| FOURTHWALL | Side of stage for audience worth a full renovation |
| PROMPT | This side of stage feeding play in part? (6) |
| MOTHERGOOSE | Pantomime fairy and old villainous character standing on sides of stage |
| BENCH | Seat such as a form, pew or settle; or, a type of stage for holding potted plants in a greenhouse, orangery or garden room (5) |
| APRON | Part of stage for new acting, above all else (5) |
| PROLOGUE | Group spread over large ring at rear of stage for first speech (8) |
| CORKSCREW | Psychedelic rock band on front of stage for opener (9) |
| PLATFORM | From "ground plan" , 'flat shape", a raised level, surface of planks etc, such as a stage for speakers, a place for mounting guns, the floor of a bus or a pavement for rail passengers; or, a basis of |
| OPENINGNIGHT | First time Julius Caesar appeared on world's stage, for instance - a window of opportunity and a dark period? (7,5) |
| SERIES | ___ A funding (initial capital-raising stage for a startup) |
| ORCHESTRAPIT | ...and area in front of a stage for them? (9,3) |
| EDGAR | Principal character in Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor; or, the dramatist who adapted Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to stage for the RSC (5) |
| MARCOPOLO | Italian adventurer whose grand of tour of Asia (1271-95) set the stage for sightless swimming pool hide-and-seek (5,4) |
| ROUND | Financing stage, for a growing company |
| PLAYBACK | It's a return to the stage for sound check (8) |
| FRONTSTEP | Battleground - stage for salesman to make a killing? (5,4) |
| TWOS | Terrible ___ (stage for a tot) |
| NAILBED | Perhaps a stage for daring entertainment that's on hand (4-3) |
| STEPLADDER | Run below stage for a scene-shifter's portable aid? |
| STEPTOEANDSON | Do a sonnet differently, below stage, for TV show |
