Review Roundup: KING JAMES at Hampstead Theatre

King James by Rajiv Joseph is running through 4 January, 2025 at Hampstead Theatre. Directed by Alice Hamilton, the production stars Ényì Okoronkwo and Sam Mitchell. 

"King" LeBron James was just the hero that Cleveland needed. One of the greatest NBA players to ever hit the court, his influence on the whole city loomed large for the dozen years of his reign. Joseph’s funny and moving play chronicles the unexpected friendship between two men whose intertwined fortunes are tied to those of their idol. See what the critics are saying...

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Cindy Marcolina, BroadwayWorld: Though it’s being sold as a project about basketball, King James is a strangely heartwarming piece about the male psyche. If anything, it really shows how little some men speak about the major events in their lives to one another and showcases a pair of promising performers with an excellent future ahead. It's definitely worth the trip Downstairs.

Chris Wiegand, The Guardian: Joseph skilfully evokes the atmosphere of a game, heightened by Matt Haskins’ lighting and Max Pappenheim’s sound, establishing the dazzling flash of a stadium and its feverish crowd respectively. What the play lacks in specificity about why James and basketball itself are so enthralling to watch, it gains in universality about sporting passion – particularly useful for a UK audience less familiar with the game. It is a lean, keen-eyed and compelling piece but like many dramas giving a sideways look at a famous figure, it can’t quite emerge from the shadow of the stranger-than-fiction king himself.

Sam Waite, All That Dazzles: Despite just how slow the build proves to be in King James, the understanding of sports as a gateway to rich, nuanced relationships is undeniable. Elevated by the chemistry of its cast, this exploration of loyalties and imbalanced friendships does prove to carry a good amount of power, and has plenty to say around its themes. Where the LeBron of it all seems entirely inconsequential, that is entirely the point – Matt and Shawn could have bonded over anything or anyone, but it's their connection to one another that truly matters.

Gary Naylor, The Arts Desk: King James is too sweet natured a play to be great, but it’s very good in its understated ambition, unusual in its refusal to import any hot button issues into a story that stands on its own two feet. Debuting in Europe after its 2002 premiere in the USA, perhaps LeBron’s own extraordinary coda to his storied career can inspire a sequel. I’d certainly be interested to find out whatever happened to these likely lads.

Chris Omaweng, London Theatre1: Both actors demonstrate considerable commitment to their roles, holding court, as it were, with convincing and surprisingly nuanced performances. A line in the show’s programme states, “Hampstead Theatre would like to thank Mary Ellen Wanty for the basketball coaching”. I would like to do the same: if I hadn’t known any better, I might have been inclined to think these actors were cast in the first place at least partly for basketball prowess.

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