The Lowdown on Amadeus at the Noel Coward Theatre from April 2027.
Published on 27 October 2026
**What is it? **
Amadeus is a revival of Peter Shaffer's flamboyant, gloriously operatic 1979 hit inspired by the rumour (never proved) that back in the 18th century Austrian court composer Antonio Salieri poisoned the rising young upstart, Mozart, on whom --much to Salieri’s chagrin-- God has bestowed the genius that he himself lacks. Salieri has to reckon with the pain of knowing he was never more than a minor talent, a mere footnote in the story of Mozart.
Oh, so Salieri’s beef is with God, not the young Mozart?
Well, yes, I guess so. Peter Shaffer’s characters often have beef with God. But despite blaming God, it didn’t stop Salieri from acting as something of a Viennese Iago to Mozart, thus bringing about the more talented man’s decline and downfall. At least that is how Shaffer portrays things, and nobody can answer back from beyond the grave.
That sounds juicy. Who’s in it?
This is a show which requires inspired central casting. And this revival gets it with two Welsh actors, Michael Sheen and It’s a Sin star Callum Scott Howells, playing the jealous, manipulative Salieri and the potty-mouthed Mozart. Almost 20 years ago at the Old Vic, Sheen was a memorable Mozart in Peter Hall’s production, so maybe there will be something bittersweet that he is now cast as the disappointed Salieri. Although it is arguably by far the better part.
Did I hear you say 'potty-mouthed' in relation to Mozart? Surely that can’t be right. The writer of some of the world’s most sublime music can’t have been a devotee of toilet humour?
He was, by all accounts, a bit of a social misfit. There have been suggestions-- but of course they are impossible to prove --that he might have been suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome. His letters suggest a man who was definitely a fan of the fart joke and the scatological, although Shaffer may well have ramped up the foul language for dramatic effect. But he diluted it for the American premiere for fear that Americans would blanch.
Fart jokes just don’t sound very musical.
Ah, the trick of Shaffer’s play (he was a former music critic, so he knows his stuff) is how he incorporates Mozart’s music into the action in a way that ensures we are as blindsided by Mozart’s genius just as Salieri himself is as the play progresses. It is very neatly done. The National’s sumptuous 2016 revival, directed by Michael Longhurst, had the South Bank Sinfonia present on stage, which made it feel like a piece of fully-fledged music theatre. Director Jeremy Herrin, a smart cookie, will find his own ways to make it sing.
**Is the general consensus that this is Peter Shaffer’s masterpiece? **
Not exactly. Its merits have been hotly debated. Peter Hall, who directed the original production and remounted it on Broadway, where it won five Tonys, declared it “one of the most remarkable plays I’ve ever read.” The director, Michael Blakemore, was less enamoured, famously describing it as history’s “longest record sleeve.” But there is no denying that the right production can make it a compulsively watchable evening with an almost operatic sweep and deliver an experience which leans towards the metaphysical and not just melodrama. Also, it will be fascinating at the Noel Coward theatre to see Sheen and Scott Howells fare when pitted against each other.
Don’t say
I’m with Gore Vidal when he says, "Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies."
Do say
It’s a theatrical Sachertorte, irresistibly moreish.
Amadeus plays at the Noel Coward theatre from 17th April - 7th August 2027. Book your tickets today.
By Lyn Gardner
Lyn Gardner is an acclaimed theatre journalist and former critic with decades of experience covering British theatre, from off-West End and fringe theatre to major West End productions.