Shows
The Play PodcastRhinoceros by Eugène IonescoEpisode 095: Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Omar Elerian Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. A rhinoceros charges through the square of a small French village, and soon all of its inhabitants are being transformed into rhinoceros themselves. Eugène Ionesco’s 1959 absurdist satire, Rhinoceros, was conce...2025-05-121h 13
The Play PodcastOedipus the King by SophoclesEpisode 094: Oedipus the King by Sophocles Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Professor Edith Hall Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Sophocles’ tragic drama of the myth of Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother, not only directly inspired Freud’s notorious dream theory, but has itself survived...2025-03-271h 00
The Play PodcastThree Sisters by Anton ChekhovEpisode 093: Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Rory Mullarkey Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, the third of the quartet of great plays that he wrote in the last years of his short life, is a symphonic study of the search...2025-03-101h 09
The Play PodcastA Raisin in the Sun by Lorainne HansberryEpisode 092: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorainne Hansberry Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Tinuke Craig Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. When Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun opened in New York in 1959, its author became the first African-American woman to have a play on Broadway...2025-02-101h 03
The Play PodcastCat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee WilliamsEpisode 091: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Arifa Akbar Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Tennessee Williams’s third great play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a blistering drama of family conflict and repressed sexuality. The play opened on Broadway...2025-01-2856 min
The Play PodcastThe Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar WildeEpisode 090: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Max Webster Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is arguably the most famous romantic comedy in theatrical history. The play is renowned for its effervescent portrait of aristocr...2025-01-0756 min
The Play PodcastWaiting for Godot by Samuel BeckettEpisode 089: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Matthew McFrederick Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot, is a notoriously confounding work of theatre. The play is renowned for its lack of conventional plot or exposition, and for its existen...2024-12-1656 min
The Play PodcastRoots by Arnold WeskerEpisode 088: Roots by Arnold Wesker Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Diyan Zora Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Arnold Wesker’s quiet classic, Roots, is a story of doomed love, rural poverty and social protest, and most of all, of cultural aspiration and growing up and away from family, from on...2024-12-051h 03
The Play PodcastLook Back in Anger by John OsborneEpisode 087: Look Back in Anger by John Osborne Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Dan Rebellato and Atri Banerjee Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger is one of the landmark plays of twentieth century British theatre. It’s raging protagonist, Jimmy Porter, represented a generati...2024-11-251h 09
The Play PodcastDeath of England by Clint Dyer and Roy WilliamsEpisode 086: Death of England by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Roy Williams Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Clint Dyer and Roy William’s trilogy of plays, Death of England, is a searing state-of-the-nation drama voiced by both black and white working-class characters. Having been pe...2024-11-0558 min
The Play PodcastThe Real Thing by Tom StoppardEpisode 085: The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Mark Lawson Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Tom Stoppard is renowned for his intellectual wit and playful dramatic form, both of which are certainly on show in The Real Thing, but the play also explores more perso...2024-10-171h 00
The Play PodcastAbigail's Party by Mike LeighEpisode 084: Abigail's Party by Mike Leigh Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Nadia Fall Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Mike Leigh’s 1977 ‘tragi-comedy’, Abigail’s Party, is renowned for its iconic snapshot of the material and social fabric of its time. The play’s portrait of suburban social pretensions is both hugely f...2024-09-2754 min
The Play PodcastThe Caretaker by Harold PinterEpisode 083: The Caretaker by Harold Pinter Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Justin Audibert Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. When it premiered in London’s West End in 1960, The Caretaker catapulted its author to fame and fortune. The play is set entirely in a single room in a dilapidated house...2024-07-1049 min
The Play PodcastPeople, Places & Things by Duncan MacmillanEpisode 082: People, Places & Things by Duncan Macmillan Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Duncan Macmillan and Jeremy Herrin Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Duncan Macmillan’s People, Places & Things is a blisteringly frank and funny portrait of addiction and invented identity. When the play premiered at the National Theatre in 2015...2024-06-201h 05
The Play PodcastThe Government Inspector by Nikolay GogolEpisode 081: The Government Inspector by Nikolay Gogol Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Patrick Myles Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Vladimir Nabokov described The Government Inspector as the “greatest play in the Russian language”. Gogol’s comedy of mistaken identity is an unexpected mix of fantastical farce and serious social satir...2024-05-3153 min
