm-up games and swings, covers and more decoded in our latest Q&A episode

Alex and Sarah return for their third Q&A episode, this time diving into the murky depths of theatre feuds and backstage friction. They then turn to the calmer and cheerier waters of warm up drama games, Paddington the Musical, set to make a splash in the West End, and the truly incredible role played by swings, covers and more.

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2 months ago

42 minutes 48 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

How Oklahoma! changed my life - with special guest Anoushka Lucas

Sarah meets Anoushka Lucas, currently starring in Rhinoceros at the Almeida Theatre, to discuss the impact of theatre on her life. She’s always called versatile but says she takes on new projects because she just wants to learn more. She reveals what it was like to work with Daniel Fish on the award-winning reimagining of Oklahoma!, why Rhinoceros is such a play for our times and how she wrote Elephant, her first play, in lockdown. Plus a bit about being a woman in the music industry and the lessons of the Stamford experiment.

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2 months ago

50 minutes 28 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Is London theatre in rude health?

In a bonus episode, editor-in-chief Alex Wood chinwags his way around the Olivier Awards winners' room discussing the state of London theatre, new writing and emerging talent – featuring chats with the creators of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the team behind the record-breaking Fiddler on the Roof and the three Olivier Award-winning creatives in Giant – John Lithgow, Elliot Levey and Mark Rosenblatt. As subsidised venues reduce their programming output, what does the future of British theatre look like?

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2 months ago

15 minutes 45 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Everything you didn't see at the Olivier Awards

Alex returns from sabbatical to report from behind the scenes at the Olivier awards where Giant, Fiddler on the Roof, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Years were among the big winners. He and Sarah discuss what the prizes reveal about London theatre, the artistic directors making waves - and announce a couple of shows that might be in the running for awards next year

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2 months ago

37 minutes 56 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Bonus episode: Michael Sheen and Russell T Davies discuss their latest collaboration

In a special bonus episode, Alex Wood has a chat with the Welsh National Theatre's artistic director - none other than stage and screen legend Michael Sheen. Sheen will kick off the company's programming with a new, relocated production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town - joined by the award-winning Doctor Who show runner and creative associate Russell T Davies.

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2 months ago

15 minutes 9 seconds

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss talk Six The Musical Live - the new film of their hit show

It’s been quite a year for the talented musical creators. As a new film of their mega-hit Six arrives in cinemas, they tell Sarah why they are still so excited about it. “It’s like being proud of a younger sibling - every bit of it is cool”. They also chat about the closure of their follow up show Why Am I So Single after five months, their plans for the future and why they want to share their experiences with other writers.

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

2 months ago

36 minutes 18 seconds