Speculations Review: Marilyn Monroe. John F. Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald. You know how they died. Or do you?
04 November 2026 | 19:00 | Marylebone Theatre, London
⭐⭐⭐ | PR - Invite
London's newest political thriller is here. Directed by Sir Trevor Nunn and starring multi-award winning actress Janie Dee, Speculations is a retelling of the fascinating life behind TV personality and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, and her quest for the truth amongst some of America's most prolific crime cases.
Torben Betts' new play starts in the cosy but regal study of our gossip columnist turned political advocate Dorothy. Even before the lights come up, we hear the tapping of the typewriter and the tone is set. After a mysterious phone call, Kilgallen's babysitter Flo (Gloria Obianyo) arrives for the evening, and we quickly learn that she is not only a fan, but also an aspiring journalist.
What starts out as light-hearted musings about Dorothy's new book before heading upstairs to look after her child, quickly escalates into something much more intense, sparking conflict between the women and leading them into the analysis of the inner working of America's politics, and the realisation of the danger they could also be inflicting on themselves.
Dorothy's wild theories on Marilyn and the Kennedys start to unfold before our eyes. Obianyo's Flo works well as a narrative device to tell us - as the audience - what Dorothy really thinks happened to these fateful celebrities. The rest of the evening cuts from further moral debates between the women, to recreations of the exchanges that Dorothy believes to have happened between Marilyn Monroe and Robert 'Bobby' F. Kennedy, and gunman Lee Harvey Oswald with mobster Carlos Morello.
Lee Newby's set deign is classy yet simple, well serving its purpose. The sides and back of Dorothy's study revolve to reveal Marilyn's L.A. bedroom, and a bar deep in New Orleans, where we respectively see fragments of Marilyn's final confrontation with Robert Kennedy, and tense exchanges between Oswald and Morello. We also see an engaging exploration into the coercion that led to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and Oswald's downfall that followed. While its style of storytelling works in practicality, it becomes a little repetitive and unimaginative as we head into Act Two, and continue to cycle between the three pairs of actors.
Betts' writing is earnest for the most part, and allows the powerhouse that is Janie Dee to give Dorothy suitable light and shade, finding the moments of comedy against the paranoia. Gloria Obianyo's performance as Flo contrasts nicely against Dee, feeling natural and well-grounded. However the two with the most rapport are Joseph Potter (Oswald) and Ferdy Roberts (Marcello), both creating a bubbling tension through each of their scenes.
Whereas the relationship between Natalie Dunne (Marilyn Monroe) and Jolyon Coy (Robert F. Kennedy) feels the most strained. Unfortunately, while the duo do an admirable job of conveying these well-worn characters, any creative team who take on the behemoth task of staging Marilyn come dangerously close to branding another caricature, thus leaving these scenes lacking in some sense of 'truth'.
Nunn gets the job done: it's a mighty lot of text for six people to get through and keep the audience's interest sustained. The subject matter is interesting, if lacking in a fresh perspective to see these conspiracies. The final scenes are somewhat disappointing in a mostly naturalistic piece, with two onstage deaths which cheapen the quality of the play.
And then we end on Dorothy's untimely death, where she is historically believed to have accidentally overdosed. Yet Betts indulges in the reveal of her murderer, relinquishing any speculation that audiences could have been left with after leaving the theatre. Despite a few written missteps and monotonous structure, Speculations is a fascinating watch that gives you the chance to flex your true crime muscles, and embrace all of your conspiracy theories just like Dorothy Kilgallen.
Playing at London's Marylebone Theatre until the 17th January 2027: https://www.marylebonetheatre.com/productions/speculations
