Yes Prime Minister at the Richmond Theatre Review

14/05/2013

1,031 2 minutes read

Yes, Prime Minister
Richmond Theatre, Richmond

Running until 18 May 2013

Written by Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn
Directed by Jonathan Lynn

Reviewed by Sarah Banbury

Jim Hacker, Sir Humphrey and Bernard come to Richmond after two seasons in the West End with an up to date view of the machinations of government. They are now joined by a Special Advisor, Claire Sutton (Indra Ove), for a tale involving a weekend at Chequers, and a dubious deal with the Kumranistan Foreign Minister, which may or may not prevent economic collapse, a cabinet revolt, civil service reform or cuts to the BBC. For anyone not familiar with the characters from the BBC TV series Yes, Minister and Yes Prime Minister of the 1980s, the theatre programme has three commentaries written about the series and its Whitehall setting including one by John Sargeant, the now, famous for dancing, previous political editor of ITN and the BBC.

The action takes place in the one room, much like the original series and there are several of the convoluted monologues that Sir Humphrey is famous for, while Bernard looks suitably embarrassed, worried and downright terrified at certain points. The production was slick and used TV screens in the second act to allow the whole audience to see the close up of both faces involved in a conversation. Despite being first performed at the Chichester Theatre Festival in 2010, the humour is as sharp and politically relevant as ever. There were several laugh at loud moments and a couple of shocks!

Although not household names the cast are experienced and recognisable actors. Michael Fenton Stevens, playing Jim Hacker is a regular on our TV screens and currently playing Paul in the Archers, while Michael Matus as Bernard has recently appeared in Endeavour for ITV. Filling the elegantly tailored three piece suit of Sir Humphrey, made famous of course by Nigel Hawthorne, is RADA trained stage actor Crispin Redman and he does a brilliant job.

I would definintely recommend this show to any fans of the original TV show or of intelligent, well written comedy in general. While a little common Latin may be needed to truly appreciate some of the speeches, ceteris paribus for example made me hark back to many an A level maths lesson, Bernard does provide a translation for us non Classicists including of course the Prime Minister.

Richmond Theatre is situated on the Green in Richmond upon Thames and easily served by local buses and the underground and rail services at the station a few minutes’ walk away. Car Parking is the same distance in the opposite direction at the Deer Park and is free after 6.30pm. Our seats in the stalls had a comfortable amount of leg room and we had a clear view of the whole stage. Ice creams and sweets were on sale in the interval and drinks could be preordered in the Stalls bar. Prices here were surprisingly good value at £1.60 for a cranberry juice. Show tickets range from £11.90 to £37.90 depending on your seats and compared to the price of a cinema ticket I feel represent good value for money. Yes, Prime Minister runs here until Saturday 18 May, when there is also a matinee performance, before continuing its national tour.

Rating: 5/5