Brydon channels O'Toole's stage highs & lows

Rob Brydon stars as the legendary actor Peter O'Toole in a new drama penned by Terry Johnson for BBC Radio 4. The play, featuring strong language, examines the actor's career, juxtaposing his successes with his failures. It highlights O'Toole's triumphant 1999 run as Jeffrey Bernard in 'Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell' at the Old Vic.

Conversely, the drama also revisits O'Toole's disastrous 1980 Macbeth performance, which was met with widespread criticism. Set at the historic Old Vic, Terry Johnson's debut play explores universal themes of art, ageing, love, and the struggle to reconcile one's true self. The script draws partly from O'Toole's own writings.