Stage Door Jonny

In the second half of Jonny’s chat with Lesley Manville, Jonny recalls seeing her onstage for the first time in The Cherry Orchard with Judi Dench, what she learned from Judi, the story about working with her that she won’t repeat (but you should hear it, so here it is), why some great performers need to be on the verge of laughter, Tony Sher flashing in Tamburlaine the Great, her 13 projects with Mike Leigh, the man who influenced Lesley’s stage work maybe more than any other, playing a hamster at the Royal Court for a 10 year old, the pressure on young actors now, telling Caryl Churchill how she could improve Serious Money, breaking down the method behind Max Stafford-Clark’s rehearsal process, her response to men who take up too much space in the rehearsal room, where her confidence comes from and the magic- and pitfalls- of last shows.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weeks guest is a gem: Oscar nominee and two time Olivier-award winner, the magnificent Lesley Manville. In her plushly upholstered dressing room at Studio 54, Lesley and Jonny discuss him hunting her like a fox, her upcoming appearance in Marianne Eliott’s Les Liasons Dangereuses, how theatre is a time machine, ending her triumphant run as Jocasta opposite Mark Strong in Robert Icke’s Oedipus on Broadway, her fabled 15 minute monologue, getting ill and wondering whether her lifelong feeling that she didn’t take her characters home with her was really true, wondering if great actors must be private people, Sam Mendes‘s advice about lying and it’s relationship to acting and the all-conquering past that Jonny and Lesley have in common. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(CONTAINS VERY STRONG LANGUAGE) In the this week’s episode Jonny talks to celebrated theatrical disruptor Tom Morris. They talk about Tom’s most embarrassing moment in the theatre (it’s very embarrassing). His artistic directorship of Battersea Arts Centre and putting on shows without a script; how his work in alternative theatre was incorporated by Nick Hytner at the National; making Jerry Springer: The Opera; making Hytner experience Gay Shame; the genesis of the theatrical mega-hit War Horse; the two types of directors according to Simmo (spoiler: its blockers and wankers); when the floor opens up in front of a director, the paranoia sin-bin and what to do about it; why a puppet and a mirror gave Tom two of his most thrilling experiences at the theatre; why uncertainty in the theatre can provoke the perfect audience state; the creativity of an audience, setting Romeo and Juliet in a care home; what nags at him about the shows he’s done and getting older and less prophetic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second act of their chat, Sir Greg Doran remembers some of his late husband and leading man, Anthony Sher’s most unforgettable moments; Greg’s theory of “crossroads” and examples of how to meet them; Shakespeare’s radical extremity; Greg’s theory of what plunged the Bard into his late great tragedies; why Ian Mckellen defaces bibles; the comfort to be found after bereavement in Shakespeare’s brutality; the death of Tom Stoppard and Greg’s memories of him- and Tony Sher’s Yahrzeit candle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonny’s guest for his 100th episode is class on a stick. Sir Gregory Doran is the former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, for 35 years and with the late Sir Anthony Sher one half of one of the most celebrated power couples in British theatre (and possibly the first pair of married Knights). In this episode Jonny and Greg reminisce about meeting on Derek Walcott’s Odyssey, Greg’s padded bra and a portrayal of Lady Anne that silenced his bullies, memories of Tony Sher’s groundbreaking Richard 3rd, being taught a painful lesson by his future husband (that Tony had learned by being kicked up the arse by Jonathan Pryce), how Flaubert helped Greg become a director, killing the laughs at a matinee by announcing the Nobel Prize winner, how new shoes crashed Titus Andronicus’s jeep, throwing crockery at his leading man, Tony Sher’s occasional torment, writing about death as though it were Tony’s next great role and how they are still collaborators after death (on a new book), as they were in life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny’s chat with Elliot Levey, Elliot makes the case for why good actors submit; how directors reveal themselves through notes and acting that isn’t “mirror-kissing”; the moment Elliot regretted in the theatre and the horrible play that prompted him to nearly leave it mid performance via a fire exit; spending a decade at the National Theatre, how plays stay fresh and why Saturday night shows often smell of farts; what pisses him off about the theatre, the joy of Simon Russell Beale in a tiny part, the