Good Night, Oscar

Barbican Centre

Playing until 21st September 2025

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Photo credit: Johan Persson

Good Night, Oscar features an episode of The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar (Ben Rappaport) and guest appearance from musician and comedian, Oscar Levant (Sean Hayes). Capitalising on Oscar’s erratic personality and humourous take on topics deemed too sensitive for television at the time.

Doug Wright’s play is centred around Oscar’s battle with drug addiction and mental health issues, and while he is one of the most prolific interpreters of George Gershwin’s work, he is also haunted by Gershwin’s (David Burnett) unprompted appearances through hallucination. All of these serve as his wife, June (Rosalie Craig)’s motivation to commit Oscar to a psychiatric hospital. During the course of the narrative, the audience bear witness to the double standard applied to television and other forms of media. While criticisms and discussions around religion, politics and sex are encouraged and considered groundbreaking in books and poems, it is considered a taboo on TV. Wright’s script and Lisa Peterson’s direction complement each other, allowing both Oscar’s struggles and stress associated with the production of a television show to both shine in their own way.

Oscar’s character is exceptionally well written, almost as if the role was developed to fully harness and display Hayes’s talents, providing the actor with an abundance of opportunities to showcase the breadth of their skills both as an actor and a musician. In particular, Hayes navigates moments of delirium and utter clarity with confidence and finesse. Notably, Hayes’s breathtaking performance of “Rhapsody in Blue” is nothing less than perfection, a simultaneous display of his musical and acting abilities. In addition to his delicate manoeuvre around the various mental state of his character, Hayes also seamlessly weave in quick witted humour that come across naturally even within the stressful environment and situation in which the characters are placed into.

Oscar’s piano performance is further enhanced by lighting designed by Carolina Ortiz Herrera and Ben Stanton, first by casting a single oversized shadow of Oscar to the back of the stage as he performs, and gradually increasing the number of shadows until all five of them play in a synchronised manner, creating an enormity of this moment and a true display of what could be described as a larger than life performance in both literal and metaphorical sense.

Hayes is accompanied by a myriad of talents on stage. While Rappaport’s Jack Paar nudges Oscar to controversial topics, creating the much-needed drama to spark discussions on his show to the dismay of the broadcast network’s CEO, Bob Sarnoff (Richard Katz), it was Oscar’s wife, June, that set much of the events in motion. Craig pulls and pushes Oscar as needed, and just like Hayes, she has fantastic control over the comedic moments and is his equal in grabbing the audience’s attention whenever she enters the stage. However, even though it was clear that she wants what is best for her husband, at times her motives seem tenuous and evasive, making it unclear as to whether she is trying to help or destroy Oscar at times. Eric Sirakian plays the loveable Max Weinbaun, a movie buff that works as an assistant in the network and holds a huge amount of admiration for Oscar. Written as a naïve young man, Sirakian immerses himself into this role and allows himself to be manipulated by almost all of the other characters, creating howls of laughter in the process.

The strength of this play lies in Oscar Levant’s character and his journey within this brief 4-hour respite away from a psychiatric hospital. Undoubtedly, there is a lot of emotions to go through for a single character. Perhaps it is because of this, even though the Tonight Show has its own spotlight, it feels like that it is sidelined and pales in comparison to Oscar’s rollercoaster of events and struggles.

Good Night, Oscar has all the components for success, from a deeply immersive narrative through to a triumphant display of talents from the entire cast and a masterclass in theatrical performance by Sean Hayes as the lead actor. While modern late night television may be on the decline, the Tonight Show is just getting started at the Barbican Centre.

Creatives

Writer: Doug Wright

Director: Lisa Peterson

Set Designer: Rachel Hauck

Costume Designer: Emilio Sosa

Lighting Designers: Carolina Ortiz Herrera, Ben Stanton

Sound Designer: Andre Pluess