The Play Podcast

Douglas Schatz
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  • EVERY TWO MONTHS

Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore 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 plot, themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Visit www.theplaypodcast.com for more information, including extra Footnotes on each episode and a complete list and profiles of our guests. Visit www.patreon.com/theplaypodcast to become a Patron and enjoy additional content and generously support the podcast. Thank you. Also, listen to The Play Review for reviews of some of the current shows on stage in London.

  1. The Weir by Conor McPherson

    22/12/2025

    The Weir by Conor McPherson

    Episode 105: The Weir by Conor McPherson 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. The curtain rises on a small rural pub in northwest Ireland. A few of the regulars have dropped in for company and bit of the craic. This is the simple premise of Conor McPherson's breakthrough, internationally successful play, The Weir. The play is a quiet, yet mesmerising piece of drama that consists of nothing more than a handful of people coming together and telling a few stories. Stories which reveal not only personal anxieties, regret and grief on the part of its characters, but which, in the telling, draw us into a collective experience of the mystery of being alive. The Weir premiered in a tiny space at the Royal Court Upstairs in July 1997. It has since been performed all over the world, and as we recorded this episode a new production was playing in London's West End, directed by the author himself and starring Brendan Gleeson as Jack. I'm delighted to be able to talk with Conor himself about his magical play.

    1h 1m
  2. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

    21/10/2025

    Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

    Episode 104: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Will Tosh 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. William Shakespeare's romantic comedy, Twelfth Night, or What You Will is one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, renowned for its clever cross-dressing plot and festive hi-jinks, but also for its elusive tone, fluctuating between the comic and a darker cruelty. The play is also infused with desire, both declared and suppressed, even subversive, as the characters search for love, status and identity. As we record this episode a new production of the play is playing at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London, and I'm delighted to welcome to the podcast the Globe's Director of Education, Dr Will Tosh.

    1h 12m
  3. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

    02/10/2025

    Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

    Episode 103: Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare 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. Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare's first tragedy, although in fact, scholars believe that Shakespeare did not write the whole play himself. Whatever its origins, the play is notorious for its graphic horror, which includes multiple killings, amputations, decapitations, rape and cannibalism. Horrors that have overwhelmed audiences and alienated critics for centuries. Although the play was hugely popular in Shakespeare's time, later critics dismissed it for its excessive violence and crude, fragmented structure. However, the play's bleak portrait of amoral leadership, sexual violence, racial conflict, and personal and political despair has struck a chord in more recent times, with several acclaimed productions and restored critical opinion. As we record this episode an exciting new production of the play is on stage at the Hampstead theatre in London, having transferred following its acclaimed run at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. The production is directed by Max Webster, who joins me to explore Shakespeare's full-blooded tragedy.

    58 min
  4. Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe

    25/09/2025

    Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe

    Episode 102: Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Duncan Macmillan              Jonny Donahoe 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. Every Brilliant Thing When their mother attempts to take her own life, a seven-year old child decides to start a list; a list of "everything brilliant about the world. Everything worth living for." A list for mum. This is the premise for Every Brilliant Thing, the hit one-person play created by playwright Duncan Macmillan and performer Jonny Donahoe. The play started life at Ludlow Fringe Festival in 2013, and in the decade or so since, it has been seen in over 70 countries around the world. As we record this episode Every Brilliant Thing has reached London's West End, with a rotating cast of five different performers appearing over its three-month run at the Soho Place theatre. The critic, Lyn Gardner, described Every Brilliant Thing as "one of the funniest plays you'll ever see about depression." She is spot on – it is funny and poignant and finally life affirming.  I am very privileged to be joined in this episode by the show's two creators, Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe.

