J.T. Rogers Play ‘Corruption’ About UK Phone Hacking Scandal Set For Lincoln Center Theater Debut; Bartlett Sher Directing

Greg Evans
·2 min read

Corruption, a new play by Oslo playwright J.T. Rogers about the phone hacking scandal that engulfed Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in 2011, will be produced by Lincoln Center Theater this winter in a production that will reunite Rogers with his Oslo director Bartlett Sher.

Based on the book Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and The Corruption of Britain by former British Labour Party MP Tom Watson and Martin Hickman, Corruption begins previews Thursday, February 15, 2024, at LCT’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. Opening night is Monday, March 11.

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Casting will be announced at a later date.

According to the official synopsis, Corruption “tells the story behind the story of the phone hacking scandal that engulfed Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in 2011, stunning the world and upending British politics. When Parliament member Tom Watson is maliciously smeared by the newspapers of Murdoch’s News International, he decides to fight back – taking on its larger-than-life leader Rebekah Brooks.”

The synopsis continues: “But what he uncovers is far more insidious than he ever imagined. As Watson and a small band of journalists, lawyers, and politicians struggle to expose the endemic criminality at the heart of this media monolith, they risk their careers and, at times, their very lives. Epic in scope and often startlingly funny, Corruption tells a true-life David and Goliath story of ordinary men and women trying to find a way to save their democracy before it’s too late.”

The production will feature sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Jennifer Moeller, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Justin Ellington, and projections by 59 Productions/Benjamin Pearcy and Brad Peterson.

In addition to his play Oslo, which he adapted in 2021 for an HBO film executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Marc Platt, Rogers also wrote the play One Giant Leap: The Apollo 11 Moon Landing, 50 Years On and Blood and Gifts. For TV, Rogers is the creator, writer, and showrunner for Max’s Tokyo Vice.

Sher most recently directed the 2023 Broadway productions of Camelot and Pictures From Home, as well as previous shows To Kill A Mockingbird, My Fair Lady and many others.

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