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The WhatsOnStage Podcast

The WhatsOnStage Podcast

By: Sarah Crompton & Alex Wood
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About this listen

 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!

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Sarah Crompton, Alex Wood & Augusto Koschak Art Entertainment & Performing Arts Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Bonus episode: Special guest Katie Brayben on the magic of returning to a role

    Bonus episode: Special guest Katie Brayben on the magic of returning to a role
    Jun 20 2025
    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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    33 mins
  • Will social media be the end of theatre critics? And are there too many standing ovations?

    Will social media be the end of theatre critics? And are there too many standing ovations?
    Jun 18 2025
    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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    43 mins
  • Behind the scenes at Jamie Lloyd’s Evita

    Behind the scenes at Jamie Lloyd’s Evita
    Jun 13 2025
    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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    46 mins
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