Dumb Show

Dumb Show by Joe Penhall premiered at The Royal Court in September 2004 and immediately won critical acclaim. It was heralded as a play that addressed problems in contemporary society. A nomination for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards followed.

The play was inspired by the antics of ‘the fake sheikh’ – Investigations Editor at The News of the World and questions the integrity of the press. There have been so many witless celebs in the UK who have been exposed by such antics – Sven Goran Erikson amongst the list. Of Dumb Show Penhall said “it’s basically about a famous man who finds himself the subject of tabloid infamy”. Penhall, at one time himself a journalist, has always been fascinated by tabloid morality and how it is so breathtakingly nasty and dumb.