Beauty, class, and desire intertwine in a brilliant new staging at the Almeida.
Jack Holden’s stage adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty (directed by Michael Grandage) is a triumph of compression and insight. Set in the 1980s, this production captures the political and emotional climate of the period with extraordinary precision while remaining entirely relatable to today’s audiences.
At the centre of the story is Nick Guest superbly performed by Jasper Talbot, a young, white, Oxford-educated man — openly gay, intelligent, perceptive, and quietly ambitious. Through his eyes we enter the rarefied world of privilege and politics that defines the Fedden family, with whom he lodges at their Kensington Park Gardens home. Nick’s former Oxford friend Toby, played with charm and entitlement, introduces him to his parents: Gerald, a newly elected Conservative MP, and Rachel, his elegant, socially assured wife.
Gerald ( Charles Edwards) is not portrayed as a caricature of a Conservative MP but as a composite of familiar traits — the charm, vanity, and moral blindness of a man sustained by privilege. His easy confidence and self-regard mask a hollowness that becomes unmistakable once his carefully maintained image begins to crumble. Even his downfall carries the comfort of entitlement: losing his political position merely leads to a well-paid appointment elsewhere — a quiet reminder that, in his world, failure is only ever a change of scenery.
The Feddens’ home becomes a microcosm of Thatcher-era Britain: beautiful, brittle, and steeped in denial. Their daughter Catherine (exquisitely performed by Ellie Bamber) pierces the façade. A self-harming truth-teller, she recognises hypocrisy and emotional vacuity where others choose not to. Her bond with Nick — tender, platonic, and full of mutual understanding — offers some of the most moving moments of the evening.
Class and desire intersect sharply when Nick meets Leo (Alistair Nwachukwu), a working-class Black man with a deep interest in social politics. Their relationship, warm and genuine, stands in poignant contrast to the Feddens’ shallow conviviality. The play’s visual symbolism lies not in what we see, but in what we are invited to imagine. When Nick first enters the Feddens’ home, he notices a painting in the hallway and asks, “Did I pass a real Guardi?” Toby replies, with casual indifference, “Uh, yah, think so. One of Mother’s whatnots.” That fleeting moment reveals everything: art as ornament, beauty as status. Later, in the modest flat of Leo’s family, the focus shifts entirely.
There, a lively discussion unfolds about a humble poster of Holman Hunt’s The Shadow of Death. Mrs Charles (Doreene Blackstock) knows it is only a reproduction, yet she cherishes it for what it signifies. Blackstock brings raw authenticity and warmth to the stage, grounding the dinner scene in her modest home with a sense of lived truth. Around her table, amid warmth, faith, and food, the conversation turns into a meditation on beauty and belief. Nick speaks of art as “a continuous exchange between the artist and the viewer… a transcendent experience.” It’s a moment of quiet revelation — contrasting the Feddens’ sterile privilege with the Charles family’s sincerity, intellect, and humanity.
Holden’s adaptation distils the novel’s complexity into a lean, theatrical narrative without ever feeling rushed or overcrowded. The contrast between the opulence of the Feddens’ world and the warmth of Leo’s family life is rendered with subtlety and precision. The political and moral undercurrents — class division, hypocrisy, and the slow emergence of AIDS — are handled not as headlines but as part of the human texture of the story.
The Line of Beauty is not, as some might expect, a play about AIDS. It is about love, care, friendship, disillusionment, and betrayal. It is also about the cost of beauty — aesthetic, moral, and emotional — in a world where appearances often stand in for truth. Jack Holden’s adaptation is a masterpiece of empathy and restraint, and Michael Grandage’s direction gives it emotional depth and clarity.
An evening of rare intelligence and beauty.
The Line of Beauty
By Alan Hollinghurst
Adapted by Jack Holden
Directed by Michael Grandage
Cast:
Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, Ellie Bamber, Doreene Blackstock, Charles Edwards, Arty Froushan, Claudia Harrison, Matt Mella, Hannah Morrish, Alistair Nwachukwu, Robert Portal, Leo Suter and Jasper Talbot.
Creative Team
Set & Costume Design – Christopher Oram
Lighting Design – Howard Hudson
Sound Design & Composer – Adam Cork
Movement & Intimacy Director – Ben Wright
Casting Director – Sophie Holland CSA
Running Time
Approx. 2 hours 30 minutes (including interval)
Until: 29 November 2025
Photo credit: Johan Persson