Best of Enemies Tickets

Zachary Quinto and David Harewood star in James Graham’s Best of Enemies in the West End. The Olivier Award-nominated play transfers to the Noel Coward Theatre for 14 weeks.

The Best of Enemies play is set during the 1968 American presidential election. Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey were campaigning across the United States to garner support for their party, and ultimately win the presidency. But as two men fight to become the 37th president, there’s political debates happening between William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal. The pair can’t see eye to eye: Buckley Jr. is a staunch conservative, meanwhile Vidal holds liberal views.

Even though the pair refused to speak to one another, they ended up debating each other during a series of televised debates at the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami and the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Their debates transpired into a lingering cultural feud and opened up a new frontier in American politics. Even though they disliked each other, they couldn’t exist without one another.

Best of Enemies premiered at the Young Vic in 2021. In a London Theatre review of Best of Enemies, our critic said: “our voting in a TV-friendly character as Prime Minister, only to rue the disastrous consequences, can partly be traced back to this key juncture when politics fully embraced entertainment and personality trumped all else… there's a big difference between arguing about ideas in abstract and fighting for your life. Even these two supposed outsiders are protected by their privilege. A thought-provoking and resonant drama.”

David Harewood reprises the role of right-wing figurehead William F. Buckley Jr. from the Young Vic production. Zachary Quinto makes his West End debut as Gore Vidal in Best of Enemies. The American Horror Story star’s Broadway credits include The Boys in the Band and The Glass Menagerie.

Best of Enemies sees Britain’s leading cretaives team up once more. James Graham writes the Best of Enemies play based on Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon's 2015 documentary, and Jeremy Herrin directs the all-star cast. Best of Enemies earned two Olivier nominations, including Best New Play, so we’re looking forward to this TV debate coming to life on stage.