Complicit - Old Vic Theatre

SYNOPSIS

Complicit

If an individual is aware of the occurrence of a crime, has the ability to report it but fails to do so, they are complicit. The world premiere of Joe Sutton’s new play Complicit will take place in the first two months of 2009 at The Old Vic theatre in London’s West End. Kevin Spacey, the theatre’s artistic director, enters the theatrical space once more to direct the performance starring Richard Dreyfuss.

Complicit is a new American play that explores our current political climate. When Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ben Kritzer (performed by Dreyfuss) appears in front of the Supreme Court of Justice, he is faced with a moral dilemma; does he defend his belief in the freedom of the press or does he protect his own family? As Kritzer’s liberties are stripped away, Sutton’s play questions whether you can ever actually know what is being perpetrated in your name?

Kevin Spacey began his career in the theatre in the 1980’s which led him to receive minor supporting roles in television and film. His big break came in Bryan Singer’s 1995 motion picture The Usual Suspects. Portraying the role of Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint, Spacey won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 1997 he appeared as Detective Sergeant Jack Vincennes, a role for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Although he didn’t win the award, Spacey only had to wait two more years before he got his hands on the award, along with the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his performance as Lester Burnham in Sam Mendes’ American Beauty. Mendes and Spacey will team up again this year when Mendes’ directs The Bridge Project in The Old Vic.

In February 2003, Spacey’s partnership with The Old Vic was announced in a press conference, as it was revealed that he would be the theatre’s artistic director for the next 10 years. Spacey’s promises of appearing on stage himself and to bring in big-name talent were both fulfilled within a short space of time. During the 2005 season, Spacey appeared in the title role of Trevor Nunn’s Richard II and later starred in Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten alongside Colm Meaney and Eve Best; the play later transferred to Broadway.

Richard Dreyfuss hasn’t got an excellent track record with the West End. Five years ago, the Oscar-winning actor was axed just days before the opening night of the UK premiere of The Producers. However, no-one can argue with Dreyfuss’ acting credits; he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in The Goodbye Girl in 1977 and has most recently appeared in W, the 2008 bio-pic, where he portrayed the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney.

Complicit appears at The Old Vic Theatre from the 7th January 2009 until the 21st February 2009.