The Play PodcastLong Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'NeillEpisode 080: Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Jeremy Herrin Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Eugene O’Neill wrote his autobiographical magnum opus, Long Day’s Journey into Night, in 1941, but because of the personal revelations it contained he gave explicit instructions that it w...2024-05-1053 min
The Play PodcastThe Hills of California by Jez ButterworthEpisode 079: The Hills of California by Jez Butterworth Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Sean McEvoy Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. A new Jez Butterworth play is a theatrical event. The Hills of California is currently running at the Harold Pinter theare in London’s West End, directed by Sam Mend...2024-04-1954 min
The Play PodcastThe Lover and The Collection by Harold PinterEpisode 078: The Lover and The Collection by Harold Pinter Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Lindsay Posner Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. We have a double-bill in this episode of two short plays written by Harold Pinter in the early 1960s: The Lover and The Collection, both of which explore...2024-04-0551 min
The Play PodcastAn Enemy of the People by Henrik IbsenEpisode 077: An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Kirsten Shepherd-Barr Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Henrik Ibsen’s play An Enemy of the People is a fable of truth and lies, politics and power, and the challenge and costs of pursuing an unpopula...2024-03-071h 05
The Play PodcastOthello by William ShakespeareEpisode 076: Othello by William Shakespeare Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Farah Karim-Cooper Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Shakespeare’s devastating exploration of race, reputation and jealousy, The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice was a popular success when it was first performed during Shakespeare’s lifetime, but in the ce...2024-02-1356 min
The Play PodcastThe Homecoming by Harold PinterEpisode 075: The Homecoming by Harold Pinter Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Matthew Dunster Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Harold Pinter’s disturbing exploration of toxic masculinity and sexual maneuvering, The Homecoming premiered in 1965. The play’s portrait of misogyny, and even more disturbing, the apparent female complicity, was shocking a...2024-01-261h 04
The Play PodcastGhosts by Henrik IbsenEpisode 074: Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Kirsten Shepherd-Barr Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Henrik Ibsen’s dark family drama Ghosts provoked outrage when it was published in 1881, its treatment of sexual disease, incest and euthanasia too much for the critics. More than 140 years later its port...2024-01-1556 min
The Play PodcastThe House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia LorcaEpisode 073: The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Maria Delgado Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Federico Garcia Lorca’s unsparing drama The House of Bernarda Alba is not only a tragic family drama, but its portrait of oppression and social conformity also ref...2024-01-0359 min
The Play PodcastShe Stoops to Conquer by Oliver GoldsmithEpisode 072: She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Tom Littler Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Oliver Goldsmith’s ‘sentimental’ or ‘laughing’ comedy She Stoops to Conquer is both a romantic comedy and a deft social satire of town and country in late 18th century England...2023-12-1355 min
The Play PodcastClyde's by Lynn NottageEpisode 071: Clyde's by Lynn Nottage Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Lynette Linton Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Lynn Nottage’s play Clyde’s is set in a truck-stop diner on the outskirts of Reading, Pennsylvania. This is no ordinary diner though, because the short-order cooks that make the sandwiche...2023-12-0449 min
The Play PodcastKing Lear by William ShakespeareEpisode 070: King Lear by William Shakespeare Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Paul Prescott Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. The poet Percy Shelley called King Lear “the most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world”. It is a prodigious play in every sense. There are ten major rol...2023-11-171h 08
The Play PodcastA View from the Bridge by Arthus MillerEpisode 069: A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Holly Race Roughan Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge tells the tragic story of Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman who works on the docks under Brooklyn Bridge. Eddie lives wi...2023-11-011h 07
The Play PodcastPygmalion by George Bernard ShawEpisode 068: Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Ivan Wise Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Pygmalion is arguably George Bernard Shaw’s most famous play, partly because it spawned the even-more famous musical My Fair Lady. The enduring popularity of the play can be attributed to the r...2023-10-1759 min
The Play PodcastRed Pitch by Tyrell WilliamsEpisode 067: Red Pitch by Tyrell Williams Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Tyrell Williams and Daniel Bailey Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Tyrell William’s award-winning, debut play Red Pitch is set on an inner-city fottball ptich in South London. It is a coming-of-age story, with teenage boys fighting to belie...2023-09-2750 min
