Podcast · Arts & Books

Play On Podcasts

by Next Chapter Podcasts · English · Arts & Books

Play On Podcasts are epic audio adventures reimagining timeless tales, featuring original music composition and the voices of extraordinarily gifted artists. This is where Theatre meets Podcast, combining the modern-day audio phenomenon with the power of live performance.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 37 min
Latest: 12 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026 · 37 minNew

Titus Andronicus - Episode 4 - Wash Those Hands

Titus pleads for his son’s lives but the Tribunes are unmoved. Lucius draws his sword to rescue his brothers but is overpowered and banished from Rome. Chiron and Demetrius mock Lavinia after assaulting and mutilating her, leaving her to wander the forest alone without hands or tongue. Marcus Andronicus finds her and brings her back to Titus. The family breaks down in overwhelming grief until Aaron the Moore arrives with a message from Saturninus: if Titus cuts off one of his own hands, the emperor will spare the lives of Martius and Quintus. Titus agrees but instead of getting what was…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S23 · E3 · 5 Oct 2026 · 29 min
Titus Andronicus - Episode 3 - The Better You Love Me
Please be advised: This episode contains graphic sounds of sexual violence and may be inappropriate or triggering for some listeners. Marcus, Titus and his remaining three sons assemble outside the Roman forest at dawn, preparing for the morning hunt. Titus warns them all to be careful around the new emperor, Saturninus, before he arrives with his newly-crowned Empress Tamora, Bassianus, Lavinia and Tamora’s sons (Chiron and Demetrius). As they depart into the woods, Chiron and Demetrius plan to use the chaos of the hunt to assault Lavinia. Deep in the forest, Aaron the Moor buries a bag of…
S23 · E2 · 28 Sep 2026 · 33 min
Titus Andronicus - Episode 2 - Hunt Together
Lucius berates his father for killing his own son, and Titus’s brother Marcus implores him to allow them to bury Mutius in the family tomb. Titus grudgingly agrees to it and tells Marcus that he hopes to prosper by Tamora’s sudden advancement, since he was the one who brought her to Rome. Assuming that Titus orchestrated her escape with Bassianus, Saturninus publicly rejects Lavinia before leaving to marry Tamora. After the wedding, Saturninus and Bassianus strike an uneasy peace. Bassianus tells Saturninus that Titus had no part in Lavinia’s abduction. Tamora also vouches for Titus’s…
S23 · E1 · 21 Sep 2026 · 32 min
Titus Andronicus - Episode 1 - Be Not Gauled
In the wake of the Emperor’s death, his two sons–Saturninus (the eldest) and Bassianus (the younger, more popular)--argue over who should rule Rome, as their armed supporters clash in the streets. The Tribune Marcus Andronicus (Titus’s brother) intervenes to stop the fight. He announces that the Roman people have chosen his brother, Titus Andronicus, to be the new Emperor because of his legendary military service. Titus enters in triumph with his four surviving sons, the bodies of his dead sons in coffins, and high-profile prisoners of war–including Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and her three…
S23 · 14 Sep 2026 · 3 min
Introducing....Titus Andronicus
Next Chapter Podcasts presents Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy: a brutal revenge thriller that descends into a savage spiral of betrayal, mutilation and cannibalism, performed by an ensemble of America's most accomplished stage actors in a modern English verse translation by Amy Freed and directed by Danny Scheie. radio play by Catherine Eaton, with original sound design and composition by Lindsay Jones. “REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD.” CREDITS: The PLAY ON PODCAST SERIES, “TITUS ANDRONICUS”, was written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE and translated into modern English verse by AMY FREED. All…
E1 · 7 Sep 2026 · 31 min
Love's Labour's Lost - Episode 1 - All Kinds of Woman
On Labor Day, Play On Podcasts presents the pilot episode from our 11th series "Love's Labour's Lost". Listen to the full series and learn more here. The King of Navarre gathers together with his best friends (Longaville, Dumaine and Berowne) in the library at Howard University where he gets them to agree that they will devote themselves entirely to their studies without dating or indulging in food, drink or sleep for three full years. Berowne protests and reminds the King that the Princess of France is going to arrive soon to plead a case on behalf of her ailing father. The King promises to…
S23 · 31 Aug 2026 · 43 min
Introducing...Death of an Artist
