Renowned artist Rory McGrory wakes up trapped in a mysterious art gallery surrounded by empty
canvases. No art. No answers. And no way out—until he’s greeted by his ex-wife Pippa, who also
happens to be dead. “Retrospective” at the Barons Court Theatre marks the UK premiere of the play following its world premiere at the 2025 Broadway Bound Theatre Festival in New York.
Info & Tickets at https://www.baronscourttheatre.com/retrospective
What is Retrospective about, and who is your character, Rory McGrory?
Retrospective is a zany, touching, compelling comedy that strikes a great balance between profound enlightenment and bawdy bonkers. It centres around Rory McRory, played by London native Noah Huntley.
Rory is a hugely accomplished Painter often cited alongside De Kooning, Pollock and Picasso. In this retrospective, he appears to be trapped in something of a parallel universe. Honoured with a retrospective of his Paintings, it is becoming increasingly clear that Rory’s life’s dream could just be, a total nightmare. Former acquaintances appear and seem to have an unspoken agenda and a score to settle. There are certainly some uncertain rules; if only we could understand them. One thing is clear: this fast-paced thriller/love story is as thick as it is clever.
You may have glimpsed Noah in 28 Days Later, Snow White & The Huntsman, Dracula Untold or as Will Curtis in Holby City. Mum’s will almost certainly know him from more recent work on Netflix’s Free Rein and Pandora for the CW Network.
With Iris Murdoch and Mark Rothko as touchstones, how did you keep Rory’s existential spiral feeling human and relatable?
There is an honesty and directness with Rory McGrory that makes him incredibly relatable. Rory comes from a long line of unapologetic curmudgeons. He is a man, an artist, a romantic and earnest metaphysician who has spent his entire life striving for truthful representation in Color. In that pursuit, he will dispense with pretension and fame to honour a higher truth, potentially a transcendental experience for those who are willing to really look and see beyond the prison walls of the predictable. McGrory’s dear friend Arthur Dent was venerated by Douglas Adams. Here TJ Elliot has America’s Rory McGrory honoured with a contemporary realism that strives for truth or will damn well die trying. Where Jackson Pollock exposed, Rory McGrory coveted, where Rothko revealed, McGrory revelled. Parallels have been drawn but never entirely accurately. One thing is certain: this Retrospective teeters on the razor’s edge of brilliance.
How do you strike the balance between the play’s surreal world and the emotional truth of Rory’s story?
Time/Life magazine described Rory McGrory as too cool for celebrity. As Koons and Warhol sold out to their respective hyper-commercial demographics, McGrory stepped back from the blinding light of celebrity. After his infamous millennial treatise in 2000, McGrory increasingly found peace with his wife in their California home in the canyons. Rory may be revered for his paintings, but he is steeped in an East Coast realism that never leaves him. It is because of this that no matter where he ends up, he will always respond in an emotionally truthful way.
4. What was it about Retrospective that felt like the right project for you right now?
As an actor I have been back and forth between the US and UK for the greater part of my adult life. With good friends on the west and east coasts and more recently at home in Atlanta, GA, it is rare to find a character as much as a written piece that reflects some of those artistic experiences and accomplishments and International outlooks. TJ’s Retrospective is one such rare gem that was immediately a great fit even though there were concerns with how to age me up.
I remembered watching Val Kilmer play Sam Clemens in Citizen Twain at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, and I felt like McGrory could be something similar. It ended up being nothing like that, but it got me out of the blocks! The wit, fast pace and quirkiness, possibly even cynicism of McGrory were certainly immediately attractive to me. I’d also seen The Chairs by Ionesco many years ago and felt there was a similarly absurd quality that resonated.
Did the play’s question of “what remains when the art disappears” change how you think about your own work?
I am very fortunate that, as with Rory, I have always maintained a seriousness about the work that I have done. But once finished, I usually forget about it quite soon after. Not to say it may not have some lasting relevance, just that I am less attached to how other people go on to perceive what has been created. Perhaps less like Rory, I am keenly aware of just how many accomplished people and how much focus is coordinated on any one Production. Fortunately I have wonderful siblings who have always kept my feet on the ground and have encouraged and supported me regardless of the highs and lows of my career.
How did you build the dynamic with Rory’s dead ex-wife so it feels both eerie and authentic?
Building Rory and Pippa’s dynamic was made easier by having Sarah (Pearcey) to work with. Sarah brought such openness, fun, consideration and intelligence. And more generally, as a company, there was space and unspoken cohesion that supported bringing together quite an unexpectedly challenging piece. Liviu Monstead brought such command and clarity as a director that I think we all built a belief early and were able to trust the process.
There was quite a limited rehearsal period but a very personal interaction that felt anything but corporate or like a production-line of more traditional British theatre offerings. The characters’ age differences are most marked by the attitudes as much as the values they espouse but also their physicality. There is something quite ghostly about meeting somebody you have known so intimately but decades ago and where they have stopped at that point in time and you have continued to evolve without them, though passively still connected somehow or at least honouring of their soul’s separate journey.
Does returning to a small London venue for such a reflective piece echo any personal retrospection in your own career?
I have always loved British theatre. Going to the Edinburgh Festival and seeing intelligent, witty and accessible new work has always been a great inspiration to me. My time in New York also gave me a great respect for American playwrights, whilst the Will Geer Theatre in Topanga Canyon was a West Coast favourite. And whilst I loved being back at Charing Cross Theatre for ‘The Daughter of Time’ last year, I would certainly also love to return to the theatre in the US. There is certainly a sense of returning to my roots, having recently turned 50, after decades of quite a lot of travelling. That is always quite poignant in the way that you are confronted with continuity of place alongside often quite changed as well as changing values. I certainly like the historical context of life and values in the UK over less slowly-evolved historical references in the 250 years of US history.