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A new session for the PM Yes, Prime Minister Wolverhampton Grand Theatre *** Yes,
Minister is a
rarity, a television catchphrase which entered into popular parlance.
A code, implying the
reverse of its overt meaning. The sitcom,
Yes, Minister,
which morphed into Yes Prime Minister,
was essential viewing in its heyday, the Thatcherite eighties. It became a touchstone for an era, brilliantly
written, fiendishly well informed, and created so authentically that the
line between fact and comic farce was often uncertain. Was Government actually like this? It probably
was. Great writing transcends its immediate subject and speaks more
broadly to its audience. Yes, Prime Minister did just that.
Like Spitting Image, Yes Minister ,and then Yes
Prime Minister, became so close to perceived reality, a reality it
in part helped to create, that classic status followed. A contemporary staging offers advantages, and
disadvantages. On the plus side, the original scenes were invariably
interior office locations, ideal for the stage. The subsequent era of spin doctors, and Tony
Blair, also raises new fertile satirical material. On the downside, Paul
Eddington as Jim Hacker, Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey, and Derek
Fowlds as Bernard ,were such definitive characterisations that the
task of playing them is a daunting one, and the original was embedded in
a time and place. How well would it travel into the 21st
century?
This adaptation by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn
is a contemporary rewrite, and modern fashion for reshaping familiar
characters, such as in Doctor Who and the Batman series, means that the
new cast do not have to attempt to mimic their illustrious forbears to
win the audience's favour. An entirely new character, a glamorous
special advisor Claire Sutton, (Indra Ove) , helps to breathe
freshness into the production in which Hacker (Michael Fenton Stevens),
Sir Humphrey (Crispin Redman) and Bernard (Michael Matus) face
fresh challenges in the age of the 24 hour news cycle. Dramatically, the characters have evolved, Sir
Humphrey's pompousness is tinged with corruption, Bernard's
functionary role is more bumbling, Jim Hacker' s good intentions have a
cynicism about them, giving it a Blairite twist. Physically, the
set is lavish and detailed, a credit to designer Simon Hignett with
director Jonathan Lynn imaginatively using onstage cameras to film and
broadcast for the play's climax. A steadfastly middle aged audience had clearly
come for a reprise of the themes of the original television series, they
were not disappointed. Michael Fenton Steven's interpretation of Jim
Hacker had shades of John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, with plenty of
physical comedy culminating in him hiding under a table in the face of a
mountain of calamity. The updated script ensured that this was no
nostalgia show whilst simultaneously offering enough familiarity for the
audience to feel at home. The Coalition, Global Warming and the Euro all
form part of the action giving Hacker fresh headaches to contend with,
and plenty of new laughs. To 11-05-13. Gary Longden
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