This week Darren and Natalie explore three powerful productions that wrestle with truth, legacy and the cost of standing by your convictions - from the Wild West with High Noon to the White House with Mrs. President and the glittering wreckage of the Jazz Age with Beautiful Little Fool.

High Noon

A searing stage adaptation of the legendary Western that once served as an allegory for Hollywood’s blacklist, High Noon feels chillingly relevant today. Set in real time and running without an interval, the story follows Marshal Will Kane (Billy Crudup) as he faces an impossible choice: protect his town from a returning outlaw or protect his new wife, Amy Fowler (Denise Gough). With songs by Bruce Springsteen, The Chicks and Ry Cooder, this tense, 100-minute thriller is part love story, part political warning - and entirely gripping.

Mrs President

Keala Settle takes on the role of Mary Lincoln in this newly reimagined version of John Ransom Phillips’ gripping drama. Haunted by grief, vilified by society and desperate to reclaim her narrative, Mary turns to photographer Mathew Brady (Hal Fowler) to help restore her image - only for their collaboration to spiral into a fierce battle over truth, authorship and control. Directed by Bronagh Lagan, this bold reinvention reveals Mary Lincoln as a woman fighting to define herself in a world determined to define her.

Beautiful Little Fool

Told through the eyes of their daughter Scottie, this new musical charts the turbulent, brilliant and tragic relationship between Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Directed by Tony Award nominee Michael Greif, with music and lyrics by Hannah Corneau and a book by Mona Mansour, the UK premiere stars Lauren Ward as Scottie, David Hunter as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hannah Corneau as Zelda. A sweeping, lyrical exploration of art, fame and family long after the Roaring Twenties have faded.

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