I had a really fun night out with more than a few hearty chuckles on Thursday attending a performance of Yes, Prime Minister. The satirical play takes its audience behind the scenes of the flawed process of political decision making, gently mocking our leaders and our system of government along the way. I found it amazing (and slightly annoying) how the writing and the acting had me feeling sympathetic toward characters whom in real life I might not like and probably wouldn’t even vote for. Equally impressive was how the play made real through comedy the fact that global leaders are as human and as prone to make bad decisions as any of us.
(As I’m sure you’re probably aware) I’m not from the UK. I don’t watch much TV either. In fact, I don’t even own a TV. So, the whole stroll down retro lane thing didn’t jump out at me. Honestly, it wasn’t until intermission that I discovered Yes, Prime Minster was a television series back in the 80s. But my theatre buddy knew all about it and explained they’d gotten the tone of the TV show right.
And that leads me to another cool thing about this play: it’s a great one to watch with a friend. There’s no mushy love story, just politics and satire. Plus, one member of the cast (Emily Bruni who plays Claire Sutton) is a total hottie. When it’s over you can delve deep into political discussion about current events or simply share your favourite gags from the show.
Needless to say, you don’t have to be a super fan of the 80s programme to “get” this play. And it’s written in such a way that if you are a news junkie the jokes and story will resonate strongly, but if you’re unaware or simply don’t care about current events you’ll still be able to enjoy top notch comedy performances riffing on a solidly written script.
Special Online Promotion
I attended Thursday’s performance of Yes, Prime Minister upon invitation to review it as a member of the press. Since I like it so much, I asked if I could get a bit of discount for my readers if any of you wanted to see the play too. Check it this special offer I managed to squeeze out of the box office:
Use promo code YESPM to book tickets for Monday to Friday performances and Saturday matinees until 31 August and all you’ll have to pay is £29.50 each. If booking by phone, call 44 (0) 844 871 7627 and quote “Online £29.50” for the same discount.
I’d say live entertainment of this calibre for under 30 quid is good value for money.
Yes, Prime Minister is on now at Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, SW1A 2DY. Find out more at yesprimeminister.co.uk.
