Skip navigation | site map

  • recommended
  • last chance
  • musicals
  • plays
  • all shows
 
 
Performance times:
MON
19:30
TUE
19:30
WED
14:30 19:30
THU
19:30
FRI
19:30
SAT
14:30 19:30
SUN
No show

Show starts:
16th January 2010
Show ends:
14th August 2010
Run time:
2:40
Venue:
Noel Coward Theatre

 

Enron

ENRON, Lucy Prebble s gripping new drama based on the accounting scandal of the American energy giant, will transfer to the Noel Coward Theatre in 2010.

ENRON, the name synonymous with corporate failure, is a play that sheds fresh light on the notorious bankruptcy and financial turmoil following the boom years of the 1990s. It transfers on the back of a sold-out season at the Royal Court. The show is directed by Rupert Goold and stars Tim Pigott-Smith as disgraced CEO Kenneth Lay.

Please enter your booking requirements in the form below and we'll check to see if the show and a hotel is available.

   Calendar Icon
For:
 

Enron: Corporate Bankruptcy and High Drama

 

After a sold-out run at the Royal Court Theatre, Lucy Prebble’s vivid reconstruction of America’s largest corporate bankruptcy is ready to make its West End transfer. Directed by Rupert Goold, and starring Tim Pigott-Smith as disgraced CEO Kenneth Lay, Enron mixes comedy with tragedy in a remarkable piece of expressionist theatre.

In 2001 Enron was one of the world’s leading energy suppliers, claiming revenues of over $100m. The Houston based business had seen its share price go into the stratosphere under Chairman Kenneth Lay and his hotshot board of executives. Unfortunately some creative accounting that turned losses into profits couldn’t halt the inevitable market ‘correction’.

With tickets for the Royal Court production selling like a stock market bubble, Enron previews at the Noel Coward theatre from 16 January 2010.

Enron's Stock on the Rise

Brilliant new drama Enron has announced that due to overwhelming demand the show will extend beyond the end of its current run. The show, which has been nominated for six Olivier Awards, is currently playing at London's Noel Coward Theatre.

A Tale of Corporate Greed and Mismanagement

Enron is inspired by the real-life story of one of America’s largest corporate bankruptcies. The Texas energy giant employed 29,000 staff and boasted $70 billion of assets. With a business plan based on smoke and mirrors, debts became profits and directors took home multi-million dollar bonuses. Chairman Ken Lay appointed hot-shot CEO Jeffrey Skilling, and the two men became known as ‘the smartest guys in the room’.

Jeffrey Skilling had big ideas for Enron, the largest one being that, instead of remaining an energy company, Enron should become a stock market for oil and gas. Under Skilling greed was good; until company profits started to plummet. Skilling called on Chief Financial Officer Andy Fastow to help him cover up the mess. The financial whiz-kid created dozens of subsidiary companies, all designed to hide Enron’s losses. The countdown to bankruptcy had begun.

Financial Crisis Brought to Life

After narrowly missing out to Jerusalem as ‘Best New Play’ at the Evening Standard Awards in November, Enron is again in the running at the 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards. The other Olivier Award nominations include ‘Best Actor’ for Samuel West (Jeffrey Skilling), ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Tim Piggott-Smith (Ken Lay), ‘Best Director’ for Rupert Goold, ‘Best Lighting Design for Mark Henderson’ and finally ‘Best Set Design’ for Anthony Ward.

The critics have been full of praise for the clarity of writer Lucy Prebble’s story that brings the complex world of finance to life. Shadow companies become vicious debt-eating dinosaurs, power cuts in California become a Star Wars light-sabre dance and a barbershop quartet sings the praises of CEO Jeffrey Skilling. It sounds surreal but perfectly illustrates the bizarre wheeling-and-dealing that brought about the financial crisis.

Book Your Enron Break

Posted by Ben on Monday 8th March 2010 at 6:03PM

Back to News