Overview
- Jack Holden’s two-and-a-half-hour adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s Booker-winning novel is directed by Michael Grandage at the Almeida Theatre, running through 29 November.
- Critics single out Jasper Talbot’s turn as Nick Guest, with strong support from Leo Suter, Charles Edwards and Ellie Bamber.
- The story’s 1983–1987 setting is evoked through minimalist design, sharp period costumes and a soundtrack featuring New Order, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Donna Summer.
- Reviewers praise the vivid portrayal of queer life and upper-class glamour, while noting that shifts into AIDS-era tragedy sometimes feel abrupt.
- Coverage places the production within a broader reappraisal of 1980s Britain and finds Holden’s translation of the novel’s breadth largely successful.