Welcome …
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.
Latest Episode
060 – A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams
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A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the towering masterpieces of American theatre, distinguished for its frank depiction of sexual compulsion, its lyrical language, and its poignant portrait of mental fragility, as well as the bitter clash between two of the greatest dramatic characters – the damaged and defiant Blanche Dubois and the unrestrained masculine power that is Stanley Kowalski.
As a new production opens in London’s West End, I’m delighted to be joined by Tennessee Williams expert, Professor Thomas Keith, to help survey this giant of a play.
Last Time
059 – Paradise Now! , by Margaret Perry
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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 soothe a myriad of life’s stresses. The women hope that they will find cures to the challenges in their own lives, but the road to Paradise is not so sure and smooth.
Following its acclaimed run at the Bush Theatre in London, Margaret joins me to talk about her perceptive, funny and moving play.
Recent Episodes
058 – Noises Off, by Michael Frayn
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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 itself delivered with extraordinary invention and precision. It has been called the funniest British comedy ever written, and now arrives in London’s West End in a sparkling 40th anniversary production directed by Lindsay Posner.
Lindsay joins me to share his unique experience of this enduring comic masterpiece.
057 – Arms and the Man, by George Bernard Shaw
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G.B. Shaw’s Arms and the Man is both a sparkling romantic comedy and a telling satire of love, war and social pretension. It was Shaw’s first public success as a playwright when it premiered in London in 1894, and is currently enjoying an acclaimed revival at the Orange Tree theatre in Richmond, Surrey.
I’m joined by Shaw expert Ivan Wise, who is a previous editor of The Shavian, the journal of the Shaw Society.
056 – Good, by C.P. Taylor
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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. Professor John Halder’s creeping moral compromise as he joins the Nazi elite in 1930’s Germany is a disturbing reminder of the dangers of populist political crusades.
The play is currently being revived at the Harold Pinter theatre in London with David Tennant in the role of John Halder, and I’m delighted to be joined by the production’s director, Dominic Cooke, to explore the contemporary resonances of this provocative play.
Footnotes
A Streetcar Named Desire – Footnotes
The Footnotes to our episode on Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire include more on the autobiographic sources for the play, observations on the character of Blanche’s young gay husband, and on the social context in the time the play was written.
Noises Off – Footnotes
The Footnotes to our episode on Michael Frayn’s comic masterpiece Noises Off include extracts from the fictional programme to Nothing On, the play-within-the-play, and a reprisal of one of the best jokes in the play.
Arms and the Man – Footnotes
The Footnotes to our episode on George Bernard Shaw’s romantic comedy Arms and the Man include further observations on Shaw’s satire of social pretensions, as well as references to a few of the great names who have taken on the role of Major Sergius Saranoff.
Your host …
I’m Douglas Schatz, founder and host of The Play Podcast.
I had the great privilege to work for a number of years as the Managing Director of Samuel French, the renowned play publishers and theatrical licensing agent. I was lucky enough to be able to read plays and go to the theatre, and call it work. One of the most rewarding parts of my job was the time spent talking in depth with writers, directors, agents, and colleagues about plays. We talked endlessly about plays.
The idea for The Play Podcast is to continue those conversations. To talk in depth about a play, more than you will find in the reviews of a single production. To look at the origins of the play, its plot, themes, characters, and structure. To consider it in the context of the playwright’s life and times, its place in the dramatic canon, and its current and enduring relevance.
Each episode focuses on a single play, or perhaps very occasionally two, to talk about for up to an hour with one or more of our expert guests. We will often choose a play that is live on stage somewhere in the UK, which gives us and listeners the added opportunity to see and review a current production. This is not a review show though, because we are interested in the play itself. We want you to enjoy listening whether or not you are able to see a particular production, and whenever you find us.
Please feel free to contact us at plays@theplaypodcast.com with your comments on our conversations, and with suggestions about plays that you recommend that we could explore on the podcast.
You can email us at plays@theplaypodcast.com
Suggest a play
We’re always open to suggestions about plays to talk about, so if you’d like us to discuss a favourite of yours, please email us at plays@theplaypodcast.com. Let us know why you think we should cover it, and if you know anyone who’d be excited and qualified to talk about it with us (even yourself if modesty permits!).