Ink

by James Graham

I want to tell you a story. And it's true. That's what makes it a good fucking story, right, 'cause all the best stories are true. Fleet Street. 1969. The Sun rises. James Graham's ruthless, red-topped play leads with the birth of this country's most influential newspaper – when a young and rebellious Rupert Murdoch asked the impossible and launched its first editor's quest, against all odds, to give the people what they want. Ink premiered at the Almeida Theatre in London before transferring to the West End and later Broadway. It was nominated for both the Olivier and Tony Award for Best New Play. This new edition features an introduction by Harry Derbyshire.

Genres: Plays, 21st Century, Drama

138 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2020

About the author

James Graham is a multi award-winning playwright and screenwriter.

His play This House gained critical acclaim, enjoyed a sell-out run at the National Theatre's Olivier in 2013 and its 2017 West End revival was Olivier-nominated. It was chosen by popular vote as the best play of the 2010's by Methuen Drama.

James created theatre history when his two plays Ink, about the early days of Rupert Murdoch, and Labour of Love, a romantic political comedy, played in theatres next to each other in the West End in 2017. James won an Olivier award in 2018 for Labour of Love and Ink transferred to Broadway in 2019, receiving six Tony award nominations.

James' play The Vote (Donmar Warehouse) aired in real time on TV in the final 90 minutes of the 2015 polling day and was BAFTA-nominated. His most recent television film, Brexit: An Uncivil War (Channel 4/HBO) is nominated for a 2019 Emmy Award.

Reviews

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant storytelling. A fascinating dramatisation of Murdoch's take-over of the Sun, and his first year in charge: he completely disrupted the industry and the way we consume news. I just wish I could've seen it performed on stage.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

difficult when i don’t want to empathise with these people buuut i will forever be in awe of how james graham can simplify something so skilfully that i identify elements of even the SUN with which i can empathise

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dynamic and sexy, this electrifying play introduces down-and-dirty characters in a fast-paced tale of greed, determination, ambition, and drive. This is a great read!

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graham does full justice to the story of the resurrection of the Sun newspaper in 1969, under the new ownership of Rupert Murdoch - although the play focusses more on the figure of Larry Lamb, the editor whose mandate was to surpass the Mirror's circulation in one year's time - and managed the feat due to his introduction of nudity to Page Three. I didn't really know any of the particulars (such as the kidnapping and murder of Muriel McKay), but found the whole thing riveting - and it explains a lot about how Murdoch became the amoral owner of the 'Faux News' network here in the US.

[Patrick Neylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journalists never get a good write-up in fiction and Rupert Murdoch is the bête noir of the chattering classes, who include most playwrights. So I was nervous about Graham's take on the launch of The Sun back in 1969, half expecting a sneering take-down of the paper that dragged British journalism into the gutter.

Not a bit of it. Graham's play evokes the excitement of a newsroom creating something nobody had done before: taking on the big boys and giving the readers what they want – even if they didn't know that was what they wanted – rather than the smug assumptions of what the proprietors thought they should want.

It's a lively story of the first year of that paper and how it disrupted and conquered old Fleet Street, with plenty of opportunity for an imaginative director to create brilliant theatre.

[Charlie Lee]

Wow. What a brilliant play. James Graham has a fascinating talent for adapting popular history into drama. I really wish I had seen this live as the real characters and motivations are absolutely fascinating. The first half actually had me routing for Rupert Murdoch (?!) before throwing him to the dogs in the second act.

Although Sons of York and The Whisky Taster are still my favourite plays by Graham, this knocks A History of Falling Things into the third spot.

[Michael Sanderson-green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant story teling , the true story of the beginning of the Murdoch empire . We read this live at our book club , it was great because we all had multiple characters. It generated much discussion .

[Gabriel Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt like a corporate version of "True West" or "Amadeus."

I would think this is a beast to produce.

Of course, this play led me to research what parts of it were factual and which parts were elaborations. It's a lot to take in.

[Steve Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much fun to read as it was to watch.

[David Cote]

https://observer.com/2019/04/ink-reve...

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very arresting and modern play, with a mesmerizing pair of main characters. I would love to see this performed live on stage.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw the show on Broadway with Bertie Carvel & Jonny Lee Miller and it was very good but so fast paced that I missed bits. I enjoyed it even more the second time around, reading it.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. A fast-paced, gritty and unputdownable play.

[Calum Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pinpoints the precise moment when the British media fell into the dregs of the tabloid. Thrilling read.

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written play about how Rupert Murdoch slowly orchestrated the media Hellscape were all in now.
Inherited wealth eh?

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dramatization of the journalistic race to the bottom. No, thanks.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deftly written, but extremely Enron.

[Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put this play down, even got in trouble for reading at work! Brilliant! James Graham knows how to right a good play doesn’t he!?

[Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I unfortunately did not have the context needed to get this. Mostly folk were brainstorming. Towards the end some real nice pieces of action happened, but I wish more were happening throughout.

[Carenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the other plays that James Graham has written but I couldn’t get into this one to be honest

[Rdb]

Saw it on Broadway actually. Excellent production.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced and elegant in it's devastation, this is the dramatization of the re-birth of the Tabloid The Sun, and what the price of "winning" really is. This piece flows like an intricate ballet, and doesn't let up. You will laugh, you will be disgusted, you'll think and you'll be moved.