The reviews are in for The Gang of Three, Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky’s political comedy-drama about Roy Jenkins, Denis Healey and Tony Crosland, the Labour heavyweights who each wanted to lead the party and could never agree which of them should. Following its 2025 premiere at the King’s Head Theatre, Kirsty Patrick Ward’s production played Richmond Theatre from 13 to 17 October at the start of its autumn tour, with Hywel Morgan as Jenkins, Colin Tierney as Healey and Alan Cox as Crosland. The critics like the writing almost without exception and find the 1970s arguments uncomfortably current. They are less united on the performances as impersonations: LondonTheatre1 thinks the three actors become their men, while The Reviews Hub feels none of them quite resembles the original.
The verdict: seven reviews in, five of them rated: one five-star notice and four at four stars, an average of 4.2 out of 5. British Theatre Guide and South London Press publish no rating. The script’s wit and its relevance to the present are the points every critic makes.
What are critics saying about THE GANG OF THREE?
Jonathan Baz Reviews
Reviewer: Jonathan Baz
Jonathan Baz is the most enthusiastic, calling the script as sparkling as the performances and watching each actor grow uncannily into his politician as the evening goes on. He admires Libby Watson’s simple book-lined design and a carefully researched glimpse of the Crosland and Jenkins student years. For anyone who lived through the period, he says, it is unmissable.
“…this is political drama of the highest calibre that deserves a West End showcase.”
BroadwayWorld
“Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky's political drama is witty and highly relevant”
Reviewer: Aliya Al-Hassan
Aliya Al-Hassan enjoys the deft, witty debate and the way the play shows three egos failing the party at every crucial moment. She praises Morgan’s droll Jenkins, Tierney’s aloof Healey and Cox’s amiable Crosland, and the sense of long friendship between them. She finds the 1940s Oxford scene unnecessary and some of the scene changes, done by the cast, over-long.
“…this show proves that thorny political issues are evergreen and we still have much to learn from the past.”
LondonTheatre1
Reviewer: John Groves
John Groves notes that nothing much happens beyond argument, yet finds every scene compulsive and very funny. He is struck that the actors do not do impressions but seem to become the politicians, picking out Tierney’s Healey as magnificent. He recommends the programme essay to anyone too young to remember the 1970s.
“At its best, The Gang of Three is not only very funny, but it is also perceptive and educational…”
North West End UK
Reviewer: Paul Ackroyd
Paul Ackroyd finds the play’s point about political egos highly relevant today, and admires the pacy, funny dialogue and the cast’s sterling teamwork. He thinks the director rushes the dialogue unnecessarily in a short evening, and that loud music drowns some of the scene-setting narration, which younger audiences might need.
“…this is an extremely enjoyable evening of theatre with a good text and excellent performances”
The Reviews Hub
“Wry political drama”
Reviewer: Fiona Paterson
Fiona Paterson enjoys the crackling dialogue and the parallels between the 1970s and now, and finds the soundtrack spot on. She is cooler on the performances as likenesses, with Tierney’s Healey too gruff for the genial figure people remember, and thinks Cox’s Crosland the most convincing. Presenting all three as backstabbers, she suggests, makes them hard to care about.
“Witty, cerebral and nostalgic, Gang of Three dwells on the shifting relationships between heavyweight Prime Ministerial hopefuls…”
British Theatre Guide
Reviewer: Shiroma Silva
Shiroma Silva calls the writing witty, deft and nimble, and likes the way the cosy set shows how far these debates were from everyday life. She finds it clever that the play is driven by figures who never appear, such as Foot, Benn and Thatcher. Her one criticism is the unchanged set for the Oxford flashback. The site publishes no star rating.
“It makes for a pleasant evening, but most so if the real-life characters portrayed have featured in one’s own political conscience.”
South London Press
Reviewer: Leo Dunlop
Leo Dunlop hears echoes of Yes, Minister and The Thick of It in the humour, but values the play most for its ear for political argument. He praises the writing and the energy and precision of all three performances, and thinks the play speaks to Labour’s present without lecturing. The paper publishes no star rating.
“It is a rare thing at the theatre, but there’s something reassuring about watching a play whose writing makes you feel in safe hands.”
Production photographs by Manuel Harlan.
For more from this week’s openings, see the critics on The Cherry Orchard at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Some Woman at the National Theatre and Ghosts at the Jermyn Street Theatre.
The Gang of Three played Richmond Theatre until Saturday 17 October 2026 and continues on tour to Oxford Playhouse (27-31 October), Cambridge Arts Theatre (3-7 November), Chichester (10-14 November) and the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (17-21 November).
