IN THE PRINT
King’s Head Theatre
★★★★★
“biting, bold and flexes some real theatrical muscle”
Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky’s taut 90 minute political thriller, ‘In The Print’, delivers a riveting reimagining of the 1986 Wapping dispute, diving into the fight for survival between union leader Brenda Dean and media titan Rupert Murdoch. Cutting straight to the core of this complex moment in time, Khan and Salinsky transform political machinations into gripping theatre.
Mere months after the miners’ strike collapses, thousands of Fleet Street print workers face redundancy as Rupert Murdoch ruthlessly overhauls the industry. Standing with them is steel spined Brenda Dean – the first female leader of a major British union. But Murdoch’s tactics tear the unions apart. Can the workers hold out, or is history doomed to repeat?
Khan and Salinsky, long-time masters of political satire, deliver a smouldering script. The crafting is exquisite, gradually exposing layers of scheming until you’re no longer sure where you stand. The balance of tension and clarity is spot on, drawing you deeper into the mire without losing you. The characters are deliciously complex, revealing flaws and vulnerabilities alike, shot through with wicked wit. Ultimately, the play asks who controls the narrative, crystallised in a moment of theatrical genius when Dean’s voice is abruptly torn away. Slow burn theatre at its finest.
Award winning director Josh Roche proves how much power lies in restraint. With pared back lighting, costume and set, Roche’s direction homes in on the political power play, teasing out the reactions and reversals woven through the script. The tension builds and releases with finesse, culminating in a thrilling climax. The blocking never forgets the audience, and crowd scenes cleverly spill into the auditorium. A touch more fire would make Dean’s eventual glimpse through Murdoch’s eyes a sharper pivot point, but it all moves with an effortless rhythm, perfectly in step with the writing.
Peiyao Wang’s set and costume design reconstructs a vast factory floor, complete with striking ink stains and ghostly traces of the recent past. A smart visual beat sees Murdoch dress down at his most vulnerable, while Dean remains armoured in her pearl clad power suit throughout. Though, interestingly, Dean’s missing her signature blonde curls. Sarah Spencer’s sound and score quietly elevate each scene, conjuring anxious workers or furious strikers with precision, and tightening the tension without drawing attention to itself. Josh Gadsby delivers subtly sculpted lighting, moving us between characters and spaces with effortless clarity.
The cast is consistently compelling. Claudia Jolly nails Dean’s understated power, every gesture and glance landing with fluid naturalism – Jolly is commanding, razor sharp and absolutely not to be messed with. Alan Cox brings a delicious slipperiness to Murdoch, dripping with charm before dropping a killer one liner. We even glimpse the man behind the myth before the fog of war rolls in again – a masterful touch. Alasdair Harvey, Georgia Landers, Jonathan Jaynes and Russell Bentley deliver each of their roles with such clean distinction you forget they’re multi-roling at all.
Khan and Salinsky’s ‘In The Print’ is biting, bold and flexes some real theatrical muscle. Catch this limited run while it’s still up close – like Murdoch, it feels destined for a bigger stage.
IN THE PRINT
King’s Head Theatre
Reviewed on 30th March 2026
by Hannah Bothelton
Photography by Charlie Flint
