Theatre Royal Brighton kicks off an exciting season of top quality theatre next week with West End-bound drama, The Best Man.
First performed on Broadway in the sixties, The Best Man is an engrossing political drama following the US Presidential primaries. One an esteemed and principled old-timer, the other an arrogant and ambitious newcomer, the two compete for the endorsement of a respected ex-President, and other powerful figures amongst the Party ranks. Decades on, the play returns at a time where political tensions – particularly in the States – are raging once again.
Playwright Gore Vidal was himself a Democratic Party politician, who made a career as an essayist and public intellectual, as well as a writer of fiction. The original play reflected the contemporary lead up to the 1960 Democratic National Convention, with the lead characters paying homage to candidates Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy respectively.
Publicity for the new adaption, directed by Simon Evans and headed for the West End after its UK tour, promises to catapult this powerful production into the twenty-first century. “[W]here does compromise end and corruption begin? How far will they go to be the most powerful man in the world and who in the end will be proven to be “the best man”?” teases the Theatre Royal, where the production will be landing next week. The focus on populism and corruption will undoubtedly reflect last year’s US Election, and the bizarre political situation the country finds itself in today.
The adaption stars a number of familiar faces from popular film and television, including Martin Shaw (The Chief, Strike: The Cuckoo’s Calling), Jeff Fahey (Grindhouse, Lost) and Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones’ Diary, Sense and Sensibility).
The Best Man is showing at Theatre Royal Brighton at the following times:
Monday 25 September 19:45
Tuesday 26 September 19:45
Wednesday 27 September 19:45
Thursday 28 September 14:30
Thursday 28 September 19:45
Friday 29 September 19:45
Saturday 29 September 14:30
Saturday 29 September 19:45
Sunday 30 September 19:45
Tickets: From £16
Featured Image: Theatre Royal Brighton Press Release