many delights of Polonius and a sudden Proustian recall of Jonny at the very beginning of his career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonny’s guest is the two time Olivier award winner and Loveliest Man in British Equity, Elliot Levey. In his dressing room at the Harold Pinter theatre before his award-winning performance in Mark Rosenblatt’s Giant, Jonny and Elliot begin by lifting the lid on podcasting’s dirty secret and Elliot’s generous superfan. They break down Giant, a play about Roald Dahl’s antisemitism at the time of the real-world horror of the war in Gaza, how Elliot’s view of the play and his character shifts with each days headlines and the catharsis of drama in a moral maze; there’s a delightfully unexpected visit from Rachel Stirling, a memory of working with her mother, Dame Dianna Rigg, and the delivery of a bottle of in-character rosé; Elliot’s memory of being in a play that addressed the aftermath of horror on the night of terrorist attacks on London, why theatre isn’t binary, in praise of being boring, an equally delightful visit from John Lithgow (and an insight into how Jonny seduces future guests) and Elliot’s theory that all supremely talented people are also supremely nice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny’s chat with Mark Strong, his guest describes feeling hated during Ivo van Hove’s A View From the Bridge; the strong conviction he had about the playing of Eddie Carbone; becoming a movie actor (not star), what he learnt from the camera and taking it back to the stage; working with Ivo before he became the global theatrical influencer he is now, his mischief,and how he fought the great director over what turned out to be strokes of genius; his sheer terror before he started performing View and the joy of conquering fear; creating “the right to be looked at”; building a character through the body; what he needs from a director and what he doesn’t; his “rant” about the business; two aging actors talk about innovations in sound; his worries about Macbeth and Jonny’s theory of the murderous king’s intrinsic sweetness; what pisses him off about the theatre and what he still wants from it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonny is joined this week by the actor who is the current toast of Broadway for his portrayal of Oedipus in Robert Icke’s updating of the great tragedy, Mark Strong. They start off by talking about Simon Russell Beale, original inspiration for SDJ and the way talent is sometimes undecodable. Being told what Mark’s “thing” was at drama school, the attraction of charm, his very unusual origin story, the importance of Steven Berkoff and fronting a punk band in making him a performer; the difference between being an artist and an artisan, working with the late Helen McCrory and Ian McKellen, a debate about Al Pacino- and uncontrollable crying as Oedipus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a second half lightly underscored by the Wagner seeping in from Glyndebourne’s Parsifal, Jonny hears how the doyenne of modern lighting designers spent her formative years in the creative ferment of Theatre de Complicité, the tough love from another designer that propelled her, what makes an experience on a show great for her, the two types of directors, splitting up with Katie Mitchell, what makes light walk into a room, the change in the aesthetic she championed in the modern theatre, why she’s retiring, her relationship with fear, bothering Nathan Lane, missing her kid’s birthdays, why she’s never wanted to be a cinematographer, the fundamental change in the culture and what she wants for young artists today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stage Door Jonny gets well classy this week, with a double episode recorded in the gilded environs of Glyndebourne. One of the greatest influences in the modern theatre on how we see and experience a world onstage, Paule Constable is the nonpareil of modern lighting designers. The most nominated artist in Olivier Award history (17 nominations, 6 wins, 2 Tony awards) Paule has defined a visual aesthetic in modern theatre. War Horse, Curious Incident, Wolf Hall, His Dark Materials, the 25th anniversary production of Les Mis, Paule has her fingerprints all over modern theatre. But she’s retiring! Jonny goes in search of why. They talk rock’n’roll lighting, running over the South Downs to work, learning to look, torturing a performer with light, what happens sometimes when you put light to music, the loneliness of the long-distance lighting designer, how to make an actor glow and the spirit of her fighter pilot father that made her bold enough to pull off the audacious lie that started her career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second half of Jonny’s conversation with Ewan McGregor kicks off with reminiscences of Oscar Isaac’s