'High Noon' review — Billy Crudup and Denise Gough bring gravitas to this stage version of the classic Western

Read our review of High Noon, adapted by Eric Roth, now in performances at the Harold Pinter Theatre to 6 March.

Summary

• High Noon is a new play based on the 1952 Western film starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly
• It sees a small-town marshal stand up to a thuggish tyrant
• Billy Crudup brings gravitas to the role of Will Kane
• Denise Gough supplies quiet strength and her beautiful singing voice as Amy Fowler

The 1952 Western film High Noon, which starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, saw Cooper’s town marshal Will Kane emerging as an archetypal American hero who stands up to a tyrant when everyone around him sinks into apathy. However, screenwriter Carl Foreman was subsequently blacklisted from Hollywood as part of the Red Scare.

Led by Billy Crudup and Denise Gough, the film has now been adapted for the stage by Oscar-winning Forrest Gump screenwriter Eric Roth (this is his first play). Contemporary parallels, tragically highlighted by recent events in America, cannot be in doubt.

In a small New Mexico town, the community gathers to celebrate the wedding of Kane to Amy Fowler, a widowed teacher from St Louis and, crucially, a Quaker. Kane will give up his gun, and the two will settle down and run a store. However, their marriage is immediately in serious trouble when they learn that Frank Miller, the thug who terrorised the town for years (very like KENREX), has been released from prison and is due to arrive on the noon train. Amy is anxious to leave, but Kane has to go back to face down his nemesis.

The central motif of Thea Sharrock’s production is a ticking clock, although the action doesn’t actually play out in real time and there’s an emphasis on to-ing and fro-ing in both the writing and direction, rather than developing dramatic tension. However, there are some striking stage moments. When the train pulls in and we finally see Miller (James Doherty, who also plays the local judge), he makes an imposing entrance from behind.

Kane has cleaned up the town and made it a fit place in which to raise a family. 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. Despite being terrified of being made a widow on her wedding day, she won’t unquestioningly “stand by her man” because that’s what’s expected, and she has the chance to showcase her singing ability with songs by Bruce Springsteen and others.

Billy Howle is suitably volatile as grizzled deputy Harvey Pell, who seems fated never to rise to the top job and has always idolised his boss while resenting the way in which he will never be able to emulate him, leading to a climactic fight choreographed by Kate Waters. There’s also a strong performance from Rosa Salazar as Mexican businesswoman Helen Ramirez, who previously had a long-term relationship with Kane and is now involved with Pell, and has a pragmatic approach towards such matters, as well as a sense of solidarity with Amy.

The production looks handsome with its slatted wooden set design and Sunday-best costuming by Tim Hately. Neil Austin’s lighting is strikingly beautiful, as the morning glow reaches its midday glare, lending the production a handful of authentically cinematic moments which befit its origins as a screen classic.

High Noon is at the Harold Pinter Theatre to 6 March. Book High Noon tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: High Noon (Photos by Johan Persson)