The WhatsOnStage Podcast

In a new episode, Sarah and Alex mull on the National Theatre's bold new take on Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest led by Sex Education and Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa. This leads them on to a wider discussion about the brilliant success of casting directors in guiding top talent from the stage to the screen – and then back to the stage. Speaking of casting directors, the WhatsOnStage Awards nominees were unveiled this week, with the casting category being one of many chock full of top stage and creative talent. Alex and Sarah reflect on how the awards have changed, and what they say about the UK theatre ecosystem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex takes the role of Santa and Sarah finds her inner Scrooge to round up the top Xmas fare whether your mood is full of joy or melancholy - or a bit of both. It’s a podcast episode wrapped in tinsel with mistletoe on top! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast, Features Editor Tanyel Gumushan sits down with the award-winning designer Paul Tazewell, who has worked on the iconic looks for shows like Hamilton and In the Heights. He was a vital architect for the vibrant and exciting new world of Oz created for the first part of the Wicked movie, in cinemas now. Tazewell discusses his inspirations for the new film’s aesthetic, as well as hidden details and easter eggs fans can look out for. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since its premiere in 2018, The National Theatre’s production of The Lehman Trilogy has enjoyed extraordinary success around the world. As it arrives back in London Sarah meets the current cast John Heffernan, Aaron Krohn and Howard W. Overshown to find out how they get to grips with playing so many characters, what it’s like to tell an epic story - and why everyone walks into the glass. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ahead of starring as Ariel in Jamie Lloyd's new Shakespeare production of The Tempest at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Mason Alexander Park took time out of rehearsals to discuss their second West End role – the first being a fan-favourite spell as the Emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. They also reflect on the rollercoaster world of filming hit series The Sandman and performing in Cabaret at the same time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the eve of A Marvellous Party, a star-filled gala to celebrate Noël Coward, Sarah Crompton talks to producer Julian Bird and Coward’s biographer Oliver Soden about Coward’s importance today. They discuss the range of his talent as a playwright, songwriter, screen writer, diarist and poet and why the image of him as a comfortable man in a dressing gown couldn’t be further from the truth. Did you know that he coined the word gay or that there were people storming out of his plays because he was so shocking? It’s all part of realising that he is more relevant and necessary than ever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nancy’s back! Former co-host of the WhatsOnStage Podcast’s predecessor As An Actress Said to the Critic returns to talk adapting and starring in the critically acclaimed new staging of The Cabinet Minister at the Menier Chocolate Factory, and a plethora of exciting upcoming projects - including a very exciting Hamlet at the RSC… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Sarah and Alex turn their attention to the Great White Way – something that a whole raft of West End productions seem to be doing at the moment. With Operation Mincemeat, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Tammy Faye set to join Sunset Boulevard and The Hills of California over in New York this Tony Awards season, all the signs are there… Closer to home, The Lion King’s 25th anniversary provided a poignant moment of reflection. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Robert Icke tackles Oedipus and Alexander Zeldin reinterprets Antigone as The Other Place, Alex and Sarah talk about the ways Greek tragedies speak to our modern age - and why great actors such as Mark Strong, Lesley Manville, Emma D’Arcy and Tobias Menzies are signing up to star. Plus: And what does it all have to do with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis’ new musical? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Theatres at the moment are working like time machines, whisking audiences back to the 1950s as a new generation of directors explore the work of the past. Sarah and Alex explore the revivals from Look Back in Anger and Roots at the Almeida to Waiting for Godot starring Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.