In The Print by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky, King's Head Theatre, Upper Street, Islington | until 03 May 2026 ⭐⭐⭐ Review by William Russell
In The Print
by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky
King's Head Theatre, Upper Street, Islington | until 03 May 2026
⭐⭐⭐ Review by William Russell
“Engrossing thought-provoking account of the 1986 battle of Wapping.”
The battle of Wapping in 1984 when Rupert Murdoch took on the Fleet Street trade unions and won – with some help from Brenda Dean, the general secretary of Sogat and a moderniser who realised the old ways had to end – saved the British newspaper industry although it is now in decline as new ways of transmitting news are taking over from print. Khan and Salinsky scored a bulls' eye with their play about The Gang of Three and the foundation of the Social Democrats but this time, well though it is performed, especially by Claudia Jolly as Dean and Alan Cox as Murdoch, they haven't quite managed it. The interaction between them is all there but the forces of darkness, the print union leaders devoted to the old ways, the Spanish practices of overmanning and fictitious employees with names like “Donald Duck” were not then, and are certainly not now, people one can identify with. The performances of the actors playing them are fine, but it results in one never quite knowing who Murdoch and Dean are battling with even if we know what it was. Murdoch then was in a sense a good guy, although as his empire grew, especially with Fox News in America, he has turned into anything but, even although the empire is now in his son Lachlan's hands. Dean, who ended up in the House of Lords sent there by John Smith, as the likes of her usually do, became someone who chaired things but faded from public view, no longer a glamorous blonde and never, as might have been expected, became a minister under Tony Blair or Gordon Brown. In other words, it is a past that now seems very distant – those and such as those will be enthralled but how interested the everyday theatregoer will be in it is anybody's guess. Possibly one doesn't really learn enough about either Dean or Murdoch, although the way they battle and co-operate to defeat the common enemy is certainly interesting in itself. In a sense knowledge is taken for granted which in the cast of Murdoch is fine but not in the case of Dean. The direction by Josh Roche is impeccable, there is a striking simple set by Peiyao Wang, and the supporting cast fill several roles very well indeed although Andrew Neill is certainly not like he is or was as played by Alasdair Harvey. It Dean was known for being very well dressed and Peiyao Wang has given Claudia Jolly – not a blonde, which was part of her image then - the most amazingly stylish blue dress. The result is a near miss rather than a direct hit but remains an engrossing ninety minutes of warfare.
Cast
Alan Cox – Rupert Murdoch
Alasdair Harvey – Andrew Neil
Claudia Jolly – Brenda Dean
Georgia Landers – Joan Harison
Jonathan Jaynes – Bill Sargent
Russell Bentley – Kelvin MacKenzie
Creatives
Director – Josh Roche
Set & Costume Designer – Peiyan Wang
Lighting Designer – Joshua Gadsby
Sound Designer & Cpmposer – Sarah Spencer
Dialect Coach – Simon Money