Political satire for election week

EXCITEMENT is growing among members of Thame Players who are currently in rehearsal for their next production, ‘Yes Prime Minister’, which appropriately will be running throughout Election week, from May 5.

This production will be directed by Brian Holt, who has been with Thame Players for 30 years, and has himself appeared in many productions since then, from pantomime to comedies and plays. In recent times he has appeared in Behan’s The Hostage, Saroyan’s Time of Your Life, Larbey’s A Month of Sundays and Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa. Brian has also directed several plays, including Born in the Gardens by Peter Nichols and A Slight Ache by Harold Pinter, as well as directing Yes Prime Minister this year.

Of Yes Prime Minister, Brian said: “We are all familiar with the TV series Yes Minister, and Yes Prime Minister, which ran from 1980 to 1988 and enjoyed viewing figures running into the millions. This full-length play was written in 2010, but very little has changed in the intervening years, with political leaders still standing up and arguing that their personal interventions have improved the lives of British people. The script is a masterpiece of satirical comedy, just the sort of thing the British are famous for throughout the world.”

THE WRITERS

Antony Jay is an English writer, broadcaster and director who had a distinguished career as a broadcaster and in public relations, for which he was created Knight Bachelor, before teaming up with Jonathan Lynn. He wrote the BBC TV documentaries, Royal Family and Elizabeth R: A Year in the Life of our Queen. For the latter he was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for personal services to the Royal Family.

Jonathan Lynn is an English stage and film director, producer, writer and actor. He directed the successful films Nuns on the Run and My Cousin Vinny. He also acted in Doctor in the House, The Liver Birds and Jack Rosenthal’s Bar Mitzvah Boy. His film appearances include roles in Prudence and the Pill and Three Men and a Little Girl.

Yes Prime Minister will be showing at the Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame, during General Election week, Tuesday, May 5 to Saturday, May 9, inclusive.