Killer Joe

Killer Joe photos

Killer Joe description

It's on at Trafalgar Studio 1. It stars the excellent Orlando Bloom, who delighted millions of film fans with his work in Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings. Now he's back on the London stage. It's Killer Joe, and it's set to thrill, delight, terrorise and amuse discerning audiences from 18^th May to 18^th August 2018.

This is the latest generation of Tracy Letts' extraordinary, blackly funny piece, originally written as a play in 1993 before being turned into a film in 2011, with the delicious Matthew McConaughey in the starring role. Both won awards, and rightly so.

What's the story?
Bloom stars as the double-life genius Joe Cooper, a policeman by day and hired killer out of hours. It's an amazing piece of writing, plenty of rocket-fuelled drama combined with dark humour and a remarkably gritty main character.

The play also comments on the American dream, something very few achieve in real life and an idea that manages to effectively disenfranchise millions of ordinary people. As such it's about as different from Bloom's recent film roles as you can imagine, the very opposite of fun, light hearted entertainment and fantasy.

This year the play celebrates its quarter century anniversary, a great reason to resurrect it for a fresh, new audience keen to discover its wicked pleasures for themselves. The relationships it reveals, particularly that between innocent Dottie and evil Joe, are fascinating, disturbing and touching. 

The play is directed by Simon Evans, who enjoyed smash hits with The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and The Best Man, and because it deals with adult themes it's suitable for people aged sixteen plus.

Starring

Orlando Bloom

Playing at Trafalgar Theatre

14 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY GB (venue info)

Directions

Performance Times