Good is postponed at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Read here for more information.
David Tennant is set to make a return to the West End stage when he stars in Dominic Cooke’s production of CP Taylor’s Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre The Doctor Who actor will make a highly anticipated return to theatre in London.
Tennant will play the lead role of John Halder in the play, a literary professor living in Frankfurt in the 1930s. The play demonstrates how seemingly decent people could have their lives and motives drastically altered by Nazi ideology during their regime in the Second World War.
The cast will also feature Fenella Woolgar (Handbagged) and Elliot Levey (Much Ado About Nothing), with further casting set to be announced.
Dominic Cooke directs Good. Cooke was the artistic director of the Royal Court from 2006 to 2013, and in that time staged a number of acclaimed productions such as Clybourne Park, Jerusalem, and Enron, each of which transferred to the West End. He has won a number of Olivier Awards for productions such as The Crucible with the RSC and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the National Theatre, and most recently won best revival for Stephen Sondheim's Follies at the latter theatre,
The play was first commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981, and premiered at the Donmar Warehouse directed by Howard Davies. Michael Grandage later directed the play, which has been hailed one of the most significant plays of the 20th century by the National Theatre, at the Donmar in 1999, starring Charles Dance. A film version of the play was also produced in 2008, starring Viggo Mortensen, Jason Isaacs, Jodie Whittaker and Mark Strong.
Speaking about bringing Good back to the West End, Tennant said: “I am really inspired and delighted to finally get a chance to work with Dominic Cooke, and especially on a wonderful play like CP Taylor’s Good - a fantastic bit of writing that is more pertinent and resonant now than it has ever been.”
The creative team of Good includes designer Vicki Mortimer, lighting designer Paule Constable, sound designer Paul Arditti and musical director Nigel Lilley.
Good Synopsis
As the world faces its Second World War, John Halder, a decent, intelligent, music-loving German professor, finds himself swept along in a movement that crescendos towards an unthinkable finale. Good is a warning for our times.