covid-era Oedipus. What Ewan needs from a director like Michael Grandage and their most recent partnership, Lila Raicek’s My Master Builder; scenes with Kate Fleetwood that felt like dancing and giggling together in the wings afterwards; Ewan’s battle with fear, drying onstage and being willed on by supernumeraries; drying in the middle of a song in Guys and Dolls; seeking the utopia of relaxation; being put in a chokehold on the set of Black Hawk Down and the insight it gave him into Iago; his admiration for Alan Cumming; what pisses him off about theatre and the tantalising plans he has to get back to it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back! A slightly lengthy hiatus comes to a close with this, the first episode of Jonny’s Festive Season. And what more festive guest to kick off with than Ewan McGregor? There’s a distinct frisson with the Stage Manager, the question of whether actors should just shut the fuck up, being frustrated by some theatre interviews,Ewan’s three plays with Michael Grandage, learning his lines before rehearsals begin (and crying over Iago), how acting has changed for him over time, starting his career working backstage, sticking pornography in a senior actors folder, the huge influence of his uncle, Denis Lawson. How being beaten up in Glasgow gave him a key to unlock his acting, Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs, naked and slipping (arse-first) towards an elderly matinee audience in Salisbury, his farting co-star and how he learned to steer an audience to make a play land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny’s chat with actor and writer Denis O’Hare, we hear the harrowing tale of a confrontation at a French airport, its relationship to his investigation of male violence in his play An Iliad, performing it for an audience of soldiers, not understanding what just happened after performing a show, how bad blocking once made him cry, why some plays can’t be left at the curtain call- and the experience of working on Sondheim’s last work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Award-winner, 2,800 year old vampire, bona fide American Horror and one of the most thrilling actors on the modern stage or screen, Denis O’Hare is Jonny’s guest this week. In his dressing room at the National Theatre in London, far too close to the time to go onstage, Denis and Jonny discuss what learning means to an actor, brutalist architecture, why he’s a bad director, saying “why?”, the influence of his friend and virtuoso writer John Logan, the indignity of his first role (a pig), music and poetry in his work, contradicting a legendary director of comedy and celebrating not working with the people he shouldn’t.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of their chat, the artistic director of the Old Vic, director of the internationally acclaimed hit musical Matilda and perhaps modern theatre’s pre-eminent master of comedy, Matthew Warchus, discusses laughter, audience noises, not having a plan, the illusion of fusion and the philosophy that it will all work out in the end; the obstacle of fear, the unknowability of an actor’s courage, loving Michael Gambon and not hassling him about his lines; how watching a good rehearsal spikes his blood sugars, being in an elevator with Harvey Weinstein, being trapped in a relentless loop of dissatisfaction, his legacy- and the nights sitting in that beautiful Old Vic auditorium that will stay with him forever.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the titans of the English-speaking theatre joins Jonny for a deliciously insightful chat this week. Sitting in the storied auditorium of the Old Vic, outgoing boss, Olivier and Tony award-winning theatre and film director, Matthew Warchus guides Jonny through a decade of coming into that space to think; why directors should be waiters, Tragedy and whether or not he sees the point of it, under-rehearsing and why vagueness is important, what not to say in America, his foundational relationship with Mark Rylance and the awkward eavesdropping that shaped his approach to being a director; turning mathematics into emotion, using distance onstage and why not all laughs are equal.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of their chat Indira reveals to Jonny that she didn’t know she is the Best Reviewed Actor on the British stage: they discuss sharing the boys dressing room, whether or not she thinks chemistry is bollocks, what she makes of her theatrical partnerships with Ralph Fiennes, Andrew Scott and Ramy Malek and whether as a woman she’s ever felt a lack of space onstage or in the rehearsal room. They discuss not playing the title role, learning to talk to the audience from Judi Dench, the thrill of playing non traditional spaces, her very particular butterfly effect, what she absolutely doesn’t need from a director, why she’d make a good acting teacher but a bad director, working with Harold Pinter, the great advice he gave her and the unstinting honesty he showed her in his famous shed. At the end of this gloriously comprehensive chat the discuss leaving a show before its even started, ticket prices, people of colour at the Oliviers and auteur directors. CONTAINS VERY STRONG LANGUAGE! