Good Tickets

David Tennant plays John Halder in C. P. Taylor’s Good in the West End. Experience the timely Holocaust drama in London for the first time in over 40 years.

The Good play offers a chance to see award-winning performers in action: David Tennant takes on the role of literary professor John Halder alongside the Olivier-winning actor Elliot Levey as John's German Jewish friend Maurice Glückstein.

When Good premiered in 1980s London, critics raved about the play’s ability to explain Holocaust history, so much so it’s considered to be the leading play in its genre. Good made it to the top 100 plays of the 20th century according to the National Review.

At the start of Good, audiences meet John Halder. He’s living a comfortable life in 1930s Frankfurt: he’s married, he has children, he looks after his family. He stands up for his Jewish friends, and disagrees with anti-Semitism. But that’s not all there is to him.

Halder has flaws, and once the Nazi Party target his inner thoughts, he finds himself swept up in a political movement and becomes detached from reality. Can Halder stay "good"? Or will his life inevitably fall towards an unthinkable ending?

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Sign language interpreted - Tuesday 29 Nov 2022 19:30

Although John Halder is a fictional character, the Good storyline follows real life events. At the start of the play, Halder lives in a time where Adolf Hitler assumes office and book burning begins at the University of Berlin in order to stop the dissemination of “illegal thoughts.” Then as the play progresses, moments take place with pogroms, shooting, and war in the background.

What to Watch For:

• David Tennant plays John Halder in Good. The Doctor Who actor’s West End credits include Don Juan in Soho, and Much Ado About Nothing alongside Catherine Tate.
• Dominic Cooke directs Good in London. He previously directed Follies at the National Theatre, as well as Olivier Award-winning revivals of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Clybourne Park, and The Crucible for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
• C. P. Taylor is a Glasgow-born playwright. During his 16-year career, Taylor penned over 70 plays, mostly focusing on his Jewish background and experiences. Good is often considered to be his most successful play and is the definitive Holocaust drama in English-speaking theatre.
• The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned C. P. Taylor to write Good in 1981. Good in 2022 marks the play’s West End debut.
• Viggo Mortensen played John Halder in the 2008 Good film.