Political theatre boom in London

LONDON – A musical about a 1960s scandal involving a Cabinet minister, a showgirl and a top Soviet official is the latest drama using the London stage to expose politicians’ foibles – often to comic effect.

‘A Model Girl’ focuses on the explosive Profumo Affair, which saw war secretary John Profumo resign in 1963 from Harold Macmillan’s government after lying about his affair with Christine Keeler. Keeler was also sharing sexual favours with Yevgeny Ivanov, a senior naval attache at the Soviet Embassy in London, prompting questions about whether state secrets had become pillow talk.The affair came to symbolise a new wave of sexual liberation and dissent.It also highlighted the old adage that truth can be stranger than fiction – like many other political shows currently playing in the British capital.London theatre circles have a number of theories to explain the present boom, which comes as the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair – who has pledged to stand down by September – plays out its final months with “cash for honours” corruption allegations swirling closer to Downing Street.Toby Young, who co-wrote ‘Who’s The Daddy?,’ a 2005 sex farce about a then Blair minister David Blunkett and his fling with a married woman, sees a clear link between political theatre and the end of political eras.”The first satire boom coincided with the Macmillan era, in the 80s it was Thatcher and now it’s the end of the Blair era,” he told AFP.Young is among writers who readily concede their work has been affected by the political climate, in which initial enthusiasm for Blair after his 1997 election win has turned to widespread cynicism, notably due to his support for the US-led war in Iraq.”Perhaps people do become disenchanted with political leaders and people want to expose that by satirising them.”Despite the threat of legal action from Blunkett’s lawyers, ‘Who’s The Daddy?,’ one of the first in the recent crop of political dramas, was a big hit.Maybe even more than Broadway, London is touted as the theatre capital of the world where annual attendance at “West End” shows – the district where mainstream theatres are concentrated – averages 12 million.Young believes modern audiences want “the triumph of verisimilitude” and political theatre fills that.”I think there’s a general semi-conscious feeling that audiences will be able to connect and engage much more with material based on fact.”As evidence, he pointed to the recent success of the play “Frost/Nixon,” which examined journalist David Frost’s interviews with disgraced US president Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal.”My theory is that the proliferation of docu-dramas of all kinds, whether serious or farcical, reflects the kind of a loss of faith in fiction,” he said.One production on the serious side is ‘A Model Girl,’ which has just opened at the Greenwich Theatre.It recounts one of the most famous scandals in British political history and its writer, Richard Alexander, said people’s expectations of this sober approach was a clear selling point.”People feel they know what they’re coming to,” he told AFP.Nampa-AFPKeeler was also sharing sexual favours with Yevgeny Ivanov, a senior naval attache at the Soviet Embassy in London, prompting questions about whether state secrets had become pillow talk.The affair came to symbolise a new wave of sexual liberation and dissent.It also highlighted the old adage that truth can be stranger than fiction – like many other political shows currently playing in the British capital.London theatre circles have a number of theories to explain the present boom, which comes as the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair – who has pledged to stand down by September – plays out its final months with “cash for honours” corruption allegations swirling closer to Downing Street.Toby Young, who co-wrote ‘Who’s The Daddy?,’ a 2005 sex farce about a then Blair minister David Blunkett and his fling with a married woman, sees a clear link between political theatre and the end of political eras.”The first satire boom coincided with the Macmillan era, in the 80s it was Thatcher and now it’s the end of the Blair era,” he told AFP.Young is among writers who readily concede their work has been affected by the political climate, in which initial enthusiasm for Blair after his 1997 election win has turned to widespread cynicism, notably due to his support for the US-led war in Iraq.”Perhaps people do become disenchanted with political leaders and people want to expose that by satirising them.”Despite the threat of legal action from Blunkett’s lawyers, ‘Who’s The Daddy?,’ one of the first in the recent crop of political dramas, was a big hit.Maybe even more than Broadway, London is touted as the theatre capital of the world where annual attendance at “West End” shows – the district where mainstream theatres are concentrated – averages 12 million.Young believes modern audiences want “the triumph of verisimilitude” and political theatre fills that.”I think there’s a general semi-conscious feeling that audiences will be able to connect and engage much more with material based on fact.”As evidence, he pointed to the recent success of the play “Frost/Nixon,” which examined journalist David Frost’s interviews with disgraced US president Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal.”My theory is that the proliferation of docu-dramas of all kinds, whether serious or farcical, reflects the kind of a loss of faith in fiction,” he said.One production on the serious side is ‘A Model Girl,’ which has just opened at the Greenwich Theatre.It recounts one of the most famous scandals in British political history and its writer, Richard Alexander, said people’s expectations of this sober approach was a clear selling point.”People feel they know what they’re coming to,” he told AFP.Nampa-AFP

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