Theatre Audience Podcast

This episode, we're celebrating a remarkable variety of theatre, from Ballet Black's 25th anniversary at Sadler's Wells to political intrigue in The Gang of Three, a thrilling musical reinvention of Thelma & Louise at the Young Vic, and a gripping newsroom drama starring Letitia Wright at the National Theatre.Ballet Black at 25Founded by Cassa Pancho, the groundbreaking Ballet Black celebrates 25 years of championing dancers of Black and Asian descent with an extraordinary double bill.Mthuthuzeli November's Olivier Award-winning Ingoma, inspired by the 1946 South African miners' strike, returns alongside …all towards hope, a joyful new commission from acclaimed American choreographer Hope Boykin, making her UK choreographic debut.We explore how this remarkable company continues to challenge conventions, champion diverse voices and tell powerful stories through dance.The Gang of ThreePolitics, ambition and a fascinating glimpse behind the closed doors of Westminster.Written by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky and directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward, The Gang of Three brings together three towering Labour politicians: Roy Jenkins, Denis Healey and Tony Crosland, whose friendships, rivalries and political ambitions helped shape modern Britain.Starring Hywel Morgan as Jenkins, Colin Tierney as Healey and Alan Cox as Crosland, this sharp, witty political drama explores loyalty, ideology and the compromises made in the pursuit of power.Thelma & LouiseBuckle up! The iconic 1991 road movie becomes a brand-new musical at the Young Vic.Amy Lennox stars as Thelma alongside Rachel Tucker as Louise, with Jordan Luke Gage as JD and Trevor Dion Nicholas as Hal.Reimagined for the stage by the film's original Oscar-winning screenwriter Callie Khouri, with music and lyrics by Neko Case and direction by Trip Cullman, this exhilarating musical celebrates female friendship, freedom and rebellion against a world determined to hold women back.We discuss the powerhouse performances, the new score and whether this much-loved cinematic classic finds a fresh life on stage.The StoryLetitia Wright, best known for Marvel's Black Panther, makes her National Theatre debut in The Story, a compelling newsroom thriller by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Clint Dyer.When a white teacher is murdered in a Black neighbourhood, an ambitious young journalist sees an opportunity to break a career-defining story. But as the investigation unfolds, questions of race, truth, journalistic integrity and personal ambition become increasingly tangled.With a formidable cast including Lorraine Toussaint, Ashley Thomas, Aliyah Odoffin and Wilf Scolding, this thought-provoking drama examines the stories we choose to tell, the truths we overlook and the price of getting ahead.From Ballet Black's extraordinary legacy to Westminster power struggles, a rebellious American road trip and the murky ethics of journalism, this episode explores the people who challenge the establishment - and those determined to control the narrative.Four productions. Powerful stories. And some truly exceptional talent.

This episode, we're joined by the wonderfully inventive Tim Crouch - award-winning playwright, director, performer and one of British theatre's most original voices.From My Arm and The Author to I, Malvolio, An Oak Tree and Truth's a Dog Must to Kennel, Tim has spent his career questioning what theatre is, how stories are told and the extraordinary relationship between performer and audience.At the heart of our conversation is his groundbreaking play An Oak Tree, a theatrical experiment in which a different guest actor takes to the stage at every performance, having neither seen nor read the script beforehand. It's an extraordinary exploration of grief, suggestion, imagination and the unpredictable magic of live performance.We explore Tim's unconventional approach to storytelling, his fascination with the audience's imagination, the risks of surrendering control and why uncertainty can be one of theatre's greatest strengths.Thought-provoking, playful and refreshingly unconventional, this is a conversation about creativity, trust and the wonderfully strange things that happen when performers and audiences share a room.Because with Tim Crouch, theatre isn't simply something you watch. It's something you help create.

