Letitia Wright plays an ambitious young journalist who cuts corners in Tracey Scott Wilson's The Story, now running at the National Theatre in London until 24 October. The production, directed by Clint Dyer, is a thrillingly kinetic examination of race, truth, and the pursuit of headlines.
A newsroom drama with a twist
The play opens with the cold-blooded murder of a white schoolteacher by an unknown Black assailant, witnessed by his pregnant wife. This triggers moral panic, rolling news coverage, and the arrival of a fiery young journalist determined to solve the case. However, the Watergate-style investigative blueprint quickly warps: Yvonne, played by Wright of Black Panther fame, is no simple hero in pursuit of truth.
Yvonne is an ambitious Black woman assigned to a section of the newspaper reserved for Black journalists. Her imperious editor, Pat (Lorraine Toussaint), pushes for positive news stories about the Black community, while her white editor boyfriend, Jeff (Wilf Scolding), promises a bigger role if she proves herself. Neither Yvonne nor the press emerge with integrity intact: she lies and invents, drawing on the real-life case of Janet Cooke, a Washington Post journalist discredited in 1981 for fabricating a Pulitzer Prize-winning story. The media, meanwhile, is shown as motivated by editorialising and reshaping facts to suit its needs.
Race politics and media spin
The story beneath The Story is one of media spin and fake news caught in the crosshairs of racial politics. Yvonne and Pat represent opposite ends of the same spectrum: the former wants to be seen as a “reporter rather than a Black reporter,” while Pat speaks of the newsroom's lack of diversity and the historical struggle for authentic representation. Wilson's 2003 play feels remarkably current, especially given the press coverage surrounding the death of Black academic Jason Arday.
Dyer's production has great forward momentum and kinetic pace, with Wright delivering a slick performance as a tough cookie with no cracks in her armour. The staging is highly theatrical, featuring fast cuts between scenes and doubled action that shows dual scenarios simultaneously, particularly in the thrillingly adrenalised first half. At times, the speed and complexity cause the thread to be lost.
Black female ambition under patriarchal forces
Keeping the drama in its original timeframe means no mention of social media or the internet, the prevailing means of news consumption today. Recurring scenes of reporters brandishing microphones and headline news projected onto the Olivier auditorium's enormous backdrop feel old-school. Yet the play retains relevance within its period setting; what emerges now is not so much a revelation about news journalism but a dual portrait of Black female ambition. Through Yvonne and Pat, the audience sees how this ambition is stymied or diminished by huge, patriarchal forces.
Between these two characters and Black news reporter Neil (Ashley Thomas), who is intent on revealing the truth, a complicated exploration of authenticity arises: who has the right to represent the Black community, and who to critique it? The second half is more strained as it slows its pace to draw out its messages, and more texture in all characters would be welcome. Yet it remains excitingly staged theatre with an ambition as bold as Yvonne's, seeking to say so much about women, race, and the media that it still feels incredibly timely.
A final, haunting scene cuts away from the news frenzy to draw attention to what is happening on the street, beyond the spin and the chasm between the two. That gulf—between reality and its representation in a woefully or wilfully out-of-touch press—is surely the story of today. The production runs at the National Theatre, London, until 24 October.
