James Graham is a brilliant political playwright. What distinguishes him is his ability not just to wield arguments skilfully, but to write with wit and humanity about the processes, structures and forces that shape the political narrative. Much of his work to date has been a probing study of democracy in action, digging deep into origins of the landscape we see around us today.
His breakthrough comedy, This House, focused on the contortions of a hung parliament; Labour of Love charted divisions in the left; The Vote unfolded in a polling station; Ink explored the impact of popular tabloid culture. Even Quiz, about the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, was an astute inquiry into decision-making and the malleability of public opinion.
His terrific new drama, Best of Enemies, set in 1968, spools back to a critical point in western politics. Counterculture and antiwar protests surge across city streets on both sides of the Atlantic; in Chicago, the US Democratic National Convention unfolds against a backdrop of violent clashes between protesters and police; Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King have been assassinated.
In the political uproar and shaking certainties, the US television network ABC tries to boost poor ratings with a series of late-night debates between arch-conservative William F Buckley Jr and maverick liberal Gore Vidal. Intended as heavyweight intellectual exchanges, they turn into rancorous showboating, ad hominem attacks and a bitter battle for the “soul of America” — must-watch television that catapults ABC up the ratings chart. “I believe in America,” states Buckley. “Which America?” Vidal shoots back.
For Graham, it’s a turning point: a moment that shifts the discourse, setting us on the path to the polarisation, personality politics and raging culture wars that dominate public life today. Much of his work attempts to counter that trend, finding common ground and nuance. So, while inspired by the 2015 documentary of the same name by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon, Best of Enemies also sketches in backstage scenes that add complexity.
On set, Charles Edwards’s wry, smooth Vidal and David Harewood’s bullish Buckley (both superb) appear cocksure; in their respective hotel rooms we see the insecurities bite and the unsung support (Buckley’s wife and his publisher; Vidal’s researcher and his partner) behind their “off-the-cuff” performances. As the pendulum swings back and forth between them, both actors show how their characters’ ideological convictions, adopted personas and personal frailties battle it out within them.
Even if occasionally a little too on-the-nose, it’s gripping. Jeremy Herrin’s Headlong co-production brims with adrenalin, swirling across Bunny Christie’s bear-pit of a TV studio set. An excellent, multitasking cast take on friends, partners, news anchors, nervous TV executives, furious protesters and cameo appearances as famous figures such as James Baldwin (Syrus Lowe, brilliant), Enoch Powell and Aretha Franklin. Fictitious scenes are spliced with documentary footage on huge omnipresent TV screens: a sign of times to come.
“Hardly anyone listens,” complains Vidal at one point. This electrifying play embraces theatre’s role as public forum to try to amend that.
★★★★★
Young Vic, London to January 22, youngvic.org
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