When profit becomes the prime motive of conduct, bad things happen. James Graham’s Ink, now at the Samuel J. Friedman in a production for Manhattan Theater Club after a hit run in London, focuses on the degradation of British journalism in the late 1960s. Graham follows the rise of publisher Rupert Murdoch and editor Larry Lamb as they turn second-rate tabloid, The Sun, into a newsstand sensation by peddling scandal, fear, and resentment to a volatile British public.
Set in 1969, the fact-based script mercilessly dissects Murdoch’s ruthless rise by concentrating solely on what sells and ignoring ethics and intelligent analysis. But the main character is Lamb, who pushes Murdoch’s sales-centered style even further, taking advantage of murder and shame, even when it involves his own staff, if it means higher newsstand figures.
Graham’s fast-paced, almost-vaudeville-like play is given the perfect kinetic staging by Rupert Goold. The large cast scrambles around Bunny Christie’s jumbled jigsaw set of desks, filing cabinets, and printing presses in a series of rapid-fire vignettes depicting the lowest-common-denominator antics the Sun stoops to. The central action is Murdoch’s challenge to Lamb for the Sun to outsell the staid, respectable Mirror within a year. Graham hilariously and incisively depicts Lamb pulling out all the stops, throwing traditional morays out the window, and setting the scene for the political and cultural freak show that followed. The playwright falters only when he hands down a heavier indictment on Lamb for running nude photos than for exploiting—and possibly contributing to—the death of a co-worker’s spouse in a kidnapping plot.
Bertie Carvel is a sleek snake as the avaricious Murdoch, cunningly unstoppable as he puts money ahead of morals, while Johnny Lee Miller takes an even more intricate journey as Lamb. Miller carefully details the editor’s gradual, inevitable acceptance of Murdoch’s mantra of cash at all costs, skillfully depicting the slaughter of Lamb’s innocence. The nimble supporting company including Robert Stanton, Bill Buell, Tara Summers, and Rana Roy, juggle numerous supporting roles with dexterity.