This episode, we're travelling from the Royal Court Theatre's exciting launch of The Afronauts to the bruising world of Golden Boy, before turning up the volume with Million Dollar Quartet.It's an episode packed with theatrical ambition, extraordinary performances, musical legends and stories about people determined to follow their dreams - whatever the cost.The Afronauts - Royal Court Theatre Launch Party & Cast RevealWe're at the Royal Court Theatre for a special launch party and cast reveal for The Afronauts, an intriguing new production that promises to take audiences on a journey beyond the ordinary. Natalie catches a moment with the writer and co-directors Ryan Calais Cameron and Monique Touko and actor Lucian Msamati. We bring you a flavour of the celebrations, the excitement surrounding the announcement and a first look at the company bringing this ambitious new work to the stage.Golden BoyJosh O'Connor steps into the ring in Golden Boy, Clifford Odets' powerful drama about a gifted young violinist who abandons his musical ambitions for the potentially lucrative but brutal world of professional boxing.It's a story about ambition, identity, family expectations and the sacrifices we make in pursuit of success.O'Connor delivers an intensely physical performance, while Hayley Squires is a particular standout in a production that finds ingenious theatrical ways to bring the violence of boxing to life - without needing to stage a conventional fight.We discuss the clever use of a suspended punchbag, the extraordinary contribution of lighting and sound, and whether the production lands its emotional punches as convincingly as its physical ones.Million Dollar QuartetAnd finally, we're heading back to the birth of rock ’n’ roll!Million Dollar Quartet celebrates the legendary 1956 recording session at Sun Records in Memphis that brought together four extraordinary musicians: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.Packed with iconic hits, infectious energy and a fascinating glimpse into music history, this jukebox musical recreates the night four future legends found themselves together in one recording studio.We discuss the performances, the musicianship and the irresistible appeal of hearing some of rock ’n’ roll's greatest songs performed live on stage.From the promise of new theatre at the Royal Court to Josh O'Connor's bruising battle between art and ambition, and four musical legends making history in Memphis, it's another wonderfully varied week at Theatre Audience Podcast.Three productions. Big ambitions. And plenty of star power.

This episode, we're covering four very different theatrical experiences, from an exclusive press-junket sneak peek at legendary lyricist Don Black's West End celebration From the Heart to a bold reimagining of Molière's Tartuffe, the provocative intimacy of Jerker, and Noël Coward's gloriously chaotic comedy Hay Fever.It's an episode packed with theatrical royalty, wicked humour, unexpected tenderness and some wonderfully questionable behaviour.Don Black's From the Heart - Press Junket Sneak PeekWe kick things off with a special behind-the-scenes visit to the press junket for Don Black's From the Heart, returning to the Garrick Theatre.Celebrating the extraordinary career of Oscar-winning lyricist Don Black, the show brings together much-loved classics from Sunset Boulevard, Aspects of Love and the James Bond films, alongside brand-new material. Featuring Clive Rowe, Caroline O'Connor, Michael D. Xavier, Shona McGarty and Frances Mayli McCann, this promises to be a celebration of one of musical theatre's greatest lyricists. We share a sneak peek at what's in store.Tartuffe (Remixed) Mark Rylance returns to the stage as the deliciously manipulative Pastor Blake in Tartuffe (Remixed), a vibrant reinvention of Molière's classic comedy.Adapted and directed by Darren Raymond, the action moves into a contemporary Nigerian–Jamaican household where family loyalties, religion and an impending wedding collide with one very convincing con artist. With Usifu Jalloh, Nakeba Buchanan, Suzette Llewellyn and Sara Mokonen among the terrific company, this is a bold, funny and surprisingly moving retelling.We discuss Rylance's remarkable ability to disappear into a character and why this 17th-century story about hypocrisy, greed and gullibility feels so wonderfully relevant today.JerkerProvocative, explicit and unexpectedly tender, Jerker by Robert Chesley returns in a 40th-anniversary production directed by Henry Adams.Set in 1980s America against the emerging AIDS crisis, two men begin a relationship through a series of increasingly intimate telephone conversations. Paul Dennison and James Lee play strangers whose sexual fantasies gradually reveal something far more vulnerable and deeply human.We explore how a play that initially appears to be about sex becomes a moving examination of connection, loneliness and queer history.Hay Fever And finally, theatrical royalty behaving very badly!Christine Baranski makes her West End debut opposite Richard E. Grant in Noël Coward's gloriously mischievous Hay Fever, directed by Emily Burns.Baranski plays the outrageously theatrical Judith Bliss, with Grant as her novelist husband David. Joined by Ophelia Lovibond, Will Close, Nancy Carroll and Charles Edwards, the wonderfully self-absorbed Bliss family and their unfortunate house guests embark on a weekend of flirtation, social embarrassment and spectacularly bad manners.We discuss whether Coward's century-old comedy still has the power to delight, and what happens when two major stars share the stage with an ensemble of accomplished comic performers.From Don Black's timeless lyrics and Mark Rylance's masterful deception to intimate late-night phone calls and Christine Baranski causing chaos in the country, it's another gloriously varied week at Theatre Audience Podcast.Four productions. Some extraordinary performers. And absolutely no shortage of drama.

