Theatre News

James Graham's Best of Enemies to transfer to the West End

The show will arrive in November

David Harewood and Charles Edwards
David Harewood and Charles Edwards appeared in the Young Vic cast for the show
© Wasi Daniju

James Graham's critically lauded new play Best of Enemies will transfer to the West End this year.

Set in 1968, the piece follows Gore Vidal and William F Buckley Jr as they battle to become the new President of the United States. Their encounter will later shape the way in which leadership campaigns were run across the 20th and 21st centuries. It is inspired by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon's documentary about the subject.

The show, directed by Jeremy Herrin, first premiered last December and received a glowing five-star review from WhatsOnStage's Sarah Crompton.

Crompton said: "Graham has taken a piece of history and made it relevant to today, explained how it shaped the culture wars we are still living through, and how it made the politics that we experience…a huge achievement". It also won the Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play.

The West End transfer is produced by Second Half Productions, Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Wessex Grove, the Young Vic and Headlong.

Casting, specific dates and venue for the transfer are to be announced, though the show is set to open in November. Be sure to sign up to WhatsOnStage's newsletters to be the first to know when it arrives.

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