We’re bringing you a preview of the new season of Death of An Artist. In February 2024, celebrated children’s book author and illustrator Petra Mathers and her husband, photographer Michael Mathers, mailed letters to dozens of friends and family members to let them know they had died by suicide. Petra and Michael were by all accounts healthy, happy, and in love. Why did they choose to die together? And what did that decision do to the people left to mourn them? Journalists Leon Neyfakh and Alice Gregory set out to interview everyone who got one of Petra and Michael’s letters—as one married…
S23 · E8 · 24 Aug 2026 · 2 hr 57 min
Full Play - Troilus and Cressida
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Next Chapter Podcasts presents the complete Play On Podcast series, Troilus and Cressida, in its entirety. The PLAY ON PODCAST SERIES, “TROILUS AND CRESSIDA”, was written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE and translated into modern English verse by LILLIAN GROAG. All episodes were directed by KIM MARTIN COTTON. Radio play by CATHERINE EATON. Executive Producer: MICHAEL GOODFRIEND This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA AGREEMENT. The cast is as follows: BENJAMIN BONENFANT as TROILUS AWNI ABDI-BAHRI as CRESSIDA…
S23 · E7 · 17 Aug 2026 · 35 min
Troilus and Cressida - Epiosde 7 - The Baking
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Hector’s wife, Andromache, and his sister, Cassandra, beg him not to fight, sharing ominous dreams they’ve had foretelling his death. His father, King Priam, joins them, begging his son not to go into battle but Hector refuses to break his vows and is joined by his brother Troilus, who is eager for vengeance. Pandarus brings a letter from Cressida which Troilus reads and rips in fury. As the battle begins, Thersites stands on the sidelines mocking everyone in the fray until he is confronted by…
S23 · E6 · 10 Aug 2026 · 25 min
Troilus and Cressida - Episode 6 - The Heating
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Patroclus trades insults with Thersites until Achilles breaks it up with news that he will keep his oath with Queen Hecuba to make peace with the Trojans out of his love for her daughter, Polyxena. Hector, Troilus and the rest of the Trojan leaders arrive in the Greek camp to negotiate a possible truce. Diomedes leaves the gathering and Ulysses and Troilus secretly follow him to Calchas’s tent. Diomedes calls for Cressida, who comes out to meet him. Troilus and Ulysses watch as Diomedes flirts…
S23 · E5 · 3 Aug 2026 · 33 min
Troilus and Cressida - Episode 5 - The Molding
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** As dawn breaks, the lovers bid each other a tearful farewell, exchanging love tokens: Troilus gives Cressida a silver bracelet and she gives him a necklace. Diomedes arrives to take Cressida to the Greek camp as Paris, Aeneas and Deiphobus speed off to the battlefield. Meanwhile, Ajax rouses the Grecian nobles in his excitement for the single combat with Hector. They humor him until Cressida arrives. One by one, each of the commanders try to force Cressida to kiss them. She uses her wit and…
S23 · E4 · 27 Jul 2026 · 37 min
Troilus and Cressida - Episode 4 - The Kneading
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Just as Troilus and Cressida finally unite, her father Calchas, a traitor who betrayed Troy to join the Greeks, petitions the Greek generals to trade for her so he can have her with him again. Agamemnon orders Diomedes to supervise the exchange. Ulysses then convinces the Greek commanders to rile up Achilles by walking past his tent without acknowledging him. When Achilles asks Ulysses what’s going on, Ulysses tells him Ajax is the new hero because he took up Hector’s challenge, but that if Achilles…
S23 · E3 · 20 Jul 2026 · 34 min
Troilus and Cressida - Episode 3 - The Rising
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Thersites delights in insulting Patroclus, Achilles, Agamemnon and everyone they command. When Agamemnon arrives with his entourage, Achilles withdraws into his tent and refuses to meet with him. Agamemnon turns to Ajax and heaps praise on him, encouraging him to be their champion in single combat with Hector instead of Achilles. Back at the palace in Troy, Pandarus meets with Paris and Helen in their decadent love nest to make excuses for Troilus’s absence from their dinner. Helen persuades him to…
S23 · E2 · 13 Jul 2026 · 34 min
Troilus and Cressida - Episode 2 - The Sifting
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** As Agamemnon and his Generals argue in the Greek camp, the Trojan Aeneas arrives to deliver Hector’s challenge to a duel in single combat. When the brute Ajax hears about the proclamation, he beats the foul-mouthed slave Thersites for not telling him what it says. Achilles and Patroclus come to Thersites’ rescue and defend him from Ajax even though Thersites insists on insulting all of them. Back in the Royal Palace of Troy, Priam and his sons Hector, Paris and Troilus dine in the Trojan Council Chamber…
S23 · E1 · 6 Jul 2026 · 1 hr
Troilus and Cressida - Bonus Content Episode 1 - Theatermaker Lillian Groag
