About the Show

Thatcher-era drama adapted by Jack Holden, directed by Michael Grandage.

Set in London in the early 1980s, The Line of Beauty follows Nick Guest, a young Oxford graduate who becomes a lodger in the affluent Notting Hill home of a university friend. Immersed in the private lives of a newly elected Conservative MP’s family, Nick navigates a landscape of social privilege, political ambition, and repressed desire.

This stage adaptation is written by Jack Holden, whose previous work includes Cruise and Kenrex. The production is directed by Michael Grandage, a Tony Award winner known for Red and Frost/Nixon.

Adapted from the Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty explores themes of sexuality, class, and identity against the backdrop of Thatcherite Britain.

Critic Reviews (7)

"fans of the novel will be more than impressed with this artful, intricate retelling of Hollinghurst’s masterpiece. It might not have all the trimmings, but its essence is fully preserved."
Read more

"by Thatcher’s ghost, it does a tremendous job of cutting Hollinghurst’s period odyssey into a gripping, flab-free two-and-a-half hours of theatre. It is, above all, a great piece of storytelling. "
Read more

"Assisted by nostalgia-stirring pop sounds, here’s another bittersweet evocation of a momentous decade that cast a long shadow. "
Read more

"it’s still a wild, witty ride, powered by slow-burning anger at a political elite that’s updated its shoulderpads – but not its values."
Read more

"a reminder of then, a warning for our age of rising intolerance, and an adaptation well worth seeing."
Read more

"The smooth-running intricacy of the piece and its dislikeable denizens mean we experience it at arm’s length. But it’s unarguably adroit and accomplished."
Read more

"While it may be a play you admire more than one that wholly moves you, there’s no question that Holden has achieved something remarkable: transforming an intricate, interior novel into a piece of theatre"
Read more