Zachary Quinto and David Harewood star in West End transfer of James Graham’s Best of Enemies

Zachary Quinto and David Harewood are to star in the West End transfer of James Graham’s Best of Enemies.

The hit show from the Young Vic and Headlong, which originally premiered at the Young Vic in December 2021, examines the bitter political rivalry between William F Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal.

Zachary Quinto (The Boys in the Band, American Horror Story, Star Trek) will make his West End debut as Gore Vidal opposite David Harewood (Homeland, Super Girl, Ten Percent) who is reprising his role as William F. Buckley Jr.

James Graham’s (Sherwood, Quiz, This House) award-winning new play will begin previews at the Noël Coward Theatre on 14 November with an opening night on 28 November 2022. Tickets are on sale now here.

Book Best Of Enemies tickets here »

Completing the cast are Deborah Alli, Emilio Doorgasingh, Clare Foster, Tom Godwin, John Hodgkinson, Syrus Lowe, Kevin McMonagle and Sam Otto who will each perform multiple roles within the play including Andy Warhol, James Baldwin, Patricia Buckley, Howard Austen, Aretha Franklin and Martin Luther-King.

The ensemble includes David Boyle, Lincoln Conway, Vivienne Ekwulugo, Jamie Hogarth and Saaj Raja.

1968 – a year of protest that divided America. As two men fight to become the next President, all eyes are on the battle between two others: the cunningly conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and the iconoclastic liberal Gore Vidal.

Beliefs are challenged and slurs slung as these political idols feud nightly in a new television format, debating the moral landscape of a shattered nation. Little do they know they’re about to open up a new frontier in American politics, and transform television news forever…

Directed by Jeremy Herrin, Best of Enemies is Designed by Bunny Christie, with Lighting Design by Jack Knowles, Sound Design by Tom Gibbons, Video Design by Max Spielbichler, Composition by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, Movement Direction by Shelley Maxwell, Casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG (UK) and Jim Carnahan CSA (US), Voice and Dialect by Hazel Holder and Associate Direction by Annie Kershaw.

For more information and tickets, visit bestofenemiesplay.com

David Harewood said: “I consider Best of Enemies to be one of the most enjoyable and challenging experiences of my whole career and I cannot wait to once again get under the skin of this uniquely complex character.

“Jeremy’s brilliant direction and James’s wonderful script combine to give both actor and audience a stimulating, thought-provoking and wildly entertaining evening out and I’m counting down the days to performing this show again in the West End.”

Zachary Quinto added: “Living and working in London has long been an aspiration of mine. But to be making my West End debut in such a thrilling and relevant play – amongst such a distinguished creative team – and playing such a scorching and complex character as Gore Vidal – far exceeds my expectations of what living and working in London would look like…

“I’m full of gratitude and excitement. Best of Enemies harkens back to a vital time – when genuine discourse was possible from even the most opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. My hope is that such discourse may be once again rekindled in response to the work itself.”

James Graham said: “To be given the opportunity to bring new writing to the West End is always a thrill. Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville’s original hit documentary about the televised debates between Buckley and Vidal in the 1960s, and their surprise influence on our politics and media today, enraptured me when I first saw it. It’s been an honour to take inspiration from their work to create this drama for the stage.

“We’re living through another ‘1968 moment’ right now – that same spirit of protest, resistance, and a thirst for change; of political polarisation and toxicity, all of which was the backdrop to the clash between these two men live in front of the world.

“Working with Jeremy again, and having the epic talents of this cast – led by David and Zach, fighting it out every night on the Noel Coward stage – is such an exciting prospect, I can’t wait.”