Butley Tickets

The play “Butley” was written by Simon Gray back in the 1970s and was first seen by audiences at the Criterion Theatre in 1971. It was a show that has since been seen on other stages and this includes an appearance on Broadway as well. So it is only fitting that it once again finds its way to the West End, this time for a run at the Duchess Theatre with Dominic West, Paul McGann and Penny Downie. Focusing on a T.S. Eliot scholar and lecturer who is embarking on the worst day of his life it should be a production that finds many London theatre fans when it opens in June.

The play arrives in the capital in a year that already has its fair share of star-studded casts, from the Keira Knightley-starring “The Children’s Hour” to the Rupert Everett and Kara Tointon vehicle “Pygmalion”. So “Butley” has an equally as impressive cast made up of West, from television’s “The Wire”, and McGann, from the movie “Withnail and I”. It ensures that audiences arriving at the Duchess Theatre will witness a show with some familiar faces that have plenty of acting talent to match.

The story itself focuses on the title character Ben Butley, a T.S Eliot scholar and lecturer in an English department whose status quo is shattered in one disastrous day. It is the day that his wife leaves him and the day that his male lover turns to a new benefactor, whilst a particularly ungifted member of the department manages to get published. So it is safe to say that it is the worst day of his life and to ensure that everyone else suffers like he does he goes on to indulge in name-calling and bullying as he sows the seeds of his own destruction.

Dominic West, whilst best known for portraying Jimmy McNulty in “The Wire”, has also appeared in television shows like “The Devil’s Whore”, movies like “300” and stage productions like “Rock ‘n’ Roll” at the Duke of York’s Theatre in 2006. McGann, meanwhile, has appeared in everything from “Withnail and I” to the well known “Doctor Who” television movie and further movies like “Alien 3”.

Audiences wishing to pick up theatre tickets for “Butley” can witness it at the Duchess Theatre from Monday 6th June 2011 (previews from Wednesday 1st June 2011) to Saturday 27th August 2011.