''The Collaboration'' is a play written by

Anthony McCarten Anthony McCarten (born 28 April 1961) is a New Zealand writer and filmmaker. He is best known for writing big-budget biopics '' The Theory of Everything'' (2014), '' Darkest Hour'' (2017), ''Bohemian Rhapsody'' (2018), '' The Two Popes'' (20 ...

and directed by

Kwame Kwei-Armah Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. He is best known for playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from 1999 unt ...

. The play originated on the West End at

The Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 2018 ...

in London. The play stars Paul Bettany as

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

and Jeremy Pope as Jean-Michel Basquiat. The story, set in New York in 1984, centers around the collaboration between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat and their new exhibition. The production will make its

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

transfer at the

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the neo-Renais ...

in co-production with the

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

and the Young Vic Theatre. The production will begin in the fall of 2022 with performances starting November 29.

Background

The play was written by British playwright

and directed by

. It is the second of what McCarten calls his “Worship Trilogy,” works that explore the collective fascination with religion, art and money. The first in the installment was his 2019 film ''

The Two Popes ''The Two Popes'' is a 2019 biographical drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Anthony McCarten, adapted from McCarten's play ''The Pope'' which premiered at Royal & Derngate Theatre in 2019. Predominantly set in the Vatic ...

'' starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

and Jonathan Pryce as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. The final installment of the "Worship Trilogy" is ''Wednesday at Warren's, Friday at Bill's'', the upcoming McCarten-scripted adaptation about the meetings between

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...

and

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

that led to the establishment of The Giving Pledge, which encourages extraordinarily wealthy people to give their fortunes to philanthropic causes.

Plot summary

The show revolves around painter and artist

, whose career is falling, and his relationship with up and coming artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Together they agree to collaborate on a new art exhibit.

Cast

Productions

2022 West End

The play originated in the West End written by

and directed by

; the production opened in previews at the Young Vic in London in February 2022 and ended its run in April.

2022 Broadway

It was announced that the production will make its New York stage debut on

by the

. This production will be directed by Kwei-Armah and Bettany and Pope will reprise their roles at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater with previews beginning November 29, 2022 and an opening night scheduled for December 20.

Film adaptation

In 2022, it was announced that the play will be adapted into a movie of the same name with Bettany and Pope reprising their roles. Kwei-Armah is set to make his directorial film debut.

Critical reception

Critical reception for the play has been mixed with praise mostly being focused on the leading performance of Bettany and Pope as Warhol and Basquiat respectively. ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

'' declared the play, "It is, as I say, terrific entertainment. But there's no getting away from the fact that it's wildly contrived". Critic Arifa Akbar of '' The Guardian'' praised the performances writing, "Bettany and Pope do so much more than merely ventriloquising their celebrity parts. Bettany captures Warhol's tics – his gawkiness and gormless stares with a deadpan streak of cynicism...Pope gives us a seductive, childlike free spirit in his Basquiat". The ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after b ...

''s critic Nick Curtis praised the performances describing them as "devastating", "triumphant", and "gorgeous", adding, "McCarten...gives them plenty of big themes – art, commerce, identity, faith, death – to chew on."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collaboration 2022 plays Works set in the 1980s