Every minute of Jordan Waller’s A Role to Die For, playing at Marylebone Theatre, is a treat, from the fast-paced staging to Derek Bond’s exquisite direction and the superb comedic performances of Franks, Bretherton, Goodson-Bevan, and Ugoala, which sparkle like a freshly opened bottle of vintage Dom Pérignon.
Over the past three years, barely a day has gone by without a new news article speculating on who will play the next James Bond, from Aaron Taylor-Johnson to Idris Elba and Jacob Elordi – it’s a kaleidoscopic list of names. However, would any of them want it? After all, breathing new life into the iconic character has been both a gift and, at times, a curse for so many who have come before them.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes at Bond central, Amazon acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $8.45 billion in May 2021, reshaping the course of the enduring franchise forever. The same year, No Time to Die, the twenty-fifth Bond outing, saw Daniel Craig leave the role spectacularly. We all knew that No Time to Die wasn’t just going to be the end of an era for Craig, but the end of Bond as we knew it for sixty-plus years. Sure enough, after much speculation, Barbara Broccoli (the daughter of legendary Albert R. Broccoli) and Michael G. Wilson (the stepson of Broccoli), who had both kept Bond a family affair under Eon Productions, handed over creative control to Amazon MGM in early 2025. A new and uncertain era beckoned, one Jordan Waller expertly dissects in his fabulous, sharp and belly-achingly funny play A Role to Die For, now playing at the Marylebone Theatre.
Credit: Steve Gregson
Set in a world where the fictional Deborah, played by the excellent Tanya Franks and Malcolm, played by the fantastic Philip Bretherton, attempt to protect their family-owned franchise from their new studio overlords, A Role to Die For is a hilarious and sharp exploration of family, legacy and a changing industry. Bond is Deborah and Malcolm’s life, and always has been. They are custodians of his character, protectors of his cinematic legacy and guardians of every aspect of the filmmaking, screenwriting and casting process.
However, they’ve hit a significant roadblock. They now have a major studio, owned by a billionaire breathing down their necks, and their new choice of actor for Bond has just been outed as a sexual predator online before he was officially announced. Then there’s the small matter of time; Deborah and Malcolm have been doing this for so long that cracks are beginning to show in their relationship, and there are no natural heirs to their empire, except for Deborah’s son, Quinn played by the fabulous Harry Goodson-Bevan, who has suffered from his mothers dedication to Bond over him and his needs for years. Quinn isn’t that bothered about Bond, unless the character modernises and embraces a Generation Z world, plus he and his boyfriend are far more interested in documentary filmmaking in Africa than anything Bond can offer. However, as Deborah and Malcolm tussle over who to cast now that their initial choice is trending online with #DrNoConsent, could Quinn provide the answer? An unknown aspiring actor, Theo, played by the brilliant Obioma Ugoala.
As time ticks down leading up to the scheduled press junket announcing their new star, tabloids circle like vultures, online forums take matters into their own hands, and generational views on who Bond is and who he should be test long-held relationships.
Credit: Steve Gregson
Waller’s play offers a pertinent and hilarious exploration of the changing face of media, the power of reminiscence, generational divides in creative vision, and the often unspoken rules in casting an iconic character. Every minute of this play is a treat, from the fast-paced staging that effortlessly keeps you engaged, despite the limited sets, to Derek Bond’s exquisite direction and the superb comedic performances of Franks, Bretherton, Goodson-Bevan, and Ugoala, which sparkle like a freshly opened bottle of vintage Dom Pérignon.
In writing A Role to Die For, Waller said, “As I started researching this complicated national icon – and my god, there’s a lot of research – what captured my imagination was the fact that Bond is first and foremost a family affair. I couldn’t ask for a better arena to explore the questions of identity, politics and legacy that our most beloved spy has always inspired in the national psyche.” Waller is no stranger to beautifully capturing the complexities, oddities and mood of our nation and world. In 2020, I had the pleasure of interviewing him for the release of his comedy horror Two Heads Creek, where he explored the cannibalistic nature of increasing xenophobia, nationalism, fear and hate. A Role to Die For may be a very different beast from Two Heads Creek, but Waller’s innate ability to weave contemporary social discussions into side-splitting comedy remains unsurpassed.
It really doesn’t matter if you know your Lazenby from your Dalton or your Moneypenny from your M, A Role to Die For offers us a license to laugh, while brilliantly dissecting a media landscape where giant studios squeeze every last penny out of franchises that once sat within the careful hands of smaller privately owned production companies or, in the case of 007 in family ownership. It’s a play about the pressures of retaining control, the often uncomfortable interface between legacy and re-invention and the complex generational divides in bringing literary characters born in a different world to the screen. A Role to Die For is a must-see play this summer season, a rib-tickling delight as smooth and sharp as a Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred.
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