The World Premiere of Interview – a story of truth, persona, and gender power comes to Riverside Studios in West London.
A stage adaptation of Theo Van Gogh’s (yes, his great granduncle was ‘the’ Vincent Van Gough) 2003 Dutch cult film is now playing at Riverside Studios in West London and I went along to check it out!
A political journalist reluctantly goes to to the swanky New York Brooklyn loft apartment of social media influencer turned actor Katya – for a no holes barred interview, which she is hoping will make the public take her more seriously. The interviewer, Pierre, has never seen any of her work and has no interest in doing so. But a journalist should always do their research and that may come back to bite him.
Katya (Paten Hughes), a fiercely intelligent influencer turned movie star, is sick of being underestimated, objectified and misrepresented by journalists…especially the male ones.
When the fading political journalist Pierre Peters (Robert Sean Leonard) is assigned to interview her, he is bitter and dismissive. However, Katya has her own reasons for agreeing to the encounter. A tense evening in her Brooklyn apartment swiftly spirals into a volatile game of confession, confrontation, and manipulation.
Using video projection (much like we saw in Dear Evan Hansen), text messages and telephone calls are displayed throughout the 90 minute play, showing the audience what is happening. Katya’s need for constant validation sees her going live on her social media channels and filming intense moments of the interview to turn the camera back around on to the interviewer.
As the evening progresses, drinks are drunk and the cat and mouse game of trying to discover who someone really is heats up. But it may not end the way you expect it to.
Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard (HBO’s The Gilded Age; House; Dead Poets Society; Broadway: The Invention of Love and Paten Hughes (A View From the Bridge; Stolen Girl; Heirloom) star in this thrilling play that I have since been recommending to everyone I speak to. “It’s worth the trip to Hammersmith” I keep joking – but it really is something very special that I could easily see transferring to the West End.
Interview is as thrilling as a thriller gets and with stunning performances and a beautiful set design, this is one play I implore you to go and see.
★★★★★
West End Wilma
Interview plays at Riverside Studios until 27 September 2025
