The Story
08 September 2026
National Theatre
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
The Story, currently running at the National Theatre until 24th October, is a gripping thriller inspired by a real journalistic scandal around a fabricated story that had wide reaching effect.
When a white teacher is killed in a deprived, Black neighbourhood, news organisations race to find the story behind the gun violence incident. Young and ambitious journalist Yvonne is eager to be the first to get the scoop, but how far is she willing to go in the pursuit of the story?
The Story is well crafted, relaying its narrative with overlaid scenes and very creative staging. Examining the dynamics of racism in the modern US and the power of journalism, the narrative is an intricate one with many nuances, though it does occasionally feel a little bit heavy handed. As the plot develops, new sides of every character’s story come to light, keeping it dynamic throughout.
The overlaid scenes often consist of one character having two different conversation at the same time, underlining the switches with stunning lighting effects. When this worked, it was spellbinding, though occasionally the lighting didn’t quite line up with the action on stage. Hopefully this gets fully ironed out as the play settles into its staging.
At times the storyline feels a little contrived and cliche, making it easy to predict. Though this does not necessarily stop it from being engaging and fascinatingly told. Acting can be a little stiff at times, though it is unclear whether this is a deliberate choice to underline the personalities of some of the characters.
Overall, it’s a great story that’s told with gorgeous staging effects but might benefit from a little more development here and there.
