Yes, Prime Minister - Chichester Festival (Review)
Review by David Munro
APART from the fact that the authors, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, have utilised the same characters this is not a spin-off or dramatisation of a TV series but a new and very funny contemporary play.
It deals, as did the original TV series, with the dilemmas and woes of Jim Hacker (David Haig) in dealing with his duties as Prime Minister of a hung Parliament and his confrontation with the civil service as personified by Sir Humphrey Appleton (Henry Goodman) and his Principal Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley (Jonathan Slinger).
The authors have added a female to this entourage in the shape of Claire Sutton (Emily Joyce) as his special policy advisor, who tries to hold a balance between Hacker and the others.
The action takes place over a weekend at Chequers, where Hacker has retired to consider his precarious future. The plot concerns whether or not he can meet the outrageous demands of a middle-European minister who is offering a deal which would save Hacker from loss of office and make him a world figure in return for a night with a teenage prostitute.
The dilemma is ultimately solved by Sir Humphrey, who is rewarded with the chairmanship of a quango.
The plot is merely a peg for the machinations of the characters, which might be described as a satire on modern government except that the humour is too broad.
The authors have kept it up-to-date with contemporary references to current events and presumably will continue to do so during the run.
All the characters are played superbly; David Haig’s PM, alternatively blustering and whingeing, is a joy to behold and his final interview with a Jeremy Paxton type BBC chat show host, where he avoids all the questions and blockbusters his own message through, is a masterpiece of comedy playing; particularly where he lapses into Churchillian mode to bolster his arguments.
Henry Goodman’s Sir Humphrey is cold and reptilian and although he lacked warmth this is clearly how the director (and co-author) Jeremy Lynn wanted him to be played.
The result is a brilliant portrait of a reptilian, self-seeking, career diplomat with a method of double-speak that defies logic. His changes of mood, which dominate an abject Hacker, are superbly timed and, one felt, were all too true to the Civil Service mentality.
Goodman and Greig are a superb comedy duo in the best sense of the term and one would like to see their partnership extended by another TV series, which would give a wider audience a chance to enjoy their talents.
The Principal Private Secretary’s role is admirably filled by Jonathan Slinger, who spent the evening in a comic moral dilemma trying to reconcile his conscience with his job and being alternately bullied by Hacker and Sir Humphrey.
Mr Slinger dispels all memories of Derek Fowlds, the original occupant of the role; making it firmly his own. His heartfelt cry, “if only it were that simple”, at a suggestion that a character might be gay, was a memorable moment.
He made a real character out of a slightly sketchily drawn role and certainly added to the evening’s enjoyment.
I was not quite so sure about Emily Joyce’s Claire Sutton; the role was clearly added to prevent it being an all-male evening and I felt she was over-awed by the others.
Certainly, she was not bad and had one or two moments of her own but she allowed the character to appear superfluous and not up to the standard of the rest of the cast.
Sam Dastor, William Chubb and Tim Wallers have minor roles as, respectively, an Oxford educated Foreign Ambassador, a dignitary of the BBC and a BBC interviewer and played them well: even though they were in reality stooge roles, they did not let this manifest itself and gave good value where demanded.
Although this is by no means a great play, it is a very funny one and played with such a brio and panache by its principals that one is deceived into believing it better that it really is.
I hope the powers-that-be allow its transfer to the West End or at least a tour so that its pleasures my be enjoyed by a wider public as the cast deserve more than a few weeks exposure at Chichester.
As you will have gathered, I enjoyed it and will be very surprised if you do not as well; in fact, I give it a resounding “Yes! Prime Minister”.
Yes, Prime Minister by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn
Director – Jonathan Lynn
Designer – Simon Higlett
Lighting – Tim Mitchell
Sound – John Leonard
CAST: Henry Goodman; David Haig; Emily Joyce; Jonathan Slinger; Tim Wallers; William Chubb; Sam Dastor; Ross Gilson.
Chichester Festival Theatre, Oaklands Park, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 6AP.
May 13 – June 5, 2010
Evenings 7.30pm/Matinees – Thurs & Sat: 2pm
Box Office: 01234 781312