About the Show

Sean Hayes revives his Tony Award-winning role in this transfer of Doug Wright's late-night TV drama.

It’s 1958, and late-night TV is America’s new obsession. Jack Paar is at the top of his game, and his favourite guest is Oscar Levant—a brilliant pianist, actor, and comedian with a reputation for razor-sharp wit and deeply unpredictable behaviour. But when Levant shows up to tape a live broadcast, it quickly becomes clear that this isn’t just another talk-show appearance. As the cameras roll, the genius unravels—and the line between performance and breakdown blurs.

Direct from its acclaimed Broadway run, Good Night, Oscar arrives at the Barbican for a limited season. Emmy and Tony Award winner Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) reprises his Tony Award-winning performance as Oscar Levant, earning praise for a tour de force turn that blends humour, fragility, and virtuosity—including a live performance of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Written by Doug Wright and directed by Lisa Peterson, this play explores the cost of brilliance, the pressure of public persona, and the enduring power of honesty on stage. A funny, moving, and unforgettable portrait of a man who defied convention—on and off camera.

Critic Reviews (9)

"Wright provides a good 15 minutes of anticipation building before Oscar appears"
Read more

"Doug Wright’s play is a fast-paced, highly polished, zinger-packed vehicle for his astonishing performance, which culminates in an electrifyingly expressive live rendition of Rhapsody in Blue."
Read more

"Hayes unleashes a virtuoso piano performance in which all his torment spills out over the keys, his passionate playing sapping him and sustaining him all at once"
Read more

"Hayes is extraordinary as Levant, crumpling into himself even as he makes the one-liners prompted by Paar sing off the stage… culminating in a truly virtuosic piano performance… hauntingly powerful."
Read more

"Sean Hayes gives a consummate, larger-than-life performance as Oscar, channelling a profoundly unsettled, manic energy, constantly twitching, rocking in his chair and performing obsessive-compulsive ticks"
Read more

"His is an extraordinary performance, the unmasking of a genuinely sad clown with a great capacity for melancholy and, one hopes, future meaty roles"
Read more

"Hayes’s brilliance elevates it into a must-see"
Read more

"I defy anyone not to well up at the climax, a spellbinding rendition of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue"
Read more