Critics kill play about Marilyn Monroe 

Emerald Theatre

The worst reviews of the year (worst even than those for Trainspotting) greeted Sharlene Cooper Cohen’s play about the life and death of Marilyn Monroe. Pixie Lott as the iconic movie star emerged with a few kind words (not many) but the play , directed by Philip William McKinley, was declared lifeless (like a ‘Wikipedia’ entry- Mail, WhatsOnStage, BroadwayWorld).

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

2 stars ⭑⭑

The Daily Mail’s Patrick Marmion said it was ‘a play that has all the drama of a Wikipedia entry’.

Julia Rank of WhatsOnStage had the same thought: ‘Sharlene Cooper Cohen’s prurient play that has all the dramatic tension and emotional impact of a Wikipedia article.’ She gave some credit to the star: ‘Lott does her best with what she has to work with in her bouffant bobbed wig (physically, she would be more convincing as Princess Diana than Monroe), though there is overreliance on the breathy voice and coquettish mannerisms. Her lengthy final monologue to her psychiatrist is handled capably, granting her some dramatic dignity.’

Fiona Mountford, reviewing for the Telegraph, endured a ‘stubbornly spark-free two hours’. She laid some of the blame on ‘director Philip William McKinley, who oversees a production that is almost entirely devoid of energy.’

[2 stars assumed] Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowksi said emphatically: ‘it’s simply not a good drama’.

1 star ⭑

Mica Blackwell for BroadwayWorld came up with a familiar comparison: ‘Despite seemingly based on years of research and the insistence that Monroe isn’t a dumb blonde boy crazy victim, Cooper instead regresses her life with as much substance as a Wikipedia summary’. She told us: ‘With little cohesion, McKinley’s direction sporadically flashes – quite literally from Jack Weir’s blinding lighting design and Justin Williams’ uninspired set – back and forth between the moments after Monroe’s death and a series of memories that are ridiculous at best and crass at worst.’

‘The whiff of drama school end-of-year show persists’ sniffed The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar. She concluded: ‘the bigger mystery of who Monroe was remains entirely untouched.’

The Standard’s Nick Curtis called it a ‘tawdry and irredeemably awful trawl through Marilyn Monroe’s life and last moments’. As for the star: ‘Lott seems to have only two modes of expression as Marilyn – eyelash-batting flirtation and screaming anxiety … on this evidence she shouldn’t give up her day job as a pop star.’ He ended: ‘Unfortunately our online content management system does not allow for zero-star reviews. If it did, this would be my first.’

’The only mystery here is how this comically inept conspiracy theory drama ever made it to the London stage’ revealed The Times’ Clive Davis. ‘You leave the Emerald Theatre feeling sorry for the actors, especially the pop singer Pixie Lott, whose version of Marilyn essentially consists of one pout followed by an even bigger one.’ He pointed out: ‘It somehow seems appropriate that an enema makes an appearance before the end of the evening. If only someone had applied one to the script.’

Critics’ average rating 1.4⭑

Who Killed Marilyn? can be seen at the Emerald Theatre in London until 29 October 2026. Buy tickets directly from whokilledmarilyn.uk

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