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** “There are no good guys.” Renowned theatremaker Lillian Groag explains why “Troilus and Cressida” is her favorite of all the plays Shakespeare ever wrote, but not without wondering out loud what happened to him along the way... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S23 · E1 · 29 Jun 2026 · 35 min
Troilus and Cressida - Episode 1 - The Milling
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** The lovesick Trojan prince Troilus is so consumed by his infatuation with Cressida that he refuses to fight in the endless Trojan war with the Greeks, lamenting his woes to Cressida’s uncle, Pandarus, who serves as the go-between for the lovers. Aeneas arrives with news that Troilus’s brother, Paris, has been wounded by Menalaeus in battle, persuading Troilus to rejoin the fight. Inside the Trojan Citadel, Cressida gets the gossip from her friend Alexandra before Pandarus arrives to sing Troilus’s…
S23 · 22 Jun 2026 · 1 min
Introducing...Troilus and Cressida
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** NEXT CHAPTER PODCASTS PRESENTS THE PLAY ON PODCAST SERIES, “TROILUS AND CRESSIDA” SHAKESPEARE’S BITING COMEDY ABOUT THE ABSURDITY OF WAR AND THE UNDERBELLY OF LOVE. AN EPIC ANTI-LOVE STORY PERFORMED BY AN ENSEMBLE OF AMERICA’S MOST ACCOMPLISHED STAGE ACTORS IN A MODERN ENGLISH VERSE TRANSLATION BY LILLIAN GROAG. DIRECTED BY KIM MARTIN COTTEN RADIO PLAY BY CATHERINE EATON WITH ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN AND COMPOSITION BY LINDSAY JONES Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S22 · 15 Jun 2026 · 49 min
Bonus Content - Actor Randall Duk Kim & Director Annie Occhiogrosso - Pt. 2
***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** “We Gave Everything We Had”: Actor Randall Duk Kim and Director Annie Occhiogrosso reflect on their lives as artists, creating American Players Theater, how much you can learn from studying “Hamlet” over fifty years, what it takes to be great, where to find the best audiences in the country, how strawberries and chocolate can make all the difference on Press Day, the importance of language, what Keanu Reeves reads between takes, how Laurence Fishburne found his way into “Othello”, why every actor should start…
S22 · 8 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 5 min
Bonus Content - Actor Randall Duk Kim & Director Annie Occhiogrosso - Pt. 1
***⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠⁠ *** “We Gave Everything We Had”: Actor Randall Duk Kim and Director Annie Occhiogrosso reflect on their lives as artists, creating American Players Theater, how much you can learn from studying “Hamlet” over fifty years, what it takes to be great, where to find the best audiences in the country, how strawberries and chocolate can make all the difference on Press Day, the importance of language, what Keanu Reeves reads between takes, how Laurence Fishburne found his way into “Othello”, why every actor should start a…
S22 · 1 Jun 2026 · 56 min
Bonus Content - Historian Cassidy Cash
***⁠⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠⁠ *** “I fell into Shakespeare!” Historian and podcaster Cassidy Cash describes how finding a copy of a play tucked between a Bible and a hymnal in her grandmother’s house in rural Alabama led her into a life of learning about the past, the present, engineering information, painting castles, making podcasts, playing Noddy and knowing what a Link Boy was! Check out her excellent show That Shakespeare Life wherever you listen to great podcasts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S22 · 25 May 2026 · 52 min
Bonus Content - Professor Richard Burt
***⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠ *** There is no Orthodoxy”: Professor Richard Burt teaches us about the paratext, un-reading Shakespeare, Derrida and Plato in under an hour! With a soothing reminder that writing is both the poison and the remedy... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 May 2026 · 38 min
Introducing...Everybody Knows But Me
Holly Brown may have grown up right next to Hollywood, but her life was a world away from her 90s sitcom dreams. Instead, Holly’s childhood was filled with family secrets, immense loss, and heartbreaking grief. SO. What’s a girl to do? Create a genre-bending, dark comedy podcast, of course! Welcome to… Everybody Knows But Me: A dark comedy podcast about the secrets we inherit and the stories we tell to survive Holly revisits her dark, twisty past and proves that you actually can make your life into a 90s sitcom, if you only try hard enough. Grab your beanie babies and gushers, and strap in…
S22 · 11 May 2026 · 43 min
Cymbeline - Bonus Content Episode 4 - Audio Engineer Larry Walsh - Pt. 2
***⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card! *** “That’s what you hear with Sinatra!” Larry Walsh describes how spending 25 years re-mastering the entirety of “Ol' Blue Eyes” recordings taught him how to tune his ear to Shakespeare. Plus, why a mix engineer will never have a sharkskin suit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S22 · 4 May 2026 · 54 min
Cymbeline - Bonus Content Episode 3 - Audio Engineer Larry Walsh - Pt. 1
***This show is brought to you by Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/playonpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.***⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card!⁠ “Everybody Tells the Skinny Kid What To Do” - Sound and Mastering Engineer Larry Walsh reflects on the lifelong journey through audio that led him to Shakespeare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S22 · 27 Apr 2026 · 57 min
Cymbeline - Bonus Content Episode 2 - Actors Maria-Christina Oliveras & Christine Toy Johnson
***This show is brought to you by Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/playonpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.***⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card! “There are no villains”: Actors Maria-Christina Oliveras and Christine Toy Johnson open up about the painfulness of trying to belong, the grace of finding forgiveness, and the joy of reinventing yourself through the epic storytelling of “Cymbeline”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S22 · 20 Apr 2026 · 54 min
Cymbeline - Bonus Content Episode 1 - Playwright Andrea Thome & Director Stephen Brown-Fried
***This show is brought to you by Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/playonpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.***⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card! “It’s a play about an incredibly broken world”: Playwright Andrea Thome and Director Stephen Brown-Fried reflect on the challenges, liberations, miracles and faith they had putting “Cymbeline” together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S22 · E8 · 13 Apr 2026 · 3 hr 15 min
Full Play - Cymbeline
***This show is brought to you by Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/playonpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.***⁠ Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card! Next Chapter Podcasts presents the complete Play On Podcast series, CYMBELINE, in its entirety. The PLAY ON PODCAST SERIES, “CYMBELINE”, was written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE and translated into modern English verse by ANDREA THOME. All episodes were directed by RAKESH PALISETTY and are based on the NATIONAL ASIAN AMERICAN THEATRE COMPANY’S stage production directed…
S22 · E7 · 6 Apr 2026 · 32 min
Cymbeline - Episode 7 - The Queen Is Dead
***This show is brought to you by Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/playonpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.*** Complete our⁠ listener survey⁠ for a chance to win a $50 gift card! Caius Lucius asks Cymbeline to ransom his servant, a British boy (who is, of course, the disguised Imogen). Cymbeline does not recognize her but orders her freed and offers to give her any privilege within his power to grant. She speaks with him in private, and Belarius and his sons marvel at seeing the adopted brother they thought was dead. Cymbeline returns and…
S22 · E6 · 30 Mar 2026 · 37 min
Cymbeline - Episode 6 - Stand
***This show is brought to you by Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/playonpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.*** The Queen is stricken with a wasting fever as she frets over the absence of her son, Cloten. Cymbeline threatens Pisanio with torture in an attempt to find out where Imogen has fled. The Romans invade Britain, and Belarius can’t keep his sons from joining the fight. Posthumus returns to Britain with the Roman soldiers, believing Imogen is dead. Overcome with remorse, he takes off his Roman uniform and dresses as a British peasant for…
S22 · E5 · 23 Mar 2026 · 37 min
Cymbeline - Episode 5 - Dream Like That Often
***This show is brought to you by Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/playonpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.*** Belarius and his sons return to their cave to find Imogen feasting on their food. She apologizes and offers to pay for what she’s taken, introducing herself as “Fidele”. Guiderius and Arviragus (who go by the names Polydore and Cadwal) feel an immediate kinship with the stranger and take to calling Imogen their brother. Meanwhile, Cloten, dressed in Posthumus’s clothing, makes his way through the wilderness towards Milford Haven. Later,…

About Play On Podcasts

Play On Podcasts is a English arts & books podcast from Next Chapter Podcasts. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Next Chapter Podcasts
Language: English
Category: Arts & Books
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 37 min
Latest episode: 12 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1561429994
Rights: Next Chapter Podcasts LLC

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