Ink

I watched Ink at the Almeida Theatre and rate it 5/5.

It was fantastic and no wonder it got a West End transfer which means you can still watch it.

The play is about 3 hours long (incl interval) and hence I was a bit sceptical whether it would hold my attention for that long. I need not have worried. You jump right into it.

The play starts off with Rupert Murdoch making an offer to Larry Lamb which seems like a stupid move or a really bold move and we all know it's the latter because they succeeded. I didn't know the story of The Sun, neither did I know that The Mirror was once upon a time well regarded. I must buy one of each one of these days.

I'm guessing most of you know the story and it's simple. Murdoch buys a dying newspaper gives it to Lamb and pushes him to push boundaries and beat the most circulated paper of that time within a year. Lamb goes on to push rather too many boundaries including the detailed reporting of the kidnapping of a colleague's wife and of course famously creating the Page 3 that finally put The Sun ahead of The Mirror.

What is remarkable is how they showed this on stage with the intensity of a well-made movie. The fast paced life on Fleet Street, the jealousy and the rivalries. The play is about Lamb though. It's not really about Murdoch who has very little screen time. I don't know the full story but in this one, Murdoch is one of the good ones while Lamb is ruthless in the pursuit of ambition.

What is ironic is that Murdoch convinces Lamb to take the job by telling him that the industry needs an upheaval and outsiders are needed for that because at that time it was controlled by a handful of men from fancy schools. Come Murdoch, we know now that the media across the world is controlled largely by Murdoch. Beats me that they own Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.

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