Zachary Quinto delights in West End transfer of Best of Enemies – review
We went to review James Graham’s political drama Best of Enemies last year when it debuted at the Young Vic; we described it as an ‘enthralling political drama’ and we’d gladly still describe it as such with this West End transfer.
Directed by Jeremy Herrin at the Noel Coward Theatre, it’s set during the US election in 1968 which would eventually see Richard Nixon become president – although the focus here is on periphery characters and the power of the media.
Best of Enemies tells the stories of leftwing writer Gore Vidal (Zachary Quinto) and conservative commentator William F Buckley Jr (David Harewood) as they are recruited by broadcaster ABC – at the time desperate for ratings – to debate on TV live from the Republican and Democratic Party conventions that summer.
We are afforded a few snapshots of the conferences themselves and a handful of pop culture figures from the time (Andy Warhol, Aretha Franklin) make some cameo appearances, but the focus is largely on these televised slanging matches between our two political pundits.
