The Ugly One

Wouldn’t you sacrifice everything to look like him?”

Twenty years after staging the world premiere of The Ugly One at the Royal Court, Ramin Gray (Young Vic, Royal Court, RSC) returns to von Mayenburg’s razor-sharp satire, in a world that has caught up with its vision.

Lette has it all: a successful career, a loving wife, and a brilliant invention. Then he discovers the one thing no one ever told him — he’s hideous.

A radical operation to “resculpture the entire facial area” brings instant fame and fortune, but at the cost of his identity—and his grip on reality.

von Mayenburg’s darkly comic play feels more urgent than ever: a whimsical, Kafkaesque satire on beauty, identity, and the price of perfection in the age of the algorithm.

Ramin Gray has directed over 15 world premieres at the Royal Court, Young Vic, and leading theatres throughout Europe.

Praise for previous productions:

“The play emerges fresh, clear and alive. The uniformly excellent cast perfectly match truth with style. One of the best pieces of theatre I’ve seen in years”- Mark Ravenhill, award-winning playwright

“A groundbreaking theatrical event…the international cast is uniformly excellent…the result is a production that feels utterly of the moment — as if the play had been written today.” – Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre

“This production of An Ideal Husband is a miracle” – Simon Stephens, award-winning playwright