Find out how critics are reacting to this world stage premiere production based on the 1952 Oscar winning film.
WhatsOnStage: *** “The production (produced by Tom Cruise’s business partner Paula Wagner) is almost too well-wrought. Sharrock’s direction is thoughtful and taut while encompassing dancing (choreography by Lizzie Gee) and some realistic fights courtesy of Kate Waters. Tom Hatley’s set design of slatted walls is evocatively lit by Neil Austin to mark the changing moods and times of day.”
The Guardian: **** “For all its early stiffness, it builds in momentum and there are moving moments. Ultimately, the political message speaks loudest, harnessing the McCarthyist fear of then and the Trumpian terror of today.”
London Theatre.co.uk: *** “Crudup brings gravitas and quiet dignity to the role, as well as a touch of delicacy (he could have been ruthless in his approach, but he wasn’t), though he lacks a big stirring speech to bring everything together. As Amy, Gough conveys her quiet strength in a relatively underwritten part.”
Time Out: *** “It’s entertaining, looks great, has a superb cast and Bruce Springsteen songs. These are all good things, as is the seamlessness with which the central allegory is updated. But it still feels a lot like a screenplay plonked on a stage. High Noon the film is an all time classic. High Noon the play is an entertaining curio.”
All That Dazzles: *** “High Noon may be slightly stifled by some conflicting creative choices, but its talented cast still manages to lift the show to the next level. Billy Crudup is a wonderful actor, proven time and time again with his credits on stage and screen, last seen in the West End in the sensational Harry Clarke in 2024, but for one reason or another, he isn’t played to his strengths in this production. Though he is a charismatic leading man and does the best that he can with the role, his performance lacked something, never coming across as authentic and feeling as if it needed some more bedding in to really land the role of Will Kane.”
Broadway World: ***** “What earns the final star above is not the adaptation’s subtle relevance nor its urgent pacing but the fact that though there’s an inevitable corniness to the plot, some 73 years after the film’s release, I was moved. I was there in the room with Kane as he failed to find the trust of his erstwhile supporters, with Amy as she wrestled with her conscience and ultimately left admiring a man who could do what I can’t (yet) in these difficult days for the world – The Right Thing.”
Theatre Weekly: ** “Roth’s script is heavy on exposition and light on subtext. Everything is spelled out for the audience, leaving no room for interpretation. There’s even a line about “a lot of talking without actually saying anything”, which feels unintentionally self-referential. Attempts to inject contemporary relevance through political asides and fourth-wall breaks only underline the problem: this is a play that doesn’t trust its audience to think for themselves.”
Lou Reviews: *** 1/2 “If you’re new to the story, you’ll see it differently than if you know the film intimately. If you’re the latter, you can appreciate how Roth has made changes; if the former, you will wonder how the plot pans out.”
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