14/07/2025
I remember buying the play text of Jack Thorne’s “The Motive and The Cue” from the bookshop at the National Theatre where it was being staged in 2023. I was already a huge fan of Sir John Gielgud as I studied his work at school. I was also familiar with Richard Burton and Liz Taylor, their public life, and Sinatra connection. There is no doubt this play was Vincent coded: 1960s, Old Hollywood, the Jazz Age.
Money was tight in first year to go watch plays (most of my money was spent in the pub). I read the play in one sitting; I was locked in. Each page flowed onto the next with no chance of stopping. That’s the Jack Thorne effect. The last time I read a book in one go was “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”. I was age 12 in Hua Hin with no WiFi at the property. This too was a Jack Thorne play. He reemerged again in third year with Netflix’s “Adolescence” - another masterful piece of writing.
“Motive” transferred to the Noël Coward Theatre (West End) in 2024. I enjoyed watching the performance, despite the restricted upper circle view. The cast was powerful: Johnny Flynn embodied Burton ruggedness, Tuppence Middleton channel Taylor’s sparkle, and Mark Gatiss stole the show as Gielgud. Flynn went on to play Dickie Greenleaf alongside Andrew Scott’s “Ripley” that same year, making it feel as if Christmas came early. Ultimately, I would like to see more ‘elegant’ plays like this.