What if one of theatre’s most famous female characters was inspired by a real woman whose own voice was subsequently pushed into the margins?In this episode, we’re joined by Kirsten Shepherd, Professor of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Oxford and leading Ibsen scholar, to uncover the remarkable story of Laura Kieler - the writer and friend of Henrik Ibsen whose personal experiences were transformed into the story of Nora in A Doll’s House, without her knowledge or permission.Kirsten’s research lies at the heart of Breach Theatre’s new production Burning Down the House, which brings Laura out of the footnotes and places her centre stage. We discuss Ibsen’s complicated legacy, the ethics of turning real lives into art, the silencing of women in literary history, and whether knowing Laura’s story changes the way we view A Doll’s House today.We also discover how Laura attempted to reclaim her own narrative through Men of Honour, the play she wrote in response to Ibsen’s actions, now being presented in English for the first time. A fascinating conversation about authorship, appropriation, feminism and who gets to tell our stories - and what happens when the person whose story has been taken finally gets to speak.

This episode, we’re covering four wildly different theatrical experiences: a double bill of opera at Charing Cross Theatre, Noël Coward served with afternoon tea at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, an Agatha Christie mystery at the Mill at Sonning, and the gloriously outrageous Deep-Heat Rivalry at The Other Palace.The Human Voice / The Seven Deadly SinsOne woman, two operas and two very different journeys.Charing Cross Theatre brings together The Human Voice and The Seven Deadly Sins in a fascinating double bill exploring women pushed to their emotional limits.Francis Poulenc and Jean Cocteau’s The Human Voice unfolds through a single devastating telephone conversation as a woman speaks to her former lover for what may be the final time. It’s paired with Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s The Seven Deadly Sins, a biting satire infused with Weimar cabaret and American jazz, in which Anna is divided into two halves of the same soul and sent across America to earn enough money to build her family a home.We discuss two very different musical worlds brought together to create one intriguing psychological portrait.Still LifeBefore there was Brief Encounter, there was Noël Coward’s Still Life.Theatre Royal Drury Lane’s magnificent Grand Saloon is transformed into the refreshment room at Milford Junction station for an intimate, immersive production directed by Tam Williams.With afternoon tea served as part of the experience, the audience sits inside Coward’s world as Rachel Pickup and Alasdair Craig play Laura and Alec, two married strangers whose chance meeting develops into an intensely restrained love affair.Supported by Elizabeth Elvin, Antony Jardine and Seren Sandham-Davies, with music performed live by the company, this is Coward served with tea, sandwiches, longing and heartbreak.We discuss whether placing the audience right inside this quintessentially British love story makes its famous emotional restraint even more powerful.The Mirror Crack’dThere’s been a murder in St Mary Mead - which can only mean one thing: Miss Marple is on the case.Liza Goddard takes on Agatha Christie’s legendary detective in The Mirror Crack’d at the Mill at Sonning, adapted for the stage by Rachel Wagstaff.When Hollywood star Marina Gregg arrives in the village and throws a glamorous party at Gossington Hall, the celebrations end in murder. Secrets emerge, suspects multiply and Miss Marple begins piecing together what really happened.We discuss Goddard’s interpretation of Miss Marple, Sara Crowe’s turn as fading Hollywood star Marina Gregg, and a production directed by Jonathan O’Boyle that left us with plenty to talk about.Deep-Heat RivalryAnd then things get hot. Very hot.Deep-Heat Rivalry at The Other Palace takes the world of professional ice hockey, adds forbidden romance, powerhouse vocals, Shakespeare, tiny towels and an impressive quantity of innuendo - while proudly admitting to having absolutely no understanding of sport.Written and directed by Trevor Ashley, the outrageous parody follows hockey superstars Shane Hollandaise and Ilya Stroganoff, sworn rivals who discover that all that aggression might actually be disguising something considerably steamier.Sario Solomon brings enormous charm and vulnerability to Hollandaise, while Jason Leigh Winter knows exactly what he’s doing from the moment Stroganoff makes his deliciously sultry entrance. Diana Vickers lets rip as The Diva, delivering powerhouse vocals and fearless comedy, while Ross Chisari as Puck provides narration, Shakespeare and some scene-stealing one-liners.Filthy, ridiculous, unapologetically queer and enormous fun, we discuss why Deep-Heat Rivalry might just be one of the best Saturday nights out in London.From Poulenc and Brecht to Christie and Coward - before ending with sweaty hockey players ripping each other’s clothes off - you really can’t accuse us of lacking variety this episode.

