Film screening of the National Theatre revival of Clifford Odets' 'Golden Boy', with Josh O'Connor, Daniel Mays and Hayley Squires and a live string quartet.
Golden Boy is showing at Connaught Cinema from Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 November, a National Theatre production of Clifford Odets' American classic. It's not a film in the usual sense; the play was filmed live at the Almeida Theatre, so you're watching a stage performance on the big screen rather than a cinematic adaptation.
Josh O'Connor leads the cast, with Daniel Mays and Hayley Squires alongside him, and the whole thing is directed by Sam Yates. One detail that sticks out is the music: a live string quartet plays during the screening, so the score isn't just coming from the speakers—it's happening in the room with you.
The play itself is set in 1930s New York at the height of the Depression. Joe Bonaparte is a gifted young violinist who gets lured by the promise of fame and fortune into the brutal world of professional boxing. From there it becomes a drama about ambition, identity, and the high price of success, as Joe trades his music for the ring. It's a classic setup—the artist torn between his passion and the money he can make by walking away from it—and the 1930s setting gives it a particular kind of desperation.
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Because it was filmed live at the Almeida, you get the full stage production rather than a cut-down version. It runs for four days, from Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 November, at Connaught Cinema in Worthing.