The Play PodcastThe Pillowman by Martin McDonaghEpisode 066: The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Professor Eamonn Jordan Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Martin McDonagh’s 2004 play The Pillowman is an unsettling mix of gruesome fairy tales, child abuse, and murder, overlaid with McDonagh’s signature black humour. McDonagh’s blend of extreme viole...2023-08-241h 00
The Play ReviewDear EnglandJodi and I review James Graham's latest play Dear England, which is running on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre in London until 11th August 2023, but you will have another chance to cheer when it transfers to the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End from the 9th of October. Graham has earned acclaim for masterfully turning contemporary British history into accessible and thought-provoking theatrical drama. Dear England charts the rise and influence of Gareth Southgate as the Manager of the England men’s football team from his appointment in 2016 to the present day. As unlikely as...2023-08-1028 min
The Play ReviewThe Circle and Private LivesJodi Rilot joins me for the first time to review two shows: The Circle by Somerset Maugham at the Orange Tree theatre in Richmond-upon-Thames, and Private Lives by Noël Coward at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Tom Littler. who directed The Circle, draws a line connecting Somerset Maugham to Noël Coward in the history of English drama, so it is appropriate that we cover these two shows together. 2023-08-0129 min
The Play ReviewThe Motive and the CueThe Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre in London is currently one of the hottest tickets in town. There are numerous reasons why this show is so popular, starting with the fact that it tells the story of when two acting giants of the 20th century, Sir John Gielgud and Richard Burton, came together to stage Hamlet on Broadway in 1964. This was at a time when Burton had just married Elizabeth Taylor, and they were the most famous couple in the world. Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn recreate Gielgud and Burton respectively. The p...2023-08-0119 min
The Play PodcastAccidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franca RameEpisode 065: Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franca Rame Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Tom Basden and Daniel Raggett Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franca Rame is both an hilarious farce and a biting satire. Written in 1...2023-08-0159 min
The Play PodcastA Midsummer Night's Dream by William ShakespeareEpisode 064: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Emma Smith Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. A Midsummer Night’s Dream has all the ingredients of classic romantic comedy: a magical setting, a merry-go-round of earnest young lovers, a fairy King and Queen, and a troup...2023-06-2959 min
The Play PodcastDancing at Lughnasa by Brian FrielEpisode 063: Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Josie Rourke Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Brian Friel’s magical memory play Dancing at Lughnasa is set at the time of the harvest festival in rural Ireland in 1936. It’s account of the events of that summ...2023-05-241h 13
The Play PodcastPrivate Lives by Noël CowardEpisode 062: Private Lives by Noël Coward Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Oliver Soden Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Noël Coward’s play Private Lives is both a dazzling dramatic comedy and an excoriating portrait of love and marriage among the disaffected elite of the Jazz Age. Coward h...2023-04-271h 02
The Play PodcastSea Creatures by Cordelia LynnThe Play Podcast - 061 - Sea Creatures by Cordelia Lynn Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Cordelia Lynn The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Cordelia Lynn’s play Sea Creatures is a poetic exploration of loss and grief, its setting betwixt the sea and shore rich in metaphoric resonances. As we re...2023-04-131h 00
The Play PodcastA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee WilliamsThe Play Podcast - 060 - A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Thomas Keith The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the towering masterpieces of American theatre, distinguished for its frank depiction of sexual compulsion, its lyrical langu...2023-03-151h 02
The Play PodcastParadise Now! by Margaret PerryThe Play Podcast - 059 - Paradise Now! , by Margaret Perry Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Margaret Perry The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Margaret Perry’s new play Paradise Now! brings together a group of women who join a pyramid selling scheme promoting a range of essential oils that soot...2023-03-0255 min
The Play PodcastNoises Off by Michael FraynThe Play Podcast - 058 - Noises Off by Michael Frayn Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Lindsay Posner The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Michael Frayn’s classic comedy Noises Off is a work of theatrical genius. Its parody of a hapless acting troupe putting on a dreadful sex farce is...2023-02-0752 min
The Play PodcastArms and the Man by George Bernard ShawThe Play Podcast - 057 - Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Ivan Wise The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. G.B. Shaw’s Arms and the Man is both a sparkling romantic comedy and a telling satire of love, war and social p...2023-01-121h 01