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode Jonny shares grapes, birdsong and theatrical butterflies in the garden of “Britain’s best reviewed” theatre actor (J Cake)- Olivier award-winning star of Game of Thrones, Indira Varma. Indira talks about her calmness under pressure, what she thinks rehearsal should be, what daring to fail actually means, seminal experiences working with Katie Mitchell, the Maly theatre and Martin Crimp. How children teach us to be and not to perform, her desire to an actor of the body and not just the head, trying and failing to please her dad, embarking on Tim Crouch’s experiment in radical storytelling and the challenges of Jamie Lloyd’s production of The Seagull.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Act 2 of their chat, J Smith Cameron talks Jonny through the rich stew of differing ideas that went into making the West End Juno and the Paycock and the difficulty of reconciling different opinions in the rehearsal room, especially when war is waging in the world outside. J ruminates on whether it’s harder for an artist to be soulful when they get successful. She talks about the part that made her feel like a race car driver, acting through grief and the parts that she and Jonny felt like they shouldn’t have attempted after the death of a parent; the weird assimilation that sometimes happens between actors and their characters, how female actors don’t get to take up the space of their male counterparts and Kenneth Lonergan’s genius advice for writers and actors- including how her husband helped her to play the scene in Succession where Roman wants Jerry to be mean to him so he can attain orgasm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The star of Rectify and the unforgettable Gerri Kellman in Succession sits down with Jonny to talk about her storied life on the New York-and now West End- stage. From the tyranny of acting to the influence of her sister Joanne, what she owes her and the influence of sibling order on being an actor (John Hurt had strong feelings about it), to a life changing trip with her sister to New York, being winked at by Dudley Moore and the break that brought her her first leading role on Broadway, which also happened to be her first job in New York; what “preparing properly” for an audition really means; the hellish preparation J had for playing Juno in Juno and the Paycock opposite Mark Rylance; what was hard about revisiting a part she had played 10 years before; how Kieran Culkin changing blocking can make her forget lines- and the mysterious nature of memory.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

n Act 2 of the highlights of Season 4, Jonny kicks off (appropriately) by discussing the famous moment when James Corden stopped the show at the Old Vic to watch a penalty shoot out with the audience; he compares notes with Maxine Peake on audiences and their different levels of tolerance; he discusses Bobby Cannavale doing Glengarry Glen Ross with his hero, Al Pacino; he hears from Cynthia Nixon what it was like to be starring in two shows on Broadway at the same time; and he hears from the radically honest Alan Cumming about the actors best kept secret- an experience onstage where he felt something didn’t quite work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stage Door Jonny is back! Bursting into Summer like a less Nigel Farage-friendly Rod Stewart at Glastonbury, your favourite habitué of the alley round the back of a theatre launches his new season of conversations with world-renowned theatre artists with a highlights package from Season 4. From the romance of the stage door with Matthew Broderick, to a wee-based confession from Rhea Norwood, Bobby Cannavale on what Al Pacino would do about a ringing telephone during the show, Bertie Carvel’s pre-interview preparation, Paapa Essiedu’s hair-raising dressing room ritual, a rock star’s dedication to not showing his junk, Sam Mendes on auditioning babies and the glorious Broadway moment of Helena Wilson, Leanne Best, Ophelia Lovebond and Laura Donnelly, the ladies of Jez Butterworth’s hit play The Hills of California.