    46 min
  5. The 101 Greatest Plays

    10/09/2025

    The 101 Greatest Plays

    Episode 101: The 101 Greatest Plays Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Michael Billington              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. In 2015 the esteemed theatre critic, Michael Billington, published The 101 Greatest Plays – From Antiquity to the Present. Michael wrote that his selection was intended as a "provocation", a "prelude to debate". Ten years on I invited Michael and the arts journalist, Mark Lawson, to join me to review and debate his criteria and selection. During our discussion we not only wrangled over specific inclusions and exclusions in Michael's list, including most controversially his omission of both King Lear and Waiting for Godot, we also addressed more general questions about the criteria for selection, what elements make a great play, and what makes a play more likely to endure beyond its own time. Join us in the debate!

    1h 17m
  6. A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill

    13/08/2025

    A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill

    Episode 100: A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Beth Wynstra 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 Moon for the Misbegotten is the last play that Eugene O'Neill wrote. It is in some way a eulogy for his brother, Jamie O'Neill, who like the character of Jim Tyrone in this play, drank himself to death. In fact, it is also an epilogue of sorts to his autobiographical masterpiece Long Day's Journey into Night, where we first met Jim Tyrone. It is eleven years later, and Jim is about to leave the family home in Connecticut following the death of his parents, but not before saying a final goodbye to the woman who lives next door, Josie Hogan. Josie and Jim have unacknowledged feelings for each other, but their tortured moonlit night together does not offer them the salvation or future that they may have thought possible. As we record this episode, a new production of A Moon for the Misbegotten is playing at the Almeida theatre in London, and I am delighted to be joined by O'Neill expert, Beth Wynstra, to explore what one American critic called 'a major minor-masterpiece". To mark our 100th episode listeners have a chance to win £100 of theatre tokens – visit https://www.theplaypodcast.com/100-a-moon-for-the-misbegotten-by-eugene-oneill/  for details on how to enter!

    1h 16m
  7. Till the Stars Come Down by Beth Steel

    25/07/2025

    Till the Stars Come Down by Beth Steel

    Episode 099: Till the Stars Come Down by Beth Steel Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: Beth Steel 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 Sylvia and Marek's wedding day. But this is not an entirely traditional English wedding, because unlike her older sisters, Sylvia's husband-to-be is not a local man; Marek is a Polish immigrant. As the festivities unfold, fuelled by beer and vodka, emotions run high, and fault lines appear within the family that will change their lives forever. Beth Steel's Till the Stars Come Down, is an hilarious and heartbreaking family drama, as well as a richly layered exploration of the social and economic landscape of the country they live in. Till the Stars Come Down premiered to great acclaim at the National Theatre in January 2024, and as we record this episode is back on stage at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London's West End. I'm delighted to be joined by the play's author, Beth Steel.

    1h 8m
  8. Stereophonic by David Adjmi

    11/07/2025

    Stereophonic by David Adjmi

    Episode 098: Stereophonic by David Adjmi Host: Douglas Schatz Guest: David Adjmi 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 1976, and a fictional rock band are holed up in a studio in California attempting to record their much anticipated second album. The pressures of an inflated studio budget and raised artistic expectations expose the fault lines in the band's professional and personal relationships. David Adjmi's Tony-award-winning play, Stereophonic, is a fly-on-the-wall depiction of both the magic and the monotony of collaborative artistic endeavour, as the cast recreates the live process of making music, and play out the price they pay for their art and fame. As we record this episode, Stereophonic has opened in London's West End following its triumph on Broadway, and I am thrilled to be joined by the play's author, David Adjmi, to explore his unique creation.

    1h 9m
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About

Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore 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 plot, themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing. Visit www.theplaypodcast.com for more information, including extra Footnotes on each episode and a complete list and profiles of our guests. Visit www.patreon.com/theplaypodcast to become a Patron and enjoy additional content and generously support the podcast. Thank you. Also, listen to The Play Review for reviews of some of the current shows on stage in London.

Information

  • Creator
    Douglas Schatz
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    107
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Play Podcast 2020
  • Show Website
    The Play Podcast

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