The Play PodcastGood by C.P. TaylorThe Play Podcast - 056 - Good by C.P. Taylor Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Dominic Cooke The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. C.P. Taylor’s powerful, cautionary play Good charts how an ostensibly ‘good’ person can become not just complicit to evil behaviour, but an active participant...2022-12-221h 08
The Play PodcastSpring Awakening by Frank WedekindThe Play Podcast - 055 - Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Professor Karen Leeder The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Frank Wedekind’s dark, expressionist play Spring Awakening is a cautionary portrait of adolescent angst and rebellion against oppressive social strictures and family pressures. Its fran...2022-11-211h 01
The Play PodcastThe Crucible by Arthur MillerThe Play Podcast - 054 - The Crucible by Arthur Miller Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Dr Stephen Marino The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible recreates the terror of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 when a religious hysteria gripped the Puritan community. Miller wrote th...2022-11-011h 08
The Play PodcastThe Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt BrechtThe Play Podcast - 053 - The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Christopher Haydon The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Bertolt Brecht wrote The Caucasian Chalk Circle in 1944 while in exile in the United States as a parable about the chaos and costs of war...2022-10-1853 min
The Play PodcastThe Seagull by Anton ChekhovThe Play Podcast - 052 - The Seagull by Anton Chekhov Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Dan Rebellato The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull was a disaster on its opening night in St Petersburg in 1896. The unsettling blend of comedy and pathos that confuse...2022-09-261h 02
The Play PodcastCloser by Patrick MarberThe Play Podcast - 051 - Closer by Patrick Marber Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Clare Lizzimore The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Patrick Marber’s play Closer depicts a merry-go-round of metropolitan relationships powered by sex and betrayal. Its clever and candid dissection of the destructive power of sexual d...2022-08-271h 04
The Play PodcastJerusalem by Jez ButterworthThe Play Podcast - 050 - Jersualem by Jez Butterworth Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: David Ian Rabey The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Jez Butterworth’s play Jersualem is one of the landmark plays of the 21st century, acclaimed for both its lyrical and elusive text exploring English identit...2022-07-1855 min
The Play PodcastJitney by August WilsonThe Play Podcast - 049 - Jitney by August Wilson Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Wil Johnson and Tony Marshall The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Although August Wilson’s play Jitney is set in the office of an unlicensed taxi company in Pittsburgh in 1977, its themes, and the relatio...2022-07-0551 min
The Play PodcastMuch Ado About Nothing by William ShakespeareThe Play Podcast - 048 - Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Lucy Bailey The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is rightly renowned for the “merry war” of wits between the reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick, but alongsid...2022-06-1658 min
The Play PodcastMiddle by David EldridgeThe Play Podcast - 047 - Middle by David Eldridge Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: David Eldridge The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. David Eldridge’s new play Middle, now playing at the National Theatre, follows on from his 2017 play Beginning. It is the second in what will be a “tript...2022-05-3055 min
The Play PodcastAll My Sons by Arthur MillerThe Play Podcast - 046 - All My Sons by Arthur Miller Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Douglas Rintoul The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Arthur Miller’s breakthrough play All My Sons is both a searing family tragedy and an exploration of the moral challenges that Miller believed were in...2022-05-1258 min
The Play PodcastTop Girls by Caryl ChurchillThe Play Podcast - 045 - Top Girls by Caryl Churchill Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Elaine Aston The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Caryl Churchill’s play Top Girls was a powerful critique of Thatcherite Britain when it was written in 1982. It’s rightly renowned for its theatrical invention...2022-04-2858 min
The Play PodcastClybourne Park by Bruce NorrisThe Play Podcast - 044 - Clybourne Park Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Oliver Kaderbhai The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. It is 1959 and Russ and Bev have sold their 3-bedroom bungalow in the all-white neighbourhood of Clybourne Park in Chicago to a “coloured family”. The sale sparks heated debate b...2022-04-1459 min
The Play PodcastFaith Healer by Brian FrielThe Play Podcast - 043 - Faith Healer by Brian Friel Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Joe Dowling The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Brian Friel’s play Faith Healer is a literary and theatrical masterpiece, acclaimed for the beauty of its language, its innovative form, and the bathetic yet trag...2022-04-0157 min
The Play PodcastBlasted by Sarah KaneThe Play Podcast - 042 - Blasted by Sarah Kane Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Graham Saunders The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Sarah Kane’s explosive play Blasted outraged critics on its debut in 1995 with its disturbing depictions of sex and violence. It’s since become a landmark in modern...2022-02-2556 min