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny’s al fresco chat with Daniel Aukin, we hear about Sam Shepard and The Pocket, the ten year journey, the challenges and the “electrified horror” of making the triumphant, Tony record-breaking Stereophonic, David Byrne’s opinion of the band, the struggle to make a living wage in the theatre- and a plan to change that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonny’s guest this week is one of the most exciting directors in the English-speaking theatre, Daniel Aukin. Fresh from his Tony award for Broadway’s hit play of 2024, Stereophonic, Jonny and Daniel settle onto a grassy knoll on a beautiful Autumn day in Prospect Park, New York, and discuss celebrity lotus positions, the complications and benefits of the family business, acting epiphanies, the influence of Richard Foreman, what a director is actually for and Sam Shepard’s love of a tightrope. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of his conversation with a hyper-talented young performer already making waves in the acting world, Jonny and Rhea discuss the differences between acting for tv and the theatre, never taking a phone to set, the beautiful words to “Maybe This Time” and not going under playing Sally Bowles. On struggling sometimes with contemporary writing, Rhea’s interest in female rage, why she’s drawn to Hedda Gabler, what pisses her off about the theatre- and plans for her “flip a coin” show.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two weeks after she finished her West End run as Sally Bowles in Rebecca Frecknall’s triumphant staging of Cabaret, Jonny sat down with Heartstopper star, Rhea Norwood. They discussed her illustrious predecessors in Cabaret, Alan Cumming’s dressing room being sponsored by a booze company, her Sally Bowles feeling like a car crash (in a good way), wild wee-ing, coping with repetition and the sad story of Jonny being ordered to get stoned by a director. They share memories of the same drama school, being pigeon-holed and wanting her training to be more traumatic; the complications of going off and becoming a global star- then returning to drama school; and how social distancing made her walk towards Kit Connor in an odd way.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny’s chat with the great Christopher Hampton, Sir Chris continues the story of the race to turn his play into the Oscar winning movie, Dangerous Liaisons- and get it out before Milos Foreman‘s rival film; doorstepping a startled John Malkovich; the Queen being sent to sleep by the inaugural play at the National Theatre; the difference between translation and adaptation; his relationship with Paul Scofield, seeing his Uncle Vanya 30 times, why he thinks Scofield was incomparable and the moment when an accident with a gun in Christopher’s play Savages prompted an unforgettable moment of improvisation from the great actor and Yasmina Reza’s horror at what Christopher had done to her play at the first night of Art.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Jonny’s guest is on British theatre and film’s Mt Rushmore of writers. Two time Oscar winning screenwriter Sir Christopher Hampton is one of the finest playwrights of the 20 and 21st centuries and in Christopher’s office in Notting Hill that spawned so much of his work they discuss the conditions he needs to write, sometimes needing to go to a posh hotel to finish a script and writing his first west end play in the pub at 18. The crown prince of youthful prodigies tells Jonny about the lesson of terrible reviews, acting with Leonardo di Caprio, why a Christopher Hampton part blighted Jonny’s daughter’s baby photos, the importance of relationships with theatres from Vienna to LA, winning an Oscar and then being unable to get a film made for six years, why writing plays is hard and writing film is a joy- and the remarkable story of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and its journey to becoming the Oscar winning Dangerous Liasons.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of his chat with the Ladies of the Hills of California, Jonny hears about the differences between Broadway and the West End, the realities of being a woman in the acting industry, trigger warnings, whether or not they’ve all been ruined by Jez Butterworth, singing for Sam Mendes and the incredible joy of the shared endeavor they are all undertaking onstage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Jonny’s guests are four actresses: Helena Wilson, Ophelia Lovibond, Leanne Best and Laura Donnelly, who together embody the Webb Sisters in Jez Butterworth’s play, The Hills of California. Currently running on Broadway, Jonny and the ladies chat interesting name rebrands that would turn heads on a Broadway marquee, life-changing cookies, harrowing early stage experiences, holding a kind of theatrical fire in their hands onstage, what happens when Jez Butterworth radically rewrites the play you’ve done 150 times, moving like seaweed together, Jez’s addiction to emergency and what its like to be directed by Sam Mendes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of Jonny’s conversation with Bobby Cannavale, Jonny hears about the utterly life-changing experience of working with the great theatre artist Al Pacino, reading the play every day when he’s in performance, what is the joy of acting, being an audition reader and what it taught him about trying to get a job, they debate the pronunciation of Godot, we hear about the time Bobby made sure an audience member will never let their phone ring again in the theatre, F Murray Abraham hiding his Oscar onstage, why he wants to be terrified by Shakespeare and what was the Elizabethan‘s personal portable ring light. