By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN? Friday 1 August, opens 6 August and runs through 21 September 2025 RUNTIME: 100 minutes (no interval)

Sean Hayes won the 2023 Best Actor Tony for this portrayal of comedian and pianist Oscar Levant and here makes his London debut in a show which takes a peek behind the curtain of the exploitation of mental illness for entertainment.

• Read on for reasons including how Good Night, Oscar proves darkly comic, hugely thought-provoking and ultimately extremely moving

It’s a fictional account of Levant’s wife June, an apparently well-meaning Rosalie Craig (Company, Gielgud Theatre) getting permission from the institution where Levant is committed to appear on a 1958 edition of NBC’s The Tonight Show.

Writing in the programme, director Lisa Peterson says: ‘Oscar was 1 of the first celebrities in America to share his condition with the world and not only tell the public but also make light of it.

‘He was more than simply eccentric, he was a unique talent who lived with various mental health issues and struggled with addiction caused by the treatment of those issues.’

Hayes is best known in the UK as failed actor ‘Just Jack’ in comedy series Will And Grace and although this is a very American story it was unsurprising to see quite how well it landed with this British preview audience.

There’s nothing quite like the pressure of live TV to ramp up the drama and here we have a devilish Ben Rappaport playing talk show host Jack Paar who wants to create the best episode he can at whatever the cost to Levant who is addicted to his own fame.

It reminded us of James Graham’s Best Of Enemies which, although set a decade later, was about American television and the exposure it offered to people who were willing to tear themselves apart on it.

It wouldn’t be quite so effective as it is without a central performance that requires a constant physical reminder of the struggle of its character while also offering a quick wit that could entertain a sophisticated audience and a piano-playing ability that could dazzle.

David Burnett even appears throughout the play as Levant’s hero George Gershwin to remind Oscar who the real genius is and to reinforce his feeling of inferiority despite his undeniable talent.

They are fever dream moments which remind just how jumbled and full of negativity it is inside Oscar’s head.

Good Night, Oscar, then, holds up a mirror to its audience’s worst impulses but also proves darkly comic, hugely thought-provoking and ultimately extremely moving.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Barbican Centre Tickets
• Have you seen a Sean Hayes show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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