Review, In The Print, King’s Head Theatre ****

Alan Cox and Claudia Jolly in In The Print, King's Head Theatre — Alan Cox and Claudia Jolly
Photograph: Charlie Flint

Review: In the Print, King’s Head Theatre

Descending the stairs into the basement of the new King’s Head Theatre in Islington, one feels a sense of leaving the modern world behind. It is a fitting transition for In the Print, a sharp and pacey new thriller by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky. This production transports us back to the mid-1980s, a time of shoulder pads, power lunches, and a brutal industrial war that changed the British media landscape forever.

The play centres on the infamous Wapping dispute. This was the moment media mogul Rupert Murdoch took on the print unions in a high-stakes gamble to move production from the traditional home of Fleet Street to a technologically advanced plant in East London. At the heart of the storm is Brenda Dean, the general secretary of SOGAT (the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades). As the first woman to lead a major British industrial union, Dean was a pioneer in a world of “hot metal” and even hotter tempers.

Rally in Trafalgar Square supporting print workers, April 6 1986 - Photo: Morning Star. — Rally in Trafalgar Square, April 6 1986
Photo: Morning Star

What makes this production so successful is how it manages to take dense, often complex political manoeuvring and turn it into a gripping human drama. The writing is incredibly lean, punctuated by a dry, dark humour that prevents the history from feeling like a dry lecture. We see the tactical chess match play out in real-time. The secret meetings, the legal traps, and the sheer audacity of Murdoch’s plan to print newspapers behind barbed wire while thousands of workers were left on the stones are all rendered with startling clarity.

The acting is, across the board, excellent. Claudia Jolly brings a wonderful mix of steel and compassion to Brenda Dean. She captures the immense pressure of a leader trying to modernise her union while protecting the livelihoods of 6,000 members. Opposite her, Alan Cox is a revelation as Rupert Murdoch. He avoids the trap of cartoonish villainy, instead giving us a man who is chillingly calm, wily, and utterly convinced of his own industrial righteousness.

The production makes creative use of the new theatre’s footprint. Director Josh Roche utilizes the intimacy of the space to pull the audience into the urgency of the dialogue. Peiyao Wang’s design features cream tiles marred by giant, permanent ink splatters. This is a striking visual metaphor for the “dirty” nature of the dispute and the indelible mark it left on the industry.

There were some minor issues with sightlines from our position in the auditorium, where standing performers occasionally obscured our view of the speaking actors. This is perhaps a natural teething problem for a new space and a production that thrives on constant movement, though it did not significantly detract from the overall experience.

Special mention must go to the ensemble cast. Alasdair Harvey, Russell Bentley, Jonathan Jaynes, and Georgia Landers populate the stage with an impressive gallery of characters. They portray everyone from the urbane Andrew Neil to the combative Kelvin MacKenzie with effortless shifts in tone and physicality. Watching them swap jackets and accents to bring an entire era of Fleet Street to life is a masterclass in ensemble playing.

There are small moments where the sheer volume of historical detail can feel a bit like a whirlwind. A few of the political gags might land more effectively for those who remember the specific headlines of 1986. However, these are minor points in what is otherwise a profoundly insightful piece of theatre.

The play leaves us grappling with an ambiguous ending. In the Print does not offer easy answers. It leaves you wondering if Brenda Dean could ever have won against a system so heavily stacked in favour of the billionaire. It asks whether her attempts at compromise ultimately helped or hindered her members. It leaves a poignant reminder that history is rarely black and white, much like the newspapers themselves.

This is theatre that teaches us about our past, reflects voices often side-lined in history books, and provides a thoroughly pleasurable night of high-stakes drama.

In the Print plays at the King’s Head Theatre until 3 May 2026. Tickets are available from the box office.

1960s – 1970s: Fleet Street is the undisputed hub of the British press. The Print Unions hold immense power, maintaining high wages and traditional hot-metal printing methods through a “closed shop” system.
1981: Rupert Murdoch’s News International acquires The Times and The Sunday Times, adding them to a stable that already includes The Sun and the News of the World.
1985 (Early): Under the guise of launching a new London evening paper called The Post, Murdoch secretly builds a high-tech, computerised printing plant in Wapping, East London.
1985 (April): Brenda Dean is elected General Secretary of SOGAT, the first woman to lead a major British trade union.
1986 (January 24): After negotiations over new technology and “no-strike” clauses fail, 6,000 print workers go on strike. Murdoch immediately dismisses them all and moves production to the Wapping plant overnight.
1986 (January – May): The “Battle of Wapping” begins. Violent clashes occur outside the plant between police and picketers.
1987 (February): The year-long “Battle of Wapping” ends. The unions are defeated, marking a seismic shift in British industrial relations and the media landscape.
1993: After leaving the union, Brenda Dean is appointed to the House of Lords on the recommendation of Labour leader John Smith. She takes the title Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde.
2018: Brenda Dean passes away at the age of 74. She is remembered as a pragmatic leader who navigated one of the most brutal industrial disputes in British history.
2024: The King’s Head Theatre moves to its new purpose-built home in Islington, continuing its mission to stage politically charged new writing.
2026 (April): In The Print premieres at the King’s Head Theatre, honouring the legacy of the woman who stood at the “eye of the storm.”