[title]
Irish actor Denise Gough is one of the most acclaimed stage performers of her generation, most famously for her monumental breakthrough role as a recovering addict in Duncan Macmillan’s People, Places and Things. The role propelled her to screen success, most notably with Tony Gilroy’s Andor, in which her role as a cold-blooded, ultimately out of her depth imperial intelligence officer brought her to global notice.
Gough’s stage roles have consequently become rarer and choosier, and her only British part in recent years has been a revival of People, Places and Things. But now she’s back in a very intriguing project, starring opposite cult US actor Billy Crudup.
High Noon is the debut play by Hollywood screenwriter Eric Roth, who has received a walloping six Academy Award nomination in his day, for projects running from Forrest Gump to Dune. High Noon is not an original story, but rather a stage adaptation of Fred Zinnemann’s classic 1952 screen Western.
It’s not as mad a shout to put on stage as might first appear: starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, the film followed Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, and his new wife Amy. Kane is on the cusp of retirement, but word reaches him that a vicious outlaw he put away is out of jail and intent upon revenge. He tries to enlist the townsfolk to help him… but they’re all too scared or indifferent.
It’s a heavily psychological drama that attracted considerable controversy because it was widely regarded as an allegory for the evils of McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist. A stage production makes sense. But there is also a lot of gunfighting at the end, and how exactly director Thea Sharrock is going to pull that off is the big question. Still, with cast and creatives of this calibre, it’s not just going to be a bit of throwaway West End fluff – it’s genuinely massively intriguing.
High Noon is at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Dec 17-Mar 7 2026. Tickets go on sale Sep 25 or sign up here for priority booking.
The best new London theatre shows to book for in 2025.
The RSC has announced a starry 2026 season.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.