Theatrical adaptation by Henry Naylor of the true story behind Elton John's libel case against The Sun, winner of a Fringe First at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe.
Henry Naylor brings Monstering the Rocketman to Gloucester Guildhall on Wednesday 18 November, a theatrical retelling of the true story behind Britain's largest-ever libel case. The show centres on the moment The Sun falsely accused a 39-year-old Elton John of 'bonking rent boys', and the Rocketman's decision to launch a multi-million-pound lawsuit in response. On the other side was the paper's editor, Kelvin Mackenzie, who met the legal challenge with a blistering campaign of media harassment.
Naylor pits Elton John against The Sun in an epic 1980s clash that gathers up a wide cast of characters and details: Ferraris, punch-ups, gangsters, bugged phone calls, Princess Diana, the Vice Squad and Devil Dogs. It's a sharp, funny and furious look at tabloid power at its most brazen, and it's a story that goes far beyond the headlines to show the scale of the battle between one of the world's biggest stars and a newspaper determined to take him down.
Naylor is a Fringe First winner, and Monstering the Rocketman earned that award at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe, where it also gathered sixteen four- and five-star reviews. The production is a solo show, with Naylor taking on the roles and the storytelling himself.
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It plays at Gloucester Guildhall, 23 Eastgate Street, GL1 1NS, on Wednesday 18 November, starting at 18:30. Tickets are £18 for adults and £15 for concessions.
