Mr Foote's Other Leg

In Georgian London no one is more famous than Samuel Foote. Satirist, impressionist and dangerous comedian, friend of David Garrick and Dr Johnson, he is a bona fide celebrity in an age obsessed with fame. He even has the ear of the King.

But when Foote finds himself at the centre of a media storm – and under the surgeon's knife – there's only one question on everyone's lips: does fame make you mad?

Based on Ian Kelly's award-winning biography, Mr Foote's Other Leg is a riotously funny play exploring our obsession with celebrities, through the true story of the Oscar Wilde of the eighteenth century. It premiered at Hampstead Theatre in September 2015, in a production directed by Richard Eyre and featuring Simon Russell Beale as Foote.

'Written with panache and wit – as lively and entertaining a historical biography as you are ever likely to read' Sunday Times on Ian Kelly's biography of Samuel Foote

Blog Post: Ian Kelly on Samuel Foote and the strange fascination of a fallen celebrity... 'If anything is instantly recognisable in the story of Sam Foote, it is the creation of the modern trope of the celebrity destroyed, the star trammeled in the mud.' Read more >>