Bryan Cranston is set to make his London stage bow in a brand new National Theatre production of Sidney Lumet’s classic 1976 film, Network. A powerful satire of the television industry, it follows the agonising unravelling of presenter Howard Beale as he’s ruthlessly exploited by station execs cynically chasing ratings.
Beale is a highly combustible character famed for his iconic “mad as hell” monologue – it’s a role that should fit Cranston like a pair of big yellow rubber gloves. The Breaking Bad actor will also be able to draw on his Tony Award-winning depiction of Lyndon B Johnson in the Broadway play, ‘All the Way’.
Get more Little White Lies
There’s much more to Network than a balls-to-the-wall central performance though, and Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall will have a tough job on his hands if he’s to improve on Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay. Network’s caustic media commentary has never felt more relevant, and given current broadcasting trends the producers of this stage version won’t be lacking for inspiration.
