Play Ground

Nancy Netherwood & Sam Webber
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  • PERFORMING ARTS
  • EVERY TWO WEEKS

A fortnightly theatre bookclub hosted by Nancy Netherwood and Sam Webber. Every other Thursday we take a deep dive into a different play from a range of genres, writers, times and places - join in the conversation over on Instagram @playground_pod

  1. 5 FEB

    Spider's Web by Agatha Christie

    Send us a text 'The trashiest play we've ever done.' Content Warnings: Murder/Drugs/Classism Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics) Theme music this episode: Spooky music by Victor_Natas -- https://freesound.org/s/560181/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

    46 min

  2. 22 JAN

    The Seagull by Anton Chekhov

    Send us a text After an infamously terrible debut, this classic Russian play went on to define naturalism, changing how we make theatre in the West forever. It is also full of sad theatre makers, which may go some way to explain its enduring popularity with theatre makers. We talk 3D characters, endurance, and theatres first goth icon. Content Warnings: Suicide/Ageism/Infant death/Mortality Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

    55 min

  3. 8 JAN

    Futureproof by Lynda Radley

    Send us a text A travelling 'Odditorium' is struggling to make ends meet, and as a change of tactic the performers start trying to make themselves as normal as can be. If you can see how bleak this is about to get, then congratulations on having more insight than Riley, the owner of this circus. We talk fables, otherness, and the futility of trying to fit in. Content Warnings: Domestic abuse/Transphobia/Ableism/Child Abuse/Forced Surgery Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

    47 min

  4. 04/12/2025

    Misterman by Enda Walsh

    Send us a text Cillian Murphy somehow remains looking beautiful through this deeply intense and gruelling play - first performed in 1999 by Walsh himself, we very specifically take a look at the revised/updated 2011 version which took the intimate one-person show and blew it up to National Theatre size. We talk the victim mentality, routine as self-expression, and bootleg theatre recordings. Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

    46 min

  5. 20/11/2025

    31 - Midnight Movie by Eve Leigh

    Send us a text Is this a play? Performance art? Essay? Real or not real? This play/text/email chain was originally presented as a live performance and digital experience combination, then printed onto paper, and now thrust back onto the internet by us in the form of audio podcast exploration. Heavy.  We talk chronic illness, the digital body, and the horrors/freedoms that the internet brings. Also, how cool Eve Leigh is in general. Eve Leigh we love you, if you see this please hit us up. Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

    35 min

  6. 06/11/2025

    30 - The Sea by Edward Bond

    Send us a text East coast round 2!  We talk aliens, village gossip, and the strange prescience of this play written in 1973 about 1907 when being read in 2025. FAIRYTALE UPDATE: I have searched and can find nothing substantial about this fairytale or why it is the birth of drama in children. If anyone has any ideas please get in touch. Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

    39 min

  7. 22/10/2025

    29 - The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood

    Send us a text Once again we dive into a time bending play about sad women. This time it's Lucy Kirkwood's 2020 play The Welkin; set in 18th century Suffolk/Norfolk, 12 women must decide the fate of another in this epicly jam-packed courtroom(ish) drama. We talk oppression, class solidarity, and jokes about Lowestoft. Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

    48 min

  8. 08/10/2025

    28 - The Glow by Alistair McDowall

    Send us a text Time. Ghosts. Violence. Hope. Academia.  We return to pod favourite Alistair McDowall for his incredible 2022 play The Glow.  Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

    43 min
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About

A fortnightly theatre bookclub hosted by Nancy Netherwood and Sam Webber. Every other Thursday we take a deep dive into a different play from a range of genres, writers, times and places - join in the conversation over on Instagram @playground_pod

Information

  • Creator
    Nancy Netherwood & Sam Webber
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Play Ground
  • Show Website
    Play Ground