Golden Boy at the Almeida
Josh O'Connor on the London stage at the Almeida theatre was never going to disappoint, so I bought our tickets on the first morning that membership booking opened, and I’m glad I did as it has been resolutely sold out for ages. With the addition of Hayley Squires and Daniel Mays in the central cast it looked as though we were in for a treat. Clifford Odett's play, written in 1937, is a bit of a period piece, set during the depression as Joe Bonaparte decides to leave behind his impoverished life as a violinist in New York, and instead become a prize fighter. Nowadays the short cut would presumably be as a social media influencer. Daniel Mays is Tom, playing to type as Joe's initially unwilling but increasingly more enthusiastic promoter, and Hayley Squires plays Lorna Moon, Tom's mistress, wielded as a weapon to get Joe onside, but eventually, and fairly obviously, becoming part of a love triangle. The production has more furniture and traditio...