Talk Radio
Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ
Tuesday 29th August – Saturday 23rd September 2017
This autumn, the team behind No Villain return to the Old Red Lion with Eric Bogosian’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated Talk Radio. Thirty years after its inaugural production in New York, this play explores the not-so-hidden prejudices in ‘80s America and the power of the media to manipulate events
Barry Champlain is abrasive and forthright, the ultimate devil’s advocate, willing to argue just about any point. He lives for his radio show and the minor fame it brings him but his on-air persona is just that: a persona. Barry despises the people he talks to every day; he loathes their views and he abhors their adoration.
His listeners think they know him but Barry is not even sure he knows himself. He is careless and cold with his lover Linda, downright ugly to his best friend and collaborator Stu and spiteful of his producer, the man who made him, Dan. But above all, he detests himself for the lie he is living.
While freedom of the press has always been viewed as important, Bogosian’s play highlights that, in the wrong hands, this freedom can be used to baffle and create prejudice. In a post-truth age of fake news and continued attacks against the press, this landmark hit has never felt more relevant.
Director Sean Turner comments, I am delighted to be bringing back together some of the major players from 2015’s highly successful No Villain, the world premiere of Arthur Miller’s first play. The time is more than ripe for London audiences to enjoy the fast-paced adrenaline thrill ride that is Talk Radio. The production will be anarchic and raucous – once we put our foot on the pedal it will not stop.
The most lacerating portrait of a human meltdown this side of a Francis Bacon painting. (New York Times)