Being a news junkie can be a lot of work. It takes time, after all, to follow a complicated series of events through many permutations sometimes lasting years. A handy alternative, if you don’t mind waiting, is to see a play by the gifted J.T. Rogers, who consistently manages to turn complex real-life stories of historical importance into compelling drama. In Blood and Gifts, he examined the struggle for control of Afghanistan in the 1980s. In Oslo, he dramatized the seemingly impossible diplomatic negotiations that led to the Arab-Israeli Peace Accord. And with his latest effort, Corruption, receiving its world premiere at Lincoln Center Theater, he’s managed to turn the 2010-2011 News International phone hacking scandal in Britain into a breathlessly paced thriller. Who needs escapist fantasy when real life is so fascinating?
Based on the book Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain by Tom Watson and Martin Hickman, the ambitious drama concerns the abuses perpetrated by the newspaper News of the World, owned by Rupert Murdoch, which systematically hacked the phones of thousands of people, including show business figures, politicians, athletes, and even crime victims and their families. Spearheading the campaign to bring their illegal practices to light is Member of Parliament Watson (Toby Stephens, excellent) and several newspaper journalists, including Hickman (Sanjit De Silva) and Nick Davies (T. Ryder Smith) of The Guardian.
The villains in the story, and there are more than a few, include Rebekah Brooks (Saffron Burrows, making her New York stage debut), the red flame-haired chief executive of News International, and Andy Coulson (Seth Numrich), the News of the World editor who went on to become Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications director until he was forced to resign as a result of the revelations.
[Read David Finkle’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
Corruption doesn’t succeed as fully as Oslo because it’s a more complex, elongated story featuring so many characters that nearly every cast member, with the exceptions of Stephens and Burrows, play multiple roles. It’s sometimes hard to keep track of who’s who without a scorecard, and those not paying very close attention may find it difficult to keep up. (It would have been helpful if a guide to the figures involved had been included in the program). But even if you only have a cursory knowledge of the real-life events, the play proves gripping thanks to the playwright’s ability to craft sharp dialogue that proves both informative and propulsive.
Not to mention funny, as when News International’s smooth-talking lawyer (a superb Dylan Baker, who also plays a sleazy private investigator) tell James Murdoch (Numrich, again), who’s advocating for Brooks’ dismissal, that his father will never abandon support for her because “he likes her more than he does you.” And frequently disturbing, as when a journalist tells an aghast Watson that the News of the World won’t be brought down by the revelation that they had hacked the phones of a murdered girl’s parents because “it’s not horrible enough to change the narrative.”
Director Bartlett Sher, who also staged Rogers’ previous two plays at Lincoln Center, once again does an excellent job of presenting a complex narrative in clear, coherent fashion, even if the voluminous number of scene changes requiring the constant shifting of tables and chairs sometimes makes it feel as if we’re watching an expert moving company at work. Set designer Michael Yeargan has provided a circular row of monitors overhanging the stage that present snippets of news broadcasts, headlines, photographs, etc. that provide important context to the events depicted, with larger scaled projections (courtesy of 59 Productions) displayed at the rear of the stage.
The 13-person ensemble — which also includes such reliable vets as K. Todd Freeman, Michael Siberry, and John Behlmann — handle their assignments with great dexterity, delineating their multiple characters with incisive brush strokes.
Although the events depicted took place more than a decade ago, Corruption still proves sadly relevant, especially in the light of Fox News’ dishonest coverage of the 2020 presidential election (and practically everything else). The play ends on a somewhat despairing note, reminding us that too often in real life the bad guys go unpunished.
Corruption opened March 11, 2024, at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater and runs through April 14. Tickets and information: lct.org
