Ink
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Cititour.com Review
As every reporter or editor knows, journalism is a down-and-dirty business. But in case you don’t believe me: James Graham’s crackling drama “Ink,” now at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, is here to dispel any doubt. This British import shows, in bold 48-point type, how the seemingly quixotic quest to outsell the more conservative Daily Mirror led a scrappy editor named Larry Lamb (a truly intense Jonny Lee Miller) to get stains on his shirt (literally) and blood on his hands (figurately) while creating “The Sun,” the populist and ultimately ultra-popular tabloid that forever changed the newspaper industry in 1960s England.
Cleverly, as well, Graham’s ripped-from-the-past-headlines tale is a bit of a play on the Faust legend, with the devil taking the form of a young Rupert Murdoch (a brilliantly weasel-like Bertie Carvel). It’s fascinating to watch how the Australian publishing upstart purchased the failing Sun for a song, hired Lamb, and not-so-subtly goaded him into doing whatever it takes to beat the circulation of the Mirror – Lamb’s one-time employer -- within a year of the publication’s purchase.
At first, Lamb’s inventiveness is harmless, even inspired, such as adding reader-friendly sections on horoscopes and TV listings to the paper. But he soon crosses line after line, from the constant and possibly reckless reporting on the kidnapping of the wife of Murdoch’s deputy editor Sir Alick McKay (Colin McPhillamy) to posting photos of topless women– a controversial, unheralded decision that alienates many of Lamb’s formerly loyal staffers, yet cements the paper’s sales figures and “reputation.”
Even while watching the play, one realizes that this subject matter may feel like old history to some audience members, and seemingly less-than-relevant to many Americans. But that is not, or should not be the case, since Murdoch ultimately changed the course of our own journalistic world by eventually buying “The National Enquirer,” “The New York Post,” and FOX TV, among other properties.
Regardless of one's interest in the subject matter, Rupert Goold’s flashily directed, well-cast production is sure to keep audiences steadily involved. Visually, the show benefits enormously from Bunny Christie’s brilliantly conceived set (a mountain of desks that serve as a metaphor for “The Sun”’s rise to the top) and colorful period costumes and Jon Driscoll’s excellent projection design, used often to show us pages from both The Sun and The Mirror, highlighting the ever-shifting landscape of the news world.
Meanwhile, Miller and Carver are both simultaneously scary yet human in their characterizations of two equally driven men, who share a desire to both serve the working class and prove that they themselves are just as good than their posher counterparts. Still, even as they dominate the proceedings, they’re supported by a top-notch team of actors, including David Wilson Barnes, Bill Buell, Andrew Durand, Rana Roy, Michael Siberry, Robert Stanton and Tara Summers, each of whom deliver sharp-edged performances (even when their characters are not as fully drawn as one might like) that lend the play depth and verisimilitude. In lesser hands, “Ink” could be a black-and-white morality tale. Instead, this superb production is the epitome of living color.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://inkbroadway.com
Cast
Bertie Carvel, Jonny Lee Miller, David Wilson Barnes, Bill Buell, Andrew Durand, Eden Marryshow, Colin McPhillamy, Erin Neufer, Kevin Pariseau, Rana Roy, Michael Siberry, Robert Stanton, Tara Summers
Open/Close Dates
Opening 4/24/2019
Closing 7/7/2019
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 4/2/2019
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
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