The Play PodcastDoubt by John Patrick ShanleyEpisode 041: Doubt by John Patrick Shanley Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Monica Dolan The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Sister Aloysius Beauvier, principal of St Nicholas Catholic school in the Bronx in 1964, has her doubts about the school pastor, Father Flynn, and his relationship with 12-year-old Donald Muller. Her...2022-02-0458 min
The Play PodcastThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time adapted by Simon StephensEpisode 040: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time adapted by Simon Stephens Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Simon Stephens The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Simon Stephens’s magical adaptation of Mark Haddon’s bestselling novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been a sma...2022-01-1355 min
The Play PodcastThe Best of Enemies by James GrahamEpisode 039: Best of Enemies by James Graham Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: James Graham The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. James Graham's new play Best of Enemies re-enacts the explosive TV debates between American political pundits Gore Vidal and William F Buckley from 1968, and in so doing turns the...2021-12-231h 01
The Play PodcastMacbeth by William ShakespeareEpisode 038: Macbeth by William Shakespeare Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Professor Emma Smith The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a tragedy of love, ambition and betrayal, propelled by relentless energy and shocking violence, and infused by an air of the supernatural. It has some of t...2021-12-021h 11
The Play PodcastBlue/Orange by Joe PenhallEpisode 037: Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Joe Penhall and James Dacre The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. In Joe Penhall’s explosive and unsettling play Blue/Orange we are asked to observe and judge an extended debate between two psychiatrists who differ on their di...2021-11-181h 03
The Play PodcastHamlet by William ShakespeareEpisode 036: Hamlet by William Shakespeare Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Greg Hersov The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. It is arguably the world’s most famous play. The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark contains all of the elements of great drama: a revenge thriller, a family ripped a...2021-10-281h 11
The Play PodcastOur Country's Good by Timberlake WertenbakerEpisode 035: Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Matt Beresford The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. It is 1789 and a group of convicts in the newly-founded colony of Botany Bay in Australia are assembled to put on a production of George Farquhar’s Restoration Comedy...2021-10-141h 02
The Play PodcastThe Recruiting Officer by George FarquharEpisode 034: The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Matt Beresford Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. George Farquhar’s rollicking Restoration Comedy The Recruiting Officer is ostensibly a portrait of officers engaged in the nefarious art of impressing men into the army in the country town of...2021-09-241h 02
The Play PodcastLeopoldstadt by Tom StoppardEpisode 033: Leopoldstadt by Tom Stoppard Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Patrick Marber Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Tom Stoppard’s ambitious new play Leopoldstadt is a sweeping work of history and ideas which charts the diaspora and decline of an Austrian Jewish family through the convulsive events of the firs...2021-09-0956 min
The Play PodcastFootnotes Volume 3Episode 032: Footnotes Volume 3 Host: Douglas Schatz Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Footnotes Volume 3 is a recording of the facts and observations that we’ve published on the website to supplement the plays that we’ve covered in episodes 24-31. A smorgasbord of trivia and analysis ranging from Greek Tragedy...2021-08-2645 min
The Play PodcastHappy Days by Samuel BeckettEpisode 031: Happy Days by Samuel Beckett Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Lisa Dwan Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Samuel Beckett’s third great dramatic masterpiece Happy Days is a timeless exploration of existential threat and personal survival. It’s central image of Winnie buried in a mound of scorched e...2021-08-1250 min
The Play PodcastEscaped Alone by Caryl ChurchillEpisode 030: Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Elaine Aston Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Caryl Churchill’s stunning play Escaped Alone presents an ordinary scene of four women of a certain age chatting over tea in a suburban garden. Of course not all is as tranq...2021-07-2959 min
The Play PodcastA Taste of Honey by Shelagh DelaneyEpisode 029: A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Nadine Holdsworth Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey caused a sensation when it appeared at the Theatre Royal Stratford in 1958 because of its frank portrayal of a working-class, single mother a...2021-07-151h 01
The Play PodcastGirl from the North Country by Conor McPherson, music and lyrics by Bob DylanEpisode 028: Girl from the North Country by Conor McPherson, music and lyrics by Bob Dylan Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Conor McPherson Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Girl from the North Country is an extraordinary collaboration between the playwright Conor McPherson and the musician and song writer Bob Dylan...2021-06-031h 09
