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  • The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster
    Jul 15 2026

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    The Duchess. Hot, recently widowed, and swearing blind to her villainous brothers that she would never ever even THINK of marrying again. Anyway, 3 minutes later she marries the (presumably also hot) Antonio in secret, and over the next 5 acts all hell breaks loose.

    We talk demons, revenge tragedies, and a whole list of iconic lines from dying characters.


    Content Warnings: Murder/Sexism/Incest/Illness/Suicide/Child Murder/Dismemberment/Mental Illness/Torture

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    Find us @playground_pod on Instagram
    Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various
    Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram


    Theme Music this time: Konstantinos Paliatsaras - The Duchess of Malfi Song

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    1 Std. und 9 Min.
  • Vincent River by Philip Ridley
    Jul 1 2026

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    A dilapidated flat in East London. 17 year old Davey has followed 53 year old Anita home. Over an intense hour stories are revealed, connections are formed, and they both work through an intense amount of grief. There are some jokes, as in all good plays, but be warned this is a fairly bleak one.

    We talk shame, storytelling, and Philip Ridley's penchant for tough old lady characters.


    Content Warnings: Homophobia/Hate Crime/Murder/Sexism/Sex/Terminal Illness/Hospitals/Pedophilia/AIDS/HIV/Grief/Amputation/Birth Trauma


    The grief essay we mention: Mustafa, Esma. (2026). GRIEF IN PHILIP RIDLEY'S VINCENT RIVER. Çukurova Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi. 35. 10.35379/cusosbil.1653643.


    Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?

    Find us @playground_pod on Instagram
    Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various
    Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram


    Theme Music: j'ai peur de mes cordes devenues toiles by Rrrrrose Azerty https://loyaltyfreakmusic.com/
    License: Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International
    Free Download / Stream: https://links.al/nKM
    Music promoted by Audio Library: https://links.al/youtube

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    50 Min.
  • R.U.R. Rossum's Universal Robots by Karel Čapek
    Jun 17 2026

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    The 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./Nazis


    Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?

    Find us @playground_pod on Instagram
    Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various
    Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

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    55 Min.
  • A Table Tennis Play by Sam Steiner
    May 21 2026

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    An 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/Dementia


    Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?

    Find us @playground_pod on Instagram
    Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various
    Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

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    53 Min.
  • The Frogs by Aristophanes
    Apr 22 2026

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    In 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/Sexism


    Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?

    Find us @playground_pod on Instagram
    Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various
    Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

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    51 Min.
  • No Particular Order by Joel Tan
    Apr 8 2026

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    A 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 Events

    Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?

    Find us @playground_pod on Instagram
    Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various
    Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram


    Theme 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

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    49 Min.
  • Design for Living by Noël Coward
    Mar 26 2026

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    Noël 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.

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    Find us @playground_pod on Instagram
    Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various
    Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram

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    42 Min.
  • American Psycho the Musical - book by Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa, Music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik, based on the novel by Brett Easton Ellis
    Mar 5 2026

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    We'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 Bros

    Have some feedback? A play you'd like us to cover?

    Find us @playground_pod on Instagram
    Chat to host Nancy @N_Netherwood on various
    Chat to host Sam @Samwebbercool2 on Instagram


    The theme music this time is SON OF PSYCHO by MadGravityStudio -- https://freesound.org/s/832440/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

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    56 Min.