Review: IN THE PRINT at the King’s Head Theatre

We’re at the tail end of the Fleet Street era and Brenda Dean (Claudia Jolly) has just become the first female leader of a major trades union, steering SOGAT in its dealings with the Machiavellian Murdoch empire. For his part, the Australian import wants his News International employees compliant and kept to a minimum as he adopts new technology to reduce headcount and make economic efficiencies at his massive new Wapping print-works. By the time everyone realises that Rupert Murdoch (Alan Cox) has played a blinder and deceived them all into doing exactly what he wanted, it’s too late. The Union is virtually bankrupt, internal factions are resorting to litigation and union mergers to ensure survival, seem inevitable.

There are a few light moments in Josh Roche’s thinly directed production e.g. where smarmy Andrew Neil (Alasdair Harvey) and crass Kelvin MacKenzie (Russell Bentley) demonstrate the breadth of the UK societal spectrum over which Murdoch holds sway through his ownership of The Times and The Sun. There are also references to his burgeoning television empire in the US as he seeks to broaden his global appeal and political reach, neatly tying-in the production’s Succession connection.

Unfortunately the wit and erudition which added such a light touch to proceedings in The Gang of Three (as Jenkins, Healey and Crosland vied over G&Ts for the Labour Party leadership in the 1970s and beyond), are lacking in the dialogue here. We never really get under the skin of those key characters like Bill Sargent (Jonathan Jaynes) and the Union’s legal counsel Joan Harrison (Georgia Landers) who contributed to events, so that by the time the Dean vs Murdoch finale showdown takes place, it proves something of a damp squib. The whole is played-out on an underwhelmingly simplistic set design by Peiyao Wang where newsprint smudged on the floor and back wall allude to the working environment but add very little to the theatrical atmosphere.

Perhaps it is the cynic in me which points to the advertising hoardings for this latest show, which disingenuously and misleadingly use the star ratings awarded by 17 review publications (including London Box Office) for the writers’ previous play, in its header. The blatancy of this marketing ploy perhaps indicates that the team knew well in advance that this production would struggle to reach the same heady heights, and Murdoch-like, chose to have an ace up its collective sleeve. Whatever the case, I strongly suspect the reviews for IN THE PRINT will be unlikely to match 2025’s adulation. Hopefully the performances and the dialogue delivery will bed-in over the coming weeks, but for me, this proved a disappointing follow-up.

The show continues at the King’s Head Theatre until 3rd May and runs 90 minutes straight through without interval.