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonny’s guest this week is two time Emmy winner (for Will and Grace and Boardwalk Empire), two time Tony nominee and perennial engine of fun, Bobby Cannavale. Jonny could talk to Mr Cannavale every day. And very nearly did. They talk about shared experiences (a love of apples, playing Jason in Medea at BAM’s Harvey Theatre, working with talented wives), Bobby’s affection for reading plays as a kid, being a nine year old gangster in Guys and Dolls, intellectual insecurity and the qualities that attracted mentors like Sidney Lumet, Lanford Wilson, George C Wolfe and Al Pacino. Bobby explains how he understands the importance of the event, why he’s always ready for the fight and the fateful night when he sat next to Pacino at the Tony awards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second half of Jonny’s chat with Cynthia Nixon ranges from playing a version of Marina Abramavich, staring at her costar for 20 minutes before the show (and being helped by a lozenge) to Williams Hurt, David Rabe and their rebellion against Mike Nicholls. From why her first Tony-winning performance as a bereaved mother didn’t capsize her, to whether actors can have qualms about using personal details from their lives. From her run for governor of New York, politics and its relationship to acting, why Andrew Cuomo isn’t Shakespearean but Cynthia is Portia, why she wants to go back to acting class and how being directed feels like her mother’s love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonny’s guest this week is a colleague of his on the new season of HBO’s And Just Like That, she’s Ada Brook in The Gilded Age, she’s won two Tonys, two Emmys, two SAGs and a Grammy, she ran for Governor of New York, she performed two shows on Broadway at the same time and forced Equity to outlaw anyone ever doing so again, for a generation of Sexers of the City she will always and forevermore be Miranda Hobbes, she is the one and only Cynthia Nixon. A child actress since she was 11, Broadway debut at 14 and New York theatre royalty ever since, Jonny shimmied along the hall from his dressing room to Cynthia’s to talk about her remarkable life in the theatre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny's chat with James Corden they discuss OCD and it's links to actor's superstition, James tells the story of delaying the play so he and the audience could watch England win on penalties, the brilliance and oddness of The History Boys, taking a vow of stupidity with Nicholas Hytner, letting down Richard Griffiths and finally getting a burst of Uncle Monty, breaking down the magic of the show that made him, smacking the well-fed rump of a mango-coloured real estate developer from Queens, getting a scoop on James's idea for a new play and his theory about the future of theatre.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonny's guest this week is none other than the man who gave the world Carpool Karaoke, took Paul McCartney back to his childhood, became the star of American late night by playing a man who fights with himself onstage, the writer and star of Gavin and Stacey, the man who'll always be a History Boy - James Corden. On his return to the London stage after a 12 year absence, James and Jonny sit down in his dressing room at the Old Vic to talk coming home, making late night tv into a 1,198 night variety show, mountaineering advice from Chris Evans, being a shy extrovert, the magic of Mathew Warchus, loving a line reading, why actors should take lessons from Formula One, how his pre-show rituals nearly capsized him, the best way he knows to handle nerves- and strap in for the terrifying description of a day at the Late Late Show up until the moment he's completely alone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonny’s guest this week is the actor, theatre maker, political activist and Bolton royalty- Maxine Peake. Two weeks into devising her new theatre piece, Robin/Red/Breast, Maxine gave up a lunch hour to talk about the goddess MAAT, playing legendary singer Nico, walking audience members round the block while they processed what they’d seen, the loneliness of one-person shows, audience interruptions while performing Beckett (including the hazards of letting children kick a ball against Winnie’s mound), Ray Winstone’s mate who didn’t fancy watching the play, playing her famous Hamlet, her twenty year collaboration with director Sarah Franckom, not being “wired right” as a hyper empath, escaped cavalry horses and how everything is political. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second part of Jonny’s chat with the great Alan Cumming ranges from why black joy, queer joy and trans joy feels like an act of resistance - to dealing with Joan Collins in his dressing room after playing a concentration camp inmate in Bent. It goes from going under while playing Hamlet to going under, naked, in an onstage swimming pool after singing George Michael’s 'Father Figure' - and emerging with eczema. It includes a discussion of saying the most explosive word onstage, completely committing to something you don’t think works and how people’s reaction to his penis gave him the idea for his new one man show. Facelifts, freedom and remembering Alan’s smile from the opening night of Sam Mendes Cabaret at the Donmar in 1993, the first time the world met his unforgettable MC.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Season 4 of SDJ and who better to kick it off with than Olivier award winner, two time Tony award winner, BAFTA winner and the man who just won his second Emmy award for hosting The Traitors US- Scottish icon, national treasure, the Dionysus of 21st century theatre, the eternally youthful Alan Cumming. In Act 1 of their two part chat, Alan and Jonny have a frank, funny and freewheeling conversation that ranges over the power of saying yes, what The Traitors has taught him about acting (and why its like being double-jointed), his problem with the Method and the best piece of acting advice he’s ever received. They talk about bravery, the influence of Alan’s childhood, how his one man dance piece about Robert Burns in his fifties nearly ruined him, his fascination with portraying mental illness onstage - and giving people permission to dislike you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a prelude to the new season of the podcast, Jonny remembers one of our greatest ever theatre artists, Dame Maggie Smith. In 2023 Jonny interviewed her son, the actor Toby Stephens, and his stories of his brilliant mother are a fitting tribute to a performer who was unlike any other. You can listen to Jonny's conversation with Toby in full here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the interval, Jonny hears how Matthew Broderick was pulled out of depression by a play from an unknown writer called Harvey Fierstein; doing things his own way as a young actor; the incredible story of the day his life changed forever- and the sadness underneath it; the last conversation he ever had with his father and how his dad’s example revisits him onstage; why he can drive directors mad; why Nathan Lane thinks he’s like the Warner Bros frog; the pressure to be funny; his love for Neil Simon and the failure that seems to always await the giants of American theatre; the rollercoaster of a life in American theatre and getting together with Robert de Niro to fight Donald Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last double episode of the current season, Jonny rounds off by talking to a bona fide star who’s been one almost all his acting life: two time Tony Award winner and, for a generation of movie-goers, the patron saint of being young- Matthew Broderick. Matthew is the star of movies like Ferris Bueller, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Election, You Can Count on Me and The Producers, but his career in the theatre has been immense, not least the five plays of his great mentor and collaborator Neil Simon. The last of these, Plaza Suite, with his wife Sarah Jessica Parker has brought him to London and in his dressing room at the Savoy Theatre, he tells Jonny about the magic of the magic of stage doors, reveals intimate details of his dressing room, the enduring fascination of Joan Collins, doing two shows on his birthday, Ferris Bueller and the pain of growing up, getting the silent treatment from John Hughes, acting with his dad, his triumph as Wall in Midsummer Night’s Dream and the tragic story of the big break that nearly broke him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of their live chat, Alison Balsom and Sam Mendes discuss what it’s like for him to have been everyone’s Dad professionally since he was 24 (just don’t take his sausage roll); being a woman in a predominantly male art form, changing the paradigm of the trumpet and the spirituality of playing music in church; Sam’s transformative memory of Jackson Pollock in Venice and the joy of throwing paint; where emotion lives in their work; the trumpet piece that reflects who you are at any stage of your life; being uningratiating onstage; why Sam was in a kind of dream-state directing