The Play PodcastPresent Laughter by Noël CowardEpisode 027: Present Laughter by Noël Coward Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Alan Brodie Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Garry Essendine is a star of the London stage with an ego and celebrity lifestyle to match. But as he passes forty his excesses threaten to bring down the entir...2021-05-201h 00
The Play PodcastA Servant to Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni (& One Man Two Guvnors by Richard Bean)Episode 026: A Servant to Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni (& One Man Two Guvnors by Richard Bean) Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Justin Greene Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. One Podcast Two Plays! Carlo Goldoni's Commedia dell'Arte classic A Servant to Two Masters and Richard Bean's hilarious update One Man...2021-05-061h 01
The Play PodcastMedea by EuripidesEpisode 025: Medea by Euripides Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Professor Edith Hall Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. The dramatic tragedy of a wife who murders her own two sons in a desperate act of grief and revenge remains as disturbing and deeply moving as when it was written near...2021-04-221h 00
The Play PodcastConsent by Nina RaineEpisode 024: Consent by Nina Raine Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Nina Raine and Adam James Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. The main characters in Nina Raine’s play Consent are barristers contesting a brutal rape case. As the case unfolds the lawyers’ marriages come unravelled, and they themselves cross the...2021-04-0856 min
The Play PodcastFootnotes Volume 2Episode 023: Footnotes Volume 2 Host: Douglas Schatz Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Footnotes Volume 2 is a selection of facts and observations culled from the library of information that we’ve compiled to accompany each of the plays in the past ten episodes. These include fascinating bits of trivia as well a...2021-03-251h 02
The Play PodcastShook by Samuel BaileyEpisode 022: Shook by Samuel Bailey Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Samuel Bailey and George Turvey Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Samuel Bailey’s play Shook is set in a young offenders institution, where three young men are taking an unlikely vocational class in parenting skills. The three teenagers are, or...2021-03-111h 08
The Play PodcastThe Glass Menagerie by Tennessee WilliamsEpisode 021: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: John Tiffany Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Tennessee Williams breakthrough play The Glass Menagerie is a very personal portrait of Williams’ own flawed family. It first opened on Broadway in March 1945 to rave reviews, it’s box office...2021-02-251h 03
The Play PodcastWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - Bonus extract about the filmEpisode 020- Bonus: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee - A short addendum on the film Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: John Mitchinson and Andy Miller Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. This is a short addendum extracted from our conversation in episode 20 in which we discuss the...2021-02-1411 min
The Play PodcastWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward AlbeeEpisode 020: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: John Mitchinson and Andy Miller Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. It is 2:00 am, and George and Martha have invited a young couple for after-party drinks to their home on a New England university campus. What...2021-02-121h 08
The Play PodcastThe Welkin by Lucy KirkwoodEpisode 019: The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Lucy Kirkwood Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. It is 1759 in East Anglia. A child has been murdered and a young woman has been convicted to hang for the crime. She ‘pleads her belly’ and a jury of matrons...2021-01-281h 00
The Play PodcastCopenhagen by Michael FraynEpisode 018: Copenhagen by Michael Frayn Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Michael Frayn Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth without expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. It is September 1941. German physicist Werner Heisenberg is visiting his friend and former colleague, Danish physicist Niels Bohr at his home in Copenhagen. Denmark is occupied by the Third Reich, and both men...2021-01-071h 03
The Play PodcastThe Duchess of Malfi by John WebsterEpisode 017: The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Professor Emma Smith Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. John Webster's 400-year-old play The Duchess of Malfi is a potboiler of courtly love, intrigue and murder. It has endured not just for its bloody plot, but for...2020-12-1759 min
The Play PodcastOleanna by David MametEpisode 016: Oleanna by David Mamet Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Lucy Bailey Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. David Mamet's play Oleanna about the abuse of patriarchal power caused intense controversy and divided audiences when it was first produced in 1992. It is being revived this year at the Theatre Roya...2020-12-031h 02
The Play PodcastThe Father by Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher HamptonEpisode 015: The Father by Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher Hampton Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Sir Christopher Hampton Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Florian Zeller’s disturbing and moving play The Father presents a piercing portrait of a family living with dementia. Anyone who has witnessed the cruel effects...2020-11-1259 min
