Play Ground

Send us Fan MailThe distant future. The year 2000. Robots have been invented, subjugated, and produced in the millions. And they're very angry. This play not only invented the word 'Robot' (near enough), it's also an absolute banger of a comedy about industrial greed, workers revolutions, and the pitfalls of being just a simple girl.We talk robots, incredibly metal (as in hardcore) stage directions, and the impeccable timing of the 1940s mail system.Content Warnings: Death/Murder/Slavery/War/Sexism/Gore/A.I./NazisHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Find us @playground_pod on InstagramChat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

Send us Fan MailAn underground bunker filled with a thousand ping pong balls (which are actually other things) and a table tennis table (which is itself). 3 days, 3 characters, and some very rapid dialogue make this fringe play by Sam Steiner the perfect companion piece to his other play (podcast favourite) 'You Stupid Darkness!'We talk 'Table Tennis Play' as it's own subgenre, our love of ephemera, and how everything is a game.Content Warnings: Death/DementiaHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Find us @playground_pod on InstagramChat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

Send us Fan MailIn the ancient play The Frogs, which has survived 2.5 thousand years and been a lynchpin of many hundreds of academic careers, Dionysus and his slave (eesh) Xanthius go in desperate search of funny bits they can do. Some good funny bits include: spanking, calling the audience idiots, and slagging off the guy who once gave the author a bad review.We talk ancient Greek theatre funding, the looming threat of (Spartan) war, and which writers we would bring back from the dead.Content Warnings: War/Slavery/Death/Execution/Murder/SexismHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Find us @playground_pod on InstagramChat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

Send us Fan MailA 300 year epic told through 17 minute portraits, Joel Tan's No Particular Order is a very heavy going, incredible piece of writing detailing the rise and fall(?) of an unnamed despot in an unnamed country in an unnamed time. We talk war, dictatorships, and whether ART can ever do justice to the atrocities that so many must suffer.Content Warnings: War/Fascism/Sexual Assault/Murder/Seeking Asylum/Racism/Sexism/Death/Child Death/Animal Death/Gore/Most Other Traumatic EventsHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Find us @playground_pod on InstagramChat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on InstagramTheme music this time: Monk in the wind - Drums Ethno Choir Monk Voice Drone World Hum Action Dark Cinematic Music Surround.wav by szegvari -- https://freesound.org/s/609034/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Send us Fan MailNoël Coward has a legendary reputation - and this play lives up to it!Otto, Gilda and Leo all love each other, but due to the world's boring machinations they must keep trying out monogamy - can they, as a three, discover a new... design for living????We talk throuples, flouncy theatre comedy, and the timelessness of trying to find a new... design for living.Content Warnings: Homophobia/Conservatism.Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Find us @playground_pod on InstagramChat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

Send us Fan MailWe're doing a musical! And trying our very best to discuss the published script rather than the four thousand different live shows that Nancy has obsessively watched.This 2013 show is an adaptation of the controversial book (and cult film) American Psycho, but infused with synth and backflips. Strongly recommend listening to the soundtrack for this one as well as reading the play - although for reasons discussed these will! not! match!We talk psychology, stock markets, and the relevancy of this kind of guy today.Content Warnings: Murder/Death/Sexual Assault/Sex Work/Racism/Child Death/Drug Use/Podcast BrosHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Find us @playground_pod on InstagramChat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on InstagramThe theme music this time is SON OF PSYCHO by MadGravityStudio -- https://freesound.org/s/832440/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Send us Fan MailFootball! Wait no soccer - Soccer!This Pulitzer-nommed play from 2016 follows an U17s indoor girls soccer team as they warm up for various games. Very little happens, and it's one of the most devastating plays we've ever read.We talk teen archetypes, coming of age, and (unfortunately) whether or not certain play-structures are mimicking of the male bedroom experience.Content Warnings: Death/racism/bullying/sportsHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Find us @playground_pod on InstagramChat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

Send us Fan Mail'The trashiest play we've ever done.'Content Warnings: Murder/Drugs/ClassismHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat 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

Send us Fan MailAfter 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/MortalityHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

Send us Fan MailA 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 SurgeryHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

Send us Fan MailCillian 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 variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

Send us Fan MailIs 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 variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

Send us Fan MailEast 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 variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

Send us Fan MailOnce 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 variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

Send us Fan MailTime. 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 variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

Send us Fan MailWe recorded this 3 years ago and then forgot to make more podcasts. It holds up!!! Declaring this the end of season 1, we'll be back with certified fresh content in 2 weeks time.Sam Shepard's True West is about two things: truth and the wild west. Oh, and two brothers. Oh, and Picasso. And coyotes. It's pretty famous.Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on variousChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram (and go find @rootlingtheatre for his puppet antics)

Send us Fan MailStep 1) Nuclear MeltdownStep 2) Gang Warfare Over Simpsons QuotesStep 3) ????Step 4) The Greatest Story Ever ToldIf 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'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailDespite 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 discuss why the town is so afraid of hot people, what it might be like to be a bird with no legs, and themes of isolation in one's own body.Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailUp 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 some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailIt 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 Cloten who is an idiot and a criminal and also some brothers who are gay for their sister but don't worry it all works out in the finish. Also there is a war between Britain and Rome whilst all this is going on. We were confused too.We discuss mixing of genres, problematic themes and how to interpret them on stage, and if Nancy can be won round to this play.Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailYou 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 feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailThe 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 celluloid film- MonkeysHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailThe 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 as a deep dive into the characters and unspecified horror that this play provides.Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailSix 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 characters that have come to life and need help in finishing their dramatic arc.We talk play structure, Mussolini and Byker Grove.Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailThe 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 probably all of these rolled into one.It's really good.As promised in the episode, you can find Nancy's dubbed over cameo in a Phoebe Waller-Bridge interview here: https://youtu.be/D3mmqLVi_QQ?t=243Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailThis 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'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailThis 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 advocation for gay rights, an exploration of loss, and a meta-investigation into make sure verbatim theatre is 'done right.'Find more information on the Matthew Shepard Foundation here:https://www.matthewshepard.org/Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailThis 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 us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailPart 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 @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam @Samwebbercool

Send us Fan MailFirst 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 @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailCrazy 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 the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailIt'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? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailThis 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 stage. It's certainly a cheery one!Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailThis 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, selfish journalists, and the absolute tenacity of playwrights who give impossible stage directions.Molly can be found @mollysamfarleyCoast to Coast Theatre can be found @ctctheatrecompHave some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailNancy 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 it presents.Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailIn 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 in our run!)Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailAnother 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...)Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailOh 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 official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him (but it's the holidays so best leave him be right about now)Play Ground will be returning with it's normal slot next week to discuss Crazyhorse by Parv Bancil.

Send us Fan MailAnother 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 just because something is a classic loved by millions, it doesn't have to be bad.Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailWelcome 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 like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him

Send us Fan MailWelcome 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 podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him.

Send us Fan MailWelcome 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 @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam in person if you happen to recognise him.

Send us Fan MailWelcome, 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 like us to cover?Visit the official podcast twitter @playgroundpoddyChat to host Nancy @N_NetherwoodChat to host Sam... uh... if you happen to see him on the streets. He doesn't have twitter because he's out of touch.