Best of Enemies at Noël Coward Theatre

If your television set also occupies a central place in the house, you too can witness proof of how prominent and influential the aforementioned medium – together with the little screens we carry in our pockets – is on our language and beliefs. James Graham has picked up his pen again to adapt for the stage one of the earliest media acts that determined the inflammatory nature and relevance of televised rhetoric, and hence the consequential impact on viewers. The Buckley vs Vidal debates historically, not only introduced a new television format, but also broke boundaries for the communication system and verbal taboos. Graham’s resulting new show has now landed in London’s West End, complete with riveting performances and a captivating stage rendition of the power of televised speech.

ABC is trailing at the bottom of the big American networks league. In order to gain points for the 1968 national conventions, they are planning an original series of debates between intellectuals with rather polarised views to comment on the hot topics and pros and cons of the runners-up. While turmoil is in the street, fiery darts are thrown in the studio, with a staggering increase in share for ABC, while the show’s participants are pushed to their limits.

Keeping the broadcast speeches unaltered from the actual recordings, Graham and director Jeremy Herrin masterfully build the rest of the narration on the respective lives of the protagonists and the atmosphere in the country. Contrasting positions on pressing issues – among which are wars and law and order – somehow mirror the current era, where opposing beliefs give birth to innumerable divides. The dialogues among the various characters highlight how a duality of points of view can give rise to a duality of depicting reality: “You call them protesters, I call them rioters”, says Mayor Daley (John Hodgkinson), referring to the people taking to the streets of Chicago ahead of the Democratic Convention.

The set design by Bunny Christie deftly brings the audience’s attention to the spoken word, as much as to the dramatisation of live cameras, with three large screens turned on and off and projecting different angles of the recordings of the subjects. The poised acting of Zachary Quinto, interpreting Gore Vidal, elegantly confronts the vehement eloquence of David Harewood, wearing the shoes of William Buckley. Both leads instil in their roles an absorbing stamina, exalting what makes them differ in the shared American political landscape.

An apt comparison is made between the impassioned and argumentative encounters of the two to a battle, with each taking their position in lonely chairs on the main stage for every round, while the spectators from the TV crew watch from upstairs. “Here is your sword”, Matt (Sam Otto) says, offering the clipboard to Vidal, whereas Frank Meyer (Tom Godwin) advises Buckley on strategy by simulating a boxing ring situation. And it is indeed an exhilarating battle, stirring multiple elements of discussion around the relationship between politics and communication.

Cristiana Ferrauti
Image: Johan Persson

Best of Enemies is at Noël Coward Theatre from 14^th November until 18^th February 2023. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.