Hills of California and what auditioning new-born babies taught him about performers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Jonny sees you “the coolest power couple in British theatre” (Jez Butterworth and Laura Donnelly, S3, E8) and raises you one “coolest power couple in British culture”, theatre and film powerhouse Sam Mendes and one of the world’s greatest classical and jazz trumpeters, Alison Balsom. In the first interview they’ve ever given as a couple, they treat SDJ Live at Jermyn Street Theatre to a voyage round their remarkable life and times: what is was for them both to be prodigies and whether they miss their younger selves; Alison’s calling to play the trumpet and not feeling like a soloist until she’d played the Last Night of the Proms; not feeling like a real film director until Sam directed his first Bond; where doubt exists differently in theatre and in classical music; the search for the perfect chord in art; Alison’s recording of her greatest mistake, never being able to duck the hardest challenge and why Simon Russell Beale as Uncle Vanya suddenly couldn’t stand up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s guest is a man of many talents. James Shapiro is the Larry Miller Professor of English at Columbia university, he is the Shakespeare Scholar in Residence at the Public Theater in New York and he is the author of the mighty 1599, Baillie Gifford Award Winner for the best non-fiction book of the last 25 years. Jim has spent his life making Shakespeare come alive- on the page, in the rehearsal room and the lecture hall and no one does it better. This is a conversation that takes in: judging the Booker Prize; Hamilton’s 50 foot wave; working on the scary and tempestuous production of a Trump-imitating Julius Caesar; being Shakespeare’s agent and the director’s waiter; what stops you feeling the great plays as you once did and the erosion of democracy and its inextricable link to theatre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second half of Jonny’s chat with actress Laura Donnelly and playwright Jez Butterworth, recorded live at Jermyn Street Theatre, delves into the twelve endings Jonny had to learn and perform for Jez’s play Parlour Song at Atlantic Theatre in New York; writing for the person you’re in love with; an actors contract with the audience and Sam Mendes’s opinion on Laura’s; what Jez believes is the foundation of drama; the ease of acting Butterworth; having daughters and writing women when you’re not one; Laura Donnelly’s locked door and Jez’s knack for finding the numinous in his everyday life; engineering an emergency in the theatre- and Hugh Jackman splitting his trousers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stage Door Jonny goes live with “the hottest power couple in theatre” (Vogue Magazine). This week’s episode talks to the doyenne of 21st Century playwrights, Jez Butterworth (Jerusalem, The Ferryman, Hills of California) and the leading actress in his last three plays, Laura Donnelly, partners in life as well as art. Act 1 of this live show at London’s Jermyn Street theatre covers: their first meeting in an, ahem, audition room for Jez’s play The River and Laura’s observation that made the future father of her children sit up and take notice; Jez’s myesthesia, 1,000 oranges and the dangers of exaggeration for an actor; the tragic events in Laura’s life that inspired Jez to write The Ferryman; why Laura wouldn’t get on the table and dance when Jez asked her to and why Jez was terrified of writing The Ferryman until an event in both their lives meant he had to. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Act II of Jonny’s chat with Simon they discuss the difference between immersion and identification; how much mystery Simon leaves in his understanding of a play; the director’s 3am thinks; why Simon has no problem with leaving a show; how directing can be like working in HR, his love of first days; Shakespeare’s school of life; what Simon fears most in the theatre- and why A Christmas Carol at The Tabard theatre is so special to him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s guest is Simon Godwin, one of the finest directors on either side of the Atlantic. Simon sits down with Jonny in majestic surroundings (work with me here) and they discuss how Simon (and Hamlet) came to Jonny’s aid when he was trying to buy a house; how Simon assembled the site-specific Macbeth that is currently playing; his three play collaboration with its star, Ralph Fiennes; the difference between certainty and confidence; why he suddenly stopped his directing career to go and train his body- and what Rupert Goold said to him as he was leaving; the moment that sticks in Jonny’s memory when he was directed by Simon - and Simon’s lockdown Romeo and Juliet starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.