British Theatre Guide podcast

Tristan & Yseult, said to be Cornwall's oldest love story, has had numerous retellings, including the opera Tristan and Isolde by Wagner and Kneehigh Theatre Company's 2003 production directed by Emma Rice with a script by Carl Grose and Anna Maria Murphy.
The Kneehigh production is being revived by the Emma Rice Company for a tour in 2026 and 2027 with a cast including John Leader as Tristan and Nandi Bhebhe as Yseult.
BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to them both when the show was still previewing in Bath about restaging the famous Kneehigh production of this 5,000-year-old story, what it is like to be in Emma Rice's rehearsal room, taking the production to New York and more.
Tristan & Yseult from the Emma Rice Company opened at Theatre Royal Bath on 11 September 2026 and will tour to Theatr Clwyd in Mold, Citizens Theatre Glasgow, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, St Ann's Warehouse in New York City, Oxford Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse, Theatre Royal Plymouth and York Theatre Royal, where it will end on 17 April 2027.
(Photo of Nandi Bhebhe as Yseult & John Leader as Tristan, credit Steve Tanner)

The work of multi-award-winning lyricist Don Black spanning more than five decades is to be celebrated in From The Heart, which had a short, sold-out run last year and returns to London's Garrick Theatre this October.
BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Clive Rowe, who stars in the production alongside Caroline O'Connor and Michael D Xavier, about performing these famous songs and a few new ones with music by composers including Gary Barlow, Natasha Bedingfield, David Arnold, Debbie Wiseman and Mike Batt.
He also spoke about how being backstage at an amateur theatre as a young lad in Shaw, a small town near Oldham, set him off on a journey to, eventually, the West End, and how much he loves the job he has been doing for nearly forty years.
From The Heart, directed by Nick Winston with musical direction by Joe Church and arrangements by Nick Barstow, will run at London's Garrick Theatre from 8 to 18 October 2026.

"Alfred Hitchcock meets Monty Python in a fast-paced comedy spy thriller packed with theatrical magic". That's how Derby Theatre and Hull Truck are describing their co-production of The 39 Steps which is inspired by John Buchan's classic novel and Alfred Hitchcock's film.
 
BTG Midlands Editor Steve Orme spoke to director Cal McCrystal, "the country's finest comedy director", as well as two of the cast, Ryan Starling and Sophie Bloor.
 
The 39 Steps will run at Derby Theatre from Tuesday 29 September until Saturday 17 October before transferring to Hull Truck from Wednesday 21 October until Saturday 14 November.
 
(Pictured from left: Ryan Starling, Cal McCrystal and Sophie Bloor)

Anthony Almeida, the only person to have received both the Royal Theatrical Support Trust Sir Peter Hall Director Award and the European Opera Director Prize, is directing his first Shakespeare play, Othello, for a co-production between Northern Stage in Newcastle, HOME Manchester and Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in association with Royal and Derngate in Northampton.
BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Anthony about his concept for the play, the motivations and contemporary resonances of its characters and events and its 1980s setting.
Othello will run at Northern Stage in Newcastle 11–26 September 2026 then tour to HOME Manchester 30 September–10 October, Royal & Derngate in Northampton 13–17 October, Theatr Clwyd in Mold 20–24 October, Citizens Theatre in Glasgow 27 October–7 November, Derby Theatre 10–14 November and New Theatre Peterborough 17–20 November.

Ihsane from Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève and Eastman by double Olivier Award-winning Belgian choreographer and dancer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, drawing on his Moroccan heritage, will be performed as part of the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival.
BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Sidi before the Festival about the creation of the show, looking back on life after turning 50, his changing views on the attitudes of his late father, who died 30 years ago, as he has got older, blinkered, stereotypical attitides towards Arab men and queer men in society and much more.
Ihsane will be performed at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 18 to 20 August 2026.
(Photo of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, credit Navid Fayaz)