Josh O'Connor makes his return to the London stage in Golden Boy, Clifford Odets' 1937 American tragedy, now playing at the Almeida Theatre in Islington from 16 September to 31 October 2026. The revival, directed by Sam Yates, has been awarded four out of five stars by Time Out's theatre editor Andrzej Lukowski, who praises its bold, operatic vision and a cracking cast.
A Bold Revival of a Classic American Tragedy
Odets' play, set in 1930s New York, follows Joe Bonaparte (O'Connor), a sensitive Italian-American violinist who turns to boxing, with tragic results. Lukowski notes that while Odets may not rank with Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, or Arthur Miller, this revival makes a virtue of the play's symbolism. Yates adds a child actor as a young, violin-playing Joe and a live string quartet positioned behind a wooden screen in Rosanna Vize's stark period set, emphasizing Joe's inner turmoil.
The production runs 2 hours 15 minutes, and tickets are currently sold out at the Almeida Theatre, which is accessible via Highbury & Islington or Angel stations.
Cast and Performances
Daniel Mays plays Tom, a down-on-his-luck boxing manager, with comic bluster reminiscent of his Nathan Detroit in the Bridge Theatre's recent Guys & Dolls. Hayley Squires delivers a conventional but intense performance as Lorna, Tom's girlfriend who fears Joe's sweetness isn't real. Zubin Varla is scene-stealingly weird as the sinister mobster Eddie Fuseli, channeling Brando's Corleone and Joe Pesci's Joey DeVito in a gleefully bizarre performance.
O'Connor, in his first major stage role since the pandemic-cancelled Romeo & Juliet in 2020, begins with a calmly authoritative demeanor that closes Joe off from the audience, but Lukowski finds the performance more satisfying as the character falls apart.
Critical Reception and Impact
The boxing scenes are described as a maelstrom of strings, movement, and a black-and-white camera feed, which Lukowski calls "weird and chaotic and a bit Jamie Lloyd – I was a fan." The string quartet's music is praised for both elegiac melodies and thrilling dissonance as Joe's divided mind crumbles.
Lukowski concludes that while Golden Boy may not be among the greatest American stage tragedies of its era, this revival makes it feel thoroughly alive, thanks to Yates' stylish direction and a top-tier cast.
