Review of The Lehman Trilogy
'The Lehman Trilogy' review — epic play continues to astonish with new cast
4/5
Read our four-star review of Hadley Fraser in The Lehman Trilogy, now playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre through 20 May.
The Lehman Trilogy Tickets
London
24 Jan 2023 - 20 May 2023
Learn how a trio of brothers's financial decisions impacted global politics.
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The Lehman Trilogy Information
The five-time Tony-winning play returns to the West End for a spring season.
Italian writer and essayist Stefano Massini's play opened as an Italian-speaking production, with performances in Paris and Milan. Ben Power then adapted the financial drama from Italian to English. British dramaturg Ben Power previously adapted Euripides’s Medea and three D. H. Lawrence stories into Husbands and Sons.
The Lehman Trilogy premiered at the National Theatre in 2018, and later transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre. You don’t need a finance and mathematics background to understand what happens to the Lehmans. In a five-star review of The Lehman Trilogy for London Theatre, our critic said: "The production is epic. The singular alchemy of acting, design and direction in this production is so superb that it must be witnessed."
In 2021, the play transferred to Broadway and won five Tonys, including Best Play, Best Director (for Sam Mendes), and Best Actor (for Simon Russell Beale). Now, The Lehman Trilogy returns to London for a limited West End season at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.
What is The Lehman Trilogy about?
What happened to the Lehman brothers? It all starts in 1844, when Henry Lehman, a young man from Bavaria with a big dream, emigrated to New York. With the help of his two brothers, Emanuel and Mayer, the Lehman Brothers bank is born.
From here, audiences watch a whistlestop tour of 163 years of banking history through three generations of the family, following the establishment of the bank, and its doomed fate which led to the biggest global financial collapse in history, affecting each and every one of us.
Please note
The production contains moments and themes that some people may find distressing. This includes the non-graphic depiction of a suicide and mentions of suicide. There is also infrequent mention of death, war and slavery.
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Run time
3 hours 20 minutes (inc. 2 intervals)
Opening date
January 24th, 2023
Closing date
May 20th, 2023
Categories
Plays, Drama
Age
Under 4s will not be admitted. Anyone under the age of 16 has to be accompanied by an adult aged 18+.
Cast and creative
By: Stefano Massini, English adaptation by Ben Power
Director: Sam Mendes
Producer: Co-production with Neal Street Productions
Cast list: Michael Balogun, Nigel Lindsay, Hadley Fraser, Yshani Perinpanayagam, Ravi Aujla, Will Harrison-Wallace, Leighton Pugh, Erika Gundesen
Design: Es Devlin
Lighting: Jon Clark
Costume: Katrina Lindsay
Choreography: Polly Bennett
Sound: Nick Powell
Our review
Latest The Lehman Trilogy News & Features
The story of The Lehman Trilogy’s success is a trilogy in its own right: The play opened to acclaim in London in 2018, did so again off Broadway in 2019, and was met with the same praise upon its Broadway premiere, at the Nederlander Theatre. Maybe you’re hesitant because you don’t know much about the Lehman Brothers, the storied Wall Street company The Lehman Trilogy centres on. Or maybe business just isn’t your thing, and you thought right away the show wouldn’t interest you. But if you think...
Dramatising the tale of the Lehman Brothers’ financial rollercoaster, The Lehman Trilogy illuminates the downward spiral that went on to cause an unparalleled financial downturn throughout the world. The production will tell the story of the banking crisis like you’ve never seen or heard it before; you can put your money on it! Before seeing The Lehman Trilogy in the West End from January 2023, find out more about The Lehman Trilogy on stage. From how to get The Lehman Trilogy tickets to when to...