The Play PodcastRockets and Blue Lights by Winsome PinnockEpisode 014: Rockets and Blue Lights by Winsome Pinnock Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Winsome Pinnock Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Winsome Pinnock's powerful new play Rockets and Blue Lights explores the continuing legacy of the slave trade by allo...2020-10-2258 min
The Play PodcastDeath of a Salesman by Arthur MillerEpisode 013: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Dr Stephen Marino Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Arthur Miller’s portrait of an ordinary American family in post-war Brooklyn has become an enduring presence on sta...2020-10-081h 02
The Play PodcastFootnotes 1 - Douglas SchatzEpisode 012: Footnotes 1 Host: Douglas Schatz Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. This episode is a recorded ragbag of selected extra Footnotes that we've compiled during the research and conversations from our first eleven episodes. You'll hear trivial titbits of info...2020-09-0356 min
The Play PodcastBeginning - by David EldridgeEpisode 011: Beginning by David Eldridge Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: David Eldridge Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. In David Eldridge’s wonderful two-hander, Beginning, we eavesdrop on a funny, poignant and potentially life-changing date between two people whose lives...2020-08-2052 min
The Play PodcastAlbion - by Mike BartlettEpisode 010: Albion by Mike Bartlett Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Victoria Hamilton and Nicholas Rowe Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Mike Bartlett's major new play Albion is a funny and moving portrait of an individual family coping with grief...2020-08-061h 00
The Play PodcastNigel Slater's Toast - Henry Filloux-BennettEpisode 009: Nigel Slater's Toast by Henry Filloux-Bennett Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Henry Filloux-Bennett and Nigel Slater Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Nigel Slater’s Toast is an innovative dramatisation of the award-winning memoir of the same name, that de...2020-07-231h 00
The Play PodcastThe Deep Blue Sea - Terrence RattiganEpisode 008: The Deep Blue Sea by Terrence Rattigan Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Dan Rebellato, playwright, journalist and Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London. Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Terence Rattigan’s masterpiece The Deep Blue...2020-07-091h 00
The Play PodcastLungs - Duncan MacmillanEpisode 007: Lungs by Duncan Macmillan Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: George Spender, former editorial director at Oberon Books. Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. A young couple navigate the age-old debate of whether or when to embark on having a ba...2020-06-2552 min
The Play PodcastBetrayal - Harold PinterEpisode 006: Betrayal by Harold Pinter Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Mark Taylor-Batty, senior lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of Leeds. Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Pinter’s modern classic dissects the dynamics of betrayal in marriage, friend...2020-06-1159 min
The Play PodcastThe Tempest - William ShakespeareEpisode 005: The Tempest by William Shakespeare Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: The actor, Tim McMullan Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play, which we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. From the dramatic opening shipwreck on an “isle full of noises, sounds and sweet airs”, Shakespeare’s late masterpiece...2020-05-2859 min
The Play PodcastThe Revlon Girl - Neil Anthony DockingEpisode 004: The Revlon Girl by Neil Anthony Docking Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Neil Anthony Docking, the play's author Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play – often one that is on stage somewhere in the UK – and we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Eight months after the disaster...2020-05-1458 min
The Play PodcastEndgame Bonus: on Beckett's life and Waiting for GodotEpisode 003 Bonus: Endgame by Samuel Beckett - More on Beckett's life and Waiting for Godot Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Dr Matthew McFrederick, Lecturer in Theatre at the University of Reading. Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play – often one that is on stage somewhere in the UK – and we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the p...2020-04-3014 min
The Play PodcastEndgame - Samuel BeckettEpisode 003: Endgame by Samuel Beckett Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Dr Matthew McFrederick, Lecturer in Theatre at the University of Reading. Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play – often one that is on stage somewhere in the UK – and we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. The stage is empty...2020-04-3059 min
The Play PodcastUncle Vanya - Anton ChekhovEpisode 002: Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Nick Hern, Founder of Nick Hern Books and publisher of Conor McPherson’s new adaptation of the Chekhov classic. Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play – often one that is on stage somewhere in the UK – and we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play i...2020-04-1658 min
The Play PodcastA Doll’s House - Henrik IbsenEpisode 001: A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Dan Rebellato, playwright and Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play – often one that is on stage somewhere in the UK – and we talk about it in more depth than you will find in the reviews of any one production. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing...2020-03-2959 min