Steve Coogan in Dr Strangelove - review with 16 photos

Steve Coogan triumphs as four different characters in Dr Strangelove, a satirical play about nuclear war by Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley, also starring Giles Terera. There are flaws in the script says Paul Seven but it is a spectacular production. Also starring John Hopkins. Directed by Sean Foley and designed by Hildegard Bechtler.
Dr Strangelove can be seen at the Noel Coward Theatre in London's West End until 25 January 2025, and then at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre from 5 to 22 February 2025. A recording will be shown in cinemas via NTLive from 27 March 2025.
Production photos in this video are by Manuel Harlan.
Paul was given a review ticket by the producer.

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[Wilkins_Micawber]

Peter Sellers performance in Dr Strangelove was such a such a definitive masterpiece. It is hard to imagine any other actor coming close. But still taking your shining endorsement of Coogan it must be a treat to see. Well done Steve.

[markharris]

Off to see this on Friday. I've always been so-so on Steve Coogan but from all accounts, including yours, he's very good.

[ChrisFarrellChannel]

saw it last night - loved it. Excellent show - funny, and Coogan and the entire cast are great

[alonzowurlitzer]

Thank you for the detailed and interesting review, I hadn't even heard about this play.

[gonzo]

Thanks for the intelligent and empathetic analysis. Bold move from Coogan in taking on Sellars [guess most actors crave immortality]. Iannuci and co also took on a daunting task - reducing a Kubrick cinematic classic to a few sets and the confines of the stage.
Shame I'm a long way from London these days.
But what next? Cumberbatch playing Dave in a stage adaptation of 2001?
😉

[markharris]

I can see one negative comment below so I won't read that before giving my own thoughts.

Sorry, Paul, but I don't see this as a four-star show. If two and a half is allowed, that would be my score. The sets were impressive, Steve Coogan put in a lot of work, and there were great performances by Giles Terera and John Hopkins. (So great they kind of overshadowed Mr Coogan.) Unfortunately as you yourself said, the dated and unsubtle humour becomes predictable after a while, and for me the 'while' was about ten minutes in. The audience laughed a fair bit but I was just sort of smiling, never really had a laugh-out-loud moment.

Oh, perhaps I did laugh at a few of Dr Strangelove's comments about the War, and of course at his self-raising hand.

That's not to say I had a bad time. I'm glad I went to see it, it was enjoyable for the most part. But just to compare it with something we've both seen recently, I'd love to see Coriolanus again, whereas if I won a ticket to Dr Strangelove I'd give it to someone else.

Interestingly, as I sat on the Elizabeth Line train going out to Stratford, I was sitting opposite a couple in their early 30s, I would say, holding a Dr Strangelove programme. And they had absolutely hated it. They sat going through the characters in the programme and tearing them apart. The man said at one point he'd had more laughs since getting on the train that he'd had in the whole play. What a waste of money, they both agreed. I might have overcome my natural shyness and asked them about it, because in my view it was nowhere near that bad, but we all got off at Stratford and went our separate ways.

It'll be interesting to see if the general public's opinion matches that of the critics. One of the press quotes outside the theatre said 'this year's must-see ticket' or something like that, and as I left I did look at that and thought, mm, I wonder. It was quite telling, I thought, that there was no standing ovation.

Quick look at babelton1's comments . . . ooh, harsh. But I know two people on The Elizabeth Line who would agree, though they did at least see the whole thing.

I would give it, as already said, two and a half stars. Which looks a tad rude if you use fingers. ✌

[babelton]

terrible - turned a great film into a sad old fashioned farce...acting deloprable - carry on strangelove - love SC, so disappointed, could have done so much with the idea...booked a year ahead, cost half a week's work for two of us...left during the break - really, really poor