Billy Crudup and Denise Gough on their newfound love for Westerns and singing at High Noon opening night

Howdy! On Friday night, WhatsOnStage was invited to attend the official opening for the world premiere of High Noon.

Based on the Oscar-winning 1952 film, adapted by Eric Roth and directed by Thea Sharrock, the stage version sees Emmy and Tony Award winner Billy Crudup and Olivier Award winner Denise Gough taking on the roles of Will Kane and Amy Fowler, who are faced with impossible choices as the clock ticks down to the return of deadly outlaw Frank Miller on the high noon train.

We caught up with Crudup and Gough at the show’s afterparty, where they discussed their newfound passion for the Western genre and Gough’s onstage singing debut.

Watch all our opening night highlights in the video below:

High Noon is based on the original screenplay by Carl Foreman and set in the American West of the 1800s.

The cast also includes Billy Howle, Rosa Salazar, Simon Chandler, James Doherty, Misha Handley, Joshua Hill, Jonah Russell, Rebecca Lee and Tim Steed.

Sharrock’s production features set and costume design by Tim Hatley, lighting design by Neil Austin and music composition and production by Chris Egan. The casting director is Jina Jay.

The team of producers includes Paula Wagner, Tom Werner and Thomas Tull, with Short Street Productions Ltd. as general managers and Mark Rubinstein as executive producer.

High Noon is scheduled to run at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London until 7 March 2026, with tickets on sale now.