I saw High Noon on stage in London: What makes it tick?
High Noon at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London
IN a world first the story of High Noon rides into the West End to remind theatre goers why the Western is king.
Running at the Harold Pinter Theatre until March the play (directed by Thea Sharrock) sees Primetime Emmy and Tony Award winning actor, Billy Crudup, play Marshal Will Kane opposite Andor actress, Denise Gough.
The couple are newly married and preparing to leave town before the former is faced with a moral dilemma: shoot it out with a gang of outlaws waiting for their leader arriving on the noon train, or get out of dodge with his quaker bride and leave the townspeople defenceless before the newly appointed marshal arrives the following day.
The story takes place in real time over the course of one hour and 40 minutes – with no interval – following the same plot thread that the Academy Award winning film of 1952 made famous, which starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.
The film version of High Noon is a classic story of good vs evil, with Marshal Will Kane accused of ‘setting up’ bandit Frank Miller, arriving in the town of Hadleyville on the noon train, with a posse of gunmen waiting to take revenge on the retiring marshal.
Initially abandoned by his wife for returning to town to face the outlaws – and receiving no help from the townspeople who refuse to support the law when the going gets tough – Cooper, outnumbered four to one, is forced to fight on his own.
As with the film, the play – written by celebrated screenwriter Eric Roth – uses the sound and imagery of a ticking clock to emphasise the passing of time as the showdown approaches, adding to the visible tension in the story.
The London play sees Crudup play Will Kane more theatrically than Cooper, who acted more subtly for the camera, but it’s effective on the stage and holds the attention of the audience.
Gough is also very captivating on the stage – as are Rosa Salazar and Billy Howle – who really bring the story of High Noon to life in an immersive take on life in the Wild West with a surprise or two.
Gough and Salazar (who portrays saloon owner Helen Ramirez) also contribute their singing talents to the play, which is a new addition to the story and not included in the movie, with the nerve-racking ending to the story also taking a slightly different turn, even if the main nuts and bolts of the plot remain the same.
Writing in the show’s programme, writer Eric Roth said: “I tried to make it an emotional experience that will hopefully prove the test of time.”
I think he’s done just that with first-class writing, immersive staging, and perfect casting. High Noon is a must-see for fans before it ends on March 6, 2026.
Starting a blog in 2026
IT’S no small thing to start something new but with the dawn of a new year I figured that now was as good a time as any.
After three years as a full-time journalist – first as a showbiz reporter for MailOnline and then as a news reporter for the Daily Echo – I unexpectedly lost my job at the end of September.
For three months now I’ve been out of full-time work and not knowing what the future holds, this period of my life is probably the best time to be as creative as I can be.
With a writing project in the works and a debut documentary newly released, I figured this website would be the best place to showcase my previous work, as well as being a good spot to promote my future work.
Frankly, I’m hoping this website will attract people to take a look at my work and maybe bring about one or two job opportunities.
I’ll aim to update this ‘Blog’ section of the site every so often with whatever thoughts pop into my head.
For now this is just a brief introductory post.
I’d be grateful if you’d take a look around and indulge me in this pursuit of trying to get my name out there a bit more.
Matt Davey 