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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!

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

Sarah Crompton, Alex Wood & Augusto Koschak
Art Entertainment & Performing Arts Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Why can theatre be so terrifying?
    Jan 16 2026
    It may not be Halloween, but there definitely seems to be a spooky season on UK stages – with Paranormal Activity making things go bump in the night, A Ghost in Your Ear sending chills down the spine and 2:22 A Ghost Story back on the open road (all before Dracula has begun performances in the West End!). With that in mind, Sarah and Alex put on their bravest faces and discuss why fear works so well on stage. Plus, in a complete tangent, why they're both thrilled to bits about Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey teaming up with Marianne Elliott and Tom Scutt for Sunday in the Park with George.

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    32 mins
  • Bonus episode: The cast of American Psycho let us into the rehearsal room
    Jan 14 2026
    Editor-in-chief Alex Wood is heading back to the 1980s – well, a very specific, very sharp, and very bloody version of them. We’re talking about the highly anticipated revival of American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre. Based on the cult-classic novel by Bret Easton Ellis, with a book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and a synth-heavy score by Duncan Sheik, this production marks a significant moment for London theatre. It is the final production from Rupert Goold in his tenure as the Almeida’s Artistic Director, revisiting the darkly satirical world of Wall Street that he first brought to life on this stage over a decade ago. We chat to Patrick Bateman himself, returning to the Almeida after The Line of Beauty, Arty Froushan, as well as Emily Barber, Zheng Xi Yong, Daniel Bravo, Tanisha Spring and Oli Higginson.

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    36 mins
  • Why are we so obsessed with Shakespeare?
    Jan 9 2026

    As Hamnet starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal opens in cinemas, Sarah and Alex consider the depictions of Shakespeare on screen from Shakespeare in Love to Upstart Crow and what they say about our attitudes to the Bard


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    29 mins
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