An Audience with Jimmy Savile: new play 'riveting and revolting'

Alistair McGowan is 'extraordinary' as comic thug Savile, but does it work as drama?

Alistair McGowan as Jimmy Savile
(Image credit: An Audience with Jimmy Savile)

A new play about Jimmy Savile has met with mixed reviews from critics, with many hailing its lead performance and others calling it "depressing". An Audience with Jimmy Savile, which opened to the London press last night, has faced doubts over the ethics of turning a story about disgraced DJ Savile into "entertainment".

Others wondered whether its writer, journalist Jonathan Maitland was tackling the subject too soon. And the Daily Mail reported that even its star Alistair McGowan, who plays Savile, admitted the part was giving him sleepless nights.

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