Good Night, Oscar ★★★★ Barbican Centre | Jul 31 - Sep 21, 2025


To say Oscar Levant was a complex individual is probably the ultimate understatement. Possibly best remembered for his witticisms, the tortured comic and classical pianist who once said "There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line" was a consummate actor, musician and raconteur who suffered from mental illness and drug addiction. It was Levant's ironic self-awareness, catchy turn of phrase and brutal honesty that made him a favourite guest on the 1950s late-night American talk show hosted by Jack Paar. As outrageous and neurotic as he was talented, Levant attracted an audience to Paar's show that he was happy to garner even if his guest made the corporate bosses nervous. As Levant, Sean Hayes simply commands the stage. This is a performance that is a theatrical tour de force. Indeed, Hayes brilliantly channels the pain of the serious artist always cast as a comic sidekick - the man haunted by the ghost of George Gershwin and whose own aspirations to be a composer and serious pianist are thwarted. Also doing some stand-out work in this production is Daniel Adeosun as Alvin Finney, the hapless network assistant, who is the excuse for a lot of the show's exposition. Adeosun manages to bring a nice humanity to a character who could easily have been overplayed for cheap laughs. Ben Rappaport as Jack Paar likewise brings a welcome nuance to his role. One can feel that his Paar genuinely likes and admires Oscar, even as he rather ruthlessly exploits him. The legacy of Levant is as complicated as the man himself. The manipulation of his personal drama can be seen as foreshadowing all the excesses of contemporary reality television, while his bold outspokenness about many taboo issues such as politics, religion and sex, plus his openness about his addiction and mental illness, pushed the boundaries of the medium. Television now not only addresses such serious issues, it also dares to air satires as savage as South Park. Hayes' superb performance, a compelling insight into an American cultural icon and a thoughtful examination of a medium which touches all of us make Good Night, Oscar must-see theatre.

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Johan Persson

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: Silk St, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DS, UK

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