Best of Enemies
Noel Coward Theatre
4.9/5 based on 20 reviews (read reviews)- Booking until: Saturday, 18 February 2023
- Running time: 2 hours 25 mins (incl. interval)
Best of Enemies description
Best of Enemies – The election battle that changed US TV forever
Written by James Graham, Best of Enemies is presented by Second Half Productions, Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Wessex Grove, Young Vic and Headlong. There’s a real political treat in store for you thanks to a play that has been nominated for a South Bank Sky Arts Award for Best New Theatre Production and also nominated for an Olivier. It also won the Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play. And a run of 5 star reviews from The Observer, The Times, and The Sun say it all.
Welcome to a brilliant piece of drama by an award-winning playwright and screenwriter responsible for Sherwood, Quiz, and Brexit: the Uncivil War. It’s directed by Jeremy Herrin, with whom James Graham has collaborated before, on This House, the Olivier Award-winning Labour of Love, and more. Sit back, enjoy the drama and discover how two powerful men changed the American TV news forever.
What's the story behind Best of Enemies?
Best of Enemies explores the fictional re-telling of the 1968 ATV TV debates between William F. Buckley Jr., a conservative, and the notorious liberal Gore Vidal. The setting is the Republican and Democratic Party conventions of the time.
The writer James Graham was inspired by a documentary about the battle by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon. The play is rich in referrals to more hot celebrities from 1968, people like Andy Warhol, James Baldwin, and Aretha Franklin, all used to create context and reflect the theme of emerging political debates on TV.
About Best of Enemies
This sold-out hit from the Young Vic Theatre and Headlong originally premiered at the Young Vic in December 2021. Actor Zachary Quinto, who delighted us in The Boys in the Band, American Horror Story, and Star Trek, makes his West End debut as Gore Vidal. David Harewood of Homeland, Super Girl, and Ten Percent fame is reprising his role as William F. Buckley Jr. Director Jeremy Herrin has also directed jewels like People, Places & Things, Wolf Hall Trilogy, and This House.
Completing the cast are Deborah Alli, Emilio Doorgasingh, Clare Foster, Tom Godwin, John Hodgkinson, Syrus Lowe, Kevin McMonagle and Sam Otto who will each perform multiple roles within the play including Andy Warhol, James Baldwin, Patricia Buckley, Howard Austen, Aretha Franklin and Martin Luther-King. The ensemble includes David Boyle, Lincoln Conway, Vivienne Ekwulugo, Jamie Hogarth and Saaj Raja.
Best of Enemies is Designed by Bunny Christie, with Lighting Design by Jack Knowles, Sound Design by Tom Gibbons, Video Design by Max Spielbichler, Composition by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, Movement Direction by Shelley Maxwell, Casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG (UK) and Jim Carnahan CSA (US), Voice and Dialect by Hazel Holder and Associate Direction by Annie Kershaw.
Best of Enemies previews at the Noël Coward Theatre on 14th November 2022 with an opening night on 28th November.
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Starring
David Harewood, Zachary Quinto
Playing at Noel Coward Theatre
Age restrictions
Everyone, regardless of age, must have their own ticket to enter the theatre. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by and sat next to a ticketholder who is at least 18 years old. Children under the age of 3 will not be admitted.
Performance Times
Best of Enemies news
05Sep