5 reasons not to miss The Inheritance

The year’s smash- hit gay play The Inheritance ends its West End run next month, but you can still snap up tickets for final performances. And there are plenty of reasons why you should make sure it’s on your Christmas list…

1// Written by Matthew Lopez and based on E. M. Forster’s novel Howards End, The Inheritance follows three groups of characters from three generations in New York. Set across six acts and two parts, the play asks and examines what each generation of gay men has inherited from their predecessors, and how our history is passed down and understood. It’s a theatrical masterpiece that deftly switches between moving and hilarious.

2// There are some big names involved in the play’s production. It’s directed by Stephen Daldry, whose other credits include The Crown, Billy Elliot and The Hours. In the second part, Vanessa Redgrave graces the stage as the spiritual heart of the play.

3// John Benjamin Hickey, who plays Henry Wilcox and previously starred in Broadway’s 2011 staging of The Normal Heart, describes the play as posthomophobic. “There’s an enormous amount of selfloathing and self- destruction in it,” he adds, “but none of it is based on the fact that the characters are gay. That was refreshing.”

4// Last month, the production scooped the prestigious Best Play gong at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, having garnered five- star reviews across the board.

5// With tickets from just £ 15 available, there’s nothing else in London offering quite the same value for money!

The Inheritance closes on 19 January 2019. inheritanceplay.com