Best of Enemies Tickets
About Best of Enemies
Discover what happened between William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal in James Graham’s Best of Enemies at the Noël Coward Theatre.
James Graham’s Best of Enemies play comes to the West End with high praise. Best of Enemies premiered at the Young Vic in 2021, and received two Olivier nominations: Best New Play, and Best Actor (for Charles Edwards.) David Harewood reprises the role of William F. Buckley Jr. from the Young Vic to the West End, while Broadway star Zachary Quinto takes on the role of Gore Vidal.
London Theatre raved about the show’s ability to display the importance of healthy debate, saying “there's a big difference between arguing about ideas in abstract and fighting for your life… a thought-provoking and resonant drama.” If you’re interested in modern politics, you’ll need to see this play.
The 1968 American presidential election saw Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey fight to win the American presidency. But at the same time, there’s plenty of eyes on conservative William F. Buckley Jr. and the liberal Gore Vidal.
They end up sharing the stage at the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami and the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. By televising their heated debates, their discussions opened a new way to speak to the public and transform television news forever.
These two foes couldn't get over each other.
Access performances
Audio Described Performance: 2.30pm Saturday 3 December 2022
Captioned Performance: 2.30pm Saturday 10 December 2022
Please note: The below performances will be filmed. There will be several cameras in the auditorium and views of the stage may be blocked at any time during the performance. There will be 360 degree filming which will result in audience members being filmed and being visible in any later broadcast. By attending you are agreeing to being filmed. Latecomers will not be admitted.
2.30pm Wednesday 25 January 2023
2.30pm Wednesday 1 February 2023
7.30pm Wednesday 1 February 2023
Run time
2 hours 25 minutes (incl. interval)
Start date
November 14th, 2022
End date
February 18th, 2023
Categories
Venue
Age
Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by and sat next to a ticket holder who is at least 18 years old. Children under the age of 3 will not be admitted.
Reviews
81 reviews on Show-Score
Stars on stage
Zachary Quinto
Best of Enemies cast and creative team
By: James Graham
Director: Jeremy Herrin
Cast list: Zachary Quinto, David Harewood, Deborah Alli, David Boyle, Lincoln Conway, Emilio Doorgasingh, Vivienne Ekwulugo, Clare Foster, Tom Godwin, John Hodgkinson, Jamie Hogarth, Syrus Lowe, Kevin McMonagle, Sam Otto, and Saaj Raja
Design: Bunny Christie
Lighting: Jack Knowles
Sound: Tom Gibbons
Venue
Noël Coward Theatre
Directions
Location: West End
Railway station: Charing Cross
Bus numbers: (Charing Cross) 24, 29, 176; (Strand) 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 87, 91, 139
Night bus numbers: (Charing Cross) 24, 176, N5, N20, N29, N41, N279; (Strand) 6, 23, 139, N9, N15, N11, N13, N21, N26, N44, N47, N87, N89, N91, N155, N343, N551
Car park: St Martin's Lane Hotel (1min)
Directions from tube: (2mins) Take Cranbourn Street away from Leicester Square until St Martin’s Lane, where you head right until you reach the theatre.
More information about Best of Enemies
Even though it’s a play based on American politics, Best of Enemies celebrates the brightest British theatre creatives. James Graham writes the play based on Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon's 2015 documentary, and Jeremy Herrin directs Best of Enemies. Putting these two unstoppable forces together makes for a stand-out play.
Best of Enemies is the latest Young Vic show to transfer to the West End: Death of a Salesman and The Inheritance moved from the Southwark venue to central London. They then went to Broadway — could Best of Enemies follow suit?
What to Watch For:
- David Harewood plays William F. Buckley Jr. He’s starred in Homeland and Supergirl, and earned an OBE in 2012 for services to Drama.
- Zachary Quinto plays Gore Vidal. The Emmy-nominated actor has appeared in Heroes and Star Trek, as well as Broadway productions of The Glass Menagerie and The Boys in the Band. Quinto makes his West End debut in Best of Enemies.
- Best of Enemies follows the debates between William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal. In 1955, Buckley Jr. founded the conservative magazine National Review, meanwhile Vidal’s novels explored how individuals and people-at-large affect American politics.
Tickets
Unfortunately, tickets for this event are no longer available.
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