'Bradley Cooper is a revelation'

The Hollywood actor shows theatrical prowess but he's let down by a sluggish production, says Ben Lawrence

Bradley Cooper is not a generous actor. His leading roles in films such as Silver Linings Playbook and American Sniper scream "me, me, me" and you can almost smell the testosterone as he sets about hogging the limelight. So his performance as Joseph Merrick in this revival of Bernard Pomerance's 1977 play (which has transferred from Broadway) is a revelation. Cooper is touching and unshowy in the title role and, together with co-star Alessandro Nivola, completely carries Scott Ellis's sluggishly directed production.

Cynics will question the gym-toned, handsome Cooper's motives for doing this. ("Look at me playing ugly. I have no vanity!") But this is not a superficial performance: its strengths lie in its subtleties. As he is saved from a lifetime on the Victorian freakshow circuit by Dr Frederick Treves, Cooper slowly, carefully, unpeels Merrick's personality - the man behind the deformity.