The Story, Tracey Scott Wilson's US newspaper drama, makes its UK debut at the National Theatre with Letitia Wright in the lead role. The production, directed by Clint Dyer, runs from 4 September to 24 October 2026 on the South Bank. Inspired by the real-life case of Janet Cooke, a Washington Post reporter who returned her Pulitzer Prize after her 1980 article about child heroin addicts was found to be largely fabricated, the play delivers a gripping but at times overwrought theatrical experience.
A fictional newsroom with a real-life echo
Wilson transplants the story to the 'Vanguard' section of a Post-like newspaper in an unspecified American city. The section, staffed by three Black reporters, has been repurposed as an African American community news desk by Pat (Lorraine Toussaint), a steely Civil Rights veteran who runs it with an iron fist. Her chief underling and long-term mentee is Neil (Ashley Thomas), who knows his place. Newbie Yvonne (Letitia Wright), an impressive young reporter, has a frostier relationship with the Black community, having been bullied by Black peers as a child and shaped by boarding school and Harvard, leaving her feeling like an outsider. She is also engaged in a clandestine relationship with the paper's white head of news, nepo baby Jeff (Wilf Scolding).
A juicy case grips the city
As Yvonne joins the team, a high-profile case emerges: a saintly young white couple got lost in a deprived area, and the man was shot dead by an assailant the woman identified as Black. Later, Yvonne is approached by a young woman at a community centre who suggests she is part of an all-female gang responsible for the killing. All three Vanguard members plus Jeff are desperate to get to the bottom of the story. Wilson's play is unabashedly populist, bordering on trashy at times. The plot device of Pat separately commissioning both Yvonne and Neil to investigate the gang story, putting them in overt competition, feels clunking but effective in raising the stakes.
Gripping first half, chaotic second
Clint Dyer's production is totally gripping, especially in the first half, as dialogue rapidly intercuts between the two rival journalists bitching about each other. It has the air of a well-made Channel 5 true-crime drama, but not all theatre needs to be highbrow. The play also makes incisive points about the fragility of the African-American community, particularly as Pat's hardassed facade melts, or at least becomes more explicable. However, the second half is a headlong dive into melodrama that is too much, and the Olivier's huge stage and abundance of resources do not help. It would likely have worked better as a more intimate drama focused on Pat and Yvonne. After a first half that moves at a pretty even pace, the second is a chaotic minefield of plot twists and revelations, leaving the reviewer too shell-shocked to have a firm opinion on the ending.
Not quite a play about journalism
The Story does not fully work as a play about journalism, partly because it aggressively sexes up the incident that inspired it, partly because Wilson is more interested in her characters' inner lives than the nitty gritty of the newsroom, and partly because with all that has happened to American newspapers over the last two decades (they are all screwed apart from the New York Times), it feels a little quaint. Still, it is a big, brash thriller with solid performances, particularly Toussaint's Pat, though big-name Wright is good as the driven but awkward Yvonne. You may not find it plausible, but you won't be bored.
The production runs 2hr 30min, with tickets priced £30-£110. Performances are scheduled at the National Theatre on the South Bank, London SE1 9PX, with matinee and evening shows throughout September 2026. Rail and Tube access is via Waterloo station.
