In Monstering the Rocketman, Henry Naylor narrates the true story of Elton John’s libel lawsuit against the UK tabloid The Sun. During the 1980s, the newspaper made a series of accusations about the singer, and in 1988 the case was resolved through an out of court settlement of around £1 million. As he recounts these events, Naylor, who also wrote the piece, adopts the persona of Lynx, a young reporter who joins The Sun and becomes increasingly drawn into the pursuit of the story. Lynx works under the paper’s foul mouthed editor, Kelvin Mackenzie, who regards journalism as a form of entertainment and measures its success by readership figures and profit. Although he is aware that much of what he publishes is untrue, Mackenzie steadfastly refuses to retract the tabloid’s claims or to issue an apology. The play recalls a particularly low point in British journalism and offers a salutary warning about the dangers of mistaking rumour for fact. However, it engages only superficially with the more complex questions surrounding press freedom and the manipulation of news. Rather than examining these issues in depth, it presents an animated reconstruction of a particular episode which, while instructive, stops short of exploring the wider responsibilities of the press within a democratic society. Naylor’s characterisation, like the play as a whole, lacks nuance. Those involved are presented in a simplified or exaggerated manner, and the narrative itself is shaped into a near fairy tale of good versus evil. Although clearly well intentioned, Monstering the Rocketman at times edges towards the kind of over simplification and stereotyping most commonly associated with the tabloid press itself.
Rated: ★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Steve Ullathorne
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