Step 1) Nuclear Meltdown Step 2) Gang Warfare Over Simpsons Quotes Step 3) ???? Step 4) The Greatest Story Ever Told If you're not familiar with the play of post-apocalyptic pop-culture mythology, prepare to have your mind blown, as we discuss Anne Washburn's play all about The Simpsons and the fusion of high/low art. Have some feedback? A play you…

Despite the characters explicitly talking about the cold all the time, prepare to hear about some very hot and sweaty goings on in this William's classic. When a young hot guy walks into a Southern town that's afraid of hot people, there's prejudice and hatred to deal with on top of all the wild animal metaphors that Tennessee loves so much. We dis…

Up front: 1) TW, this episode contains quite frank discussions of a variety of grisly topics, including sexual assault and suicide. 2) This podcast is about the original play, NOT the musical version (though we do of course mention the musical as how could you not!? In particular the recent Almeida production which, spoiler alert, we love) Have som…

It was inevitable that at some point we'd bump into the bard on our ever winding theatrical-textual journey, and we do so what in our un-researched opinion is 'one of the more obscure ones.' Cymbeline is a play about a young couple who vow their love to each other but then hate each other but then don't really and also this horrible man named Clote…

You Stupid Darkness! takes us into the world of Brightline, a call centre for those who need to talk to someone about their problems, and the 4 volunteers who answer those calls late at night. Meet Frances, Angie, Jon, and Joey the work experience boy, as they navigate life and each other. Oh, and also the apocalypse is in full swing. Have some fee…

The Flick is a 2013 play set in a cinema, in which you the audience sit where the screen is and watch as three employees get into some serious sweeping. This often silent and uneventful play is brim full of sad heartfelt characters, musings on what it means to be a grown up, and terrible opinions about films. Also discussed: - The power of celluloi…

The Hothouse (so called because the house is...hot?) is a 1980 play by Harold Pinter which was actually written in 1958, but still has his signature style of heightened language, biting edge and yes, lots of famous pauses. It's been a while since we did one of these, so there's lots of catching up to do on theatre and genre-based theatre, as well a…

Six Characters is a modern classic. Or maybe just a classic. It's hard to know where the age boundaries for those things are. Either way in this play Pirandello brings an early example of going full meta in theatre, introducing a rehearsal room full of actors (and maybe the real director, stage manager and technician) to a group of fictional charac…

The Woods is poetry on the stage. Okay, so all plays are poetry on the stage, but this one even more so. Inhabiting an American woodland and also a British kitchen, our protagonist 'The Woman' is continually haunted by 'The Wolf,' an evil figure who may be her son that was, or an abusive partner, or her inner psyche, or the outside world, or probab…

This is the second in McCraney's 'Brother Sister Plays' trilogy, though is the first one he wrote. Drawing on Yoruba cosmology transposed into present day Louisiana, The Brothers Size is a poetic yet brutally grounded story of two brothers trying to reconnect after one returns from a stint in prison. Emotions abound. Have some feedback? A play you'…

This 2000 play is a landmark text in verbatim theatre. Documenting the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Laramie, Wyoming resident Matthew Shepard, The Laramie Project is a collation of almost 2 years of interviews with Laramie residents. All at once it is a portrait of a town, a stark warning, an examination of everyday human hypocrisy, an advocatio…

This 1930s play is about two single women who run a girls' school together, and how their lives are brought crashing down when a student accuses them of lesbianism. We discuss the play's treatment of queer issues, its place (or not) on today's stage, and the eerily accurate depiction of lockdown life in Act 3. Have some feedback? A play you'd like …

Part 2 of an Oresteia double bill, this time we take a look at Robert Icke's totally new adaptation of last episode's classic. We talk altering plot points, phycological complexity, and the time period-fluid setting of Icke's plays. Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddy Chat to host N…

First part of an Oresteia double bill, this time we take a look at a straight translation of the original. We talk gender representation, off-stage gore, and the complexities of justice (which is funner than it sounds) Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddy Chat to host Nancy @N_Nether…

Crazy stage directions? Form-breaking? Super long and in depth but somehow still entertaining discussions on female empowerment and the male role in society? YES PLEASE! Discussion includes: Scripts that don't tell you everything, gender-reversed acting, and the benefits of snacks on stage. Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Visit t…

It's time for some children's theatre! In this delightful, dark, funny, fantastic, terrifying tale for all ages, Kneehigh theatre does what they do best with collaborative and innovative re-telling of a classic story. Discussion includes collaboration in art, the power of children's theatre, and the joy of little chicken puppets. Have some feedback…

This episode Nancy & Sam discuss the shocking and powerful play drama Yen by Anna Jordan. The audio of the first half got mangled by the internet, so this one jumps in partway through - in this epic half-discussion, however, is covered themes of nature vs. nurture, the harsh choices around family life, and the depiction of intimate acts on the stag…

This episode Nancy & Sam are joined by co-director of Coast to Coast Theatre Company and producer from the Norwich Fringe, Molly Farley, to discuss the intense and thought-provoking drama Gloria by Branden Jacob's Jenkins. Not only is it an absolute belter of a play, but Molly is fantastic as our first guest. Topics include: Workplace trauma, selfi…

Nancy and Sam smash the patriarchy (or at least try to understand just how massive and far-reaching it is) with a look at this form-smashing play. Okay, so we don't smash the patriarchy, and 50 minutes is no time at all to cover everything, but we think this play is fantastic and had a blast diving deep into all the intense and challenging themes i…

In a first for the podcast, we look at a play that involves some heavy audience interaction and can change wildly from night to night depending on what the audience does. How do you script something like this? We're about to find out. (Also, this is sadly probably our last sci-fi themed play for a while as we've exhausted those we know so early on …

Another episode of the eternal journey to read and analyse every play ever (or at least a few good ones, as our time on this earth is limited). This time we take a look at something neither of us have read before - a strangely structured magical realist play from 1997, Crazyhorse packs a real punch (even if we still can't fully understand the title…

Oh go on then, have a little Christmas treat on us! Nancy & Sam drop their usual policy of finding the best in things for this bonus festive episode - they bring to you their top 10 list of the worst theatre-related things one could receive this Christmas. Want to see the horrendous items for yourself? Have something you think is worse? Visit the o…

Another episode of the eternal journey to read and analyse every play ever (or at least a few good ones, as our time on this earth is limited). This time we take a dive into our first of the great Naturalistic plays of the 1800s - featuring sordid affairs, pretend inventions and, of course, one very wild duck. Ibsen proves to us this episode that j…

Welcome back for another episode of Play Ground! This week we discuss the experimental diptych of short plays 'Heart's Desire' and 'Blue Kettle' by Caryl Churchill. Formally stranger but with a solid emotional core, Churchill proves again (despite Sam's initial hesitance) why she is our greatest living playwright. Have some feedback? A play you'd l…

Welcome back, listeners! For our first episode post-launch, we revisit the sci-fi genre (it won't all be sci-fi, we promise) with Anne Washburn's fantastic adaptation of The Twilight Zone. For a change both Nancy AND Sam have seen this play. For not a change, they both love it. Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Visit the official p…

Welcome, listeners! For out first episode, we take a look at the incredible sci-fi mind-bending mother-daughter-relationship play X by Alistair McDowall. Whether you've read the play or not, this should give you an insight into how we'll be running things around here, and we reckon you'll have a pretty good time. Have some feedback? A play you'd li…

Welcome back, listeners! For part 2 of our double launch, we dive deep into the play Edward II by Christopher Marlowe - Nancy has seen the play, Sam has not, but - spoiler alert - they both love it. Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover? Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddy Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood Chat to host Sa…