In this episode, we sit down with Freddie Opoku-Addaie, Artistic Director & Co-CEO of Dance Umbrella, London’s annual international contemporary dance festival.Freddie takes us through his journey from performer and choreographer to artistic leadership, reflecting on the experiences that shaped his creative voice and what changes when an artist becomes the person making decisions about whose work reaches an audience.We explore what he looks for when programming Dance Umbrella, the responsibility of championing new and underrepresented choreographic voices, how we can broaden our understanding of what contemporary dance can be, and the ongoing challenge of making dance genuinely accessible to wider audiences.Freddie also takes us inside Dance Umbrella Festival 2026, running across London and online this October. This year’s international programme brings together artists including Mamela Nyamza, Akram Khan, Omar Rajeh, Poliana Lima, Yinka Esi Graves, Arno Schuitemaker, Jack Anderson, Charlotte Mclean and Malin Lewis, with work exploring cultural inheritance, identity, community and the joy of gathering together through movement. A warm and wide-ranging conversation about dance, artistic identity, representation, leadership - and what it means to create space for the next generation of artists.

This episode, we’re tackling three wildly different theatrical experiences: the bonkers horror-comedy of Crybabies: The Scaring at Soho Theatre, the musical adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre at Southwark Playhouse, and Tilda Swinton’s remarkable return to the stage in Man to Man at the Royal Court Theatre.Crybabies: The ScaringGenuinely scary one minute and completely ridiculous the next, The Scaring proves exactly why comedy trio Crybabiesbecame such a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe.Directed by Jon Brittain, this fast-paced horror-comedy sees the trio transform themselves into a gloriously chaotic collection of characters as an increasingly bonkers story unfolds. It’s inventive, unpredictable and performed with the kind of chemistry that comes from three comedians completely trusting one another - even when everything around them descends into madness.We discuss the joy of watching performers commit wholeheartedly to the absurd, how successfully the production jumps between laughs and genuine scares, and why this Fringe favourite feels right at home at Soho Theatre.Jane Eyre: The MusicalCharlotte Brontë’s literary classic gets the musical treatment at Southwark Playhouse in an ambitious new production with a book by John Caird and music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, directed by Caird alongside Megan McGinnis.There are definite echoes of Les Misérables in this sweeping retelling of Jane’s journey from a difficult childhood to her complicated relationship with Mr Rochester. Charlie Burn confidently leads a terrific ensemble as Jane, but one of the evening’s great discoveries is Emily-Rose Samuel, making her professional stage debut and proving utterly captivating as both young Jane and Adèle.We discuss the production’s strong performances, effective design and score, while asking whether trying to include quite so much of Brontë’s enormous story ultimately weighs the musical down. It’s beautifully staged - but could a little less Jane Eyre actually have given us more?Man to ManAnd finally, one of the theatrical events of the year.Tilda Swinton returns to the Royal Court in Man to Man, Manfred Karge’s extraordinary play translated by Anthony Vivis and revised by Stephen Unwin.From curtain up to curtain down, Swinton never leaves the stage. Surrounded by the props of the production inside Bunny Christie’s stark, brilliantly illuminated white box, there is nowhere for the performer to hide - and nowhere else for the audience to look.The result is an astonishingly exposed performance, filled with surreal theatrical choices, moments of complete stillness and an extraordinary connection between Swinton and her audience. We discuss her ability to actively listen to a room, the moments where actor and character seem almost to blur together, and a performance that deservedly brought the audience to its feet.With lighting by Ben Ormerod and the creative team reunited for this landmark revival as part of the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary season, Man to Man becomes more than simply an opportunity to see a major screen star on stage. It’s a reminder of what an exceptional theatrical performer Tilda Swinton is.And in a rare Theatre Audience Podcast occurrence, Darren and Natalie actually saw this one together - so they compared notes on an unforgettable night at the Royal Court.Three shows. Three completely different theatrical languages. From screams and silliness to Brontë and Swinton, there’s plenty to unpack.