Cast: Simon Williams, Richard McCabe, Chris Larkin, Charlotte Lucas, Kevork Malikyan, Jonathon Coote, Michael Chadwick, Mark Extance, Sarah Baxendale.
Some comedies are created great, some achieve greatness and then there was the political satire that set the bar so high it had greatness thrust upon it and the sincerest kind of admiration that Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister deserved.
Yes, Prime Minister stands out as one of the true great comedies of our times purely because of the outstanding writing by Sir Antony Jay and Jonathon Lynn and the insight they used to show the role between Ministers and the unelected servants of the Crown. Sometimes they matched each other, most of the time the powers that be won through. The programme was helped in its success by the outstanding cast which included Nigel Hawthorne, Paul Eddington and the excellent Derek Fowlds.
Nearly three decades on the political landscape of Britain and the world has changed, barely recognisable to anybody transplanted from the mid 1980’s but one thing has remained constant, the battle between the Sir Humphrey Appleby’s who stay in charge long after their so called political masters bite the dust or worse get demoted to the Ministry of Culture.
For the late, great Nigel Hawthorne as the verbally eloquent and verbose Sir Humphrey Appleby, audiences have the elegant and suave Simon Williams who skilfully leads his Prime Minister, played by the excellent Richard McCabe, with timing and wit that sets him above many of his West End peers. Mr. Williams drew colourful effusive swords with all those around him, sparring perfectly with Chris Larkin as Bernard Wooley, the superb Charlotte Lucas as the P.M.’s special advisor and especially the sensational and likeable Kevork Malikyan as the Kumranistan Ambassador.
Some of the subject matter may be a little close to the velvet covered steel knuckles for some to bare but it is a play of absolute genius that binds the most innocuous of threads and turns them into laugh out loud moments of inspired insanity that will make you wonder exactly who runs the country and for what reason.
So is this 21st Century update fit for the political palate, a comedy that would have the policy makers of the current age quaking in their Saville Row suits and hiding behind cushions at Chequers whilst they talk about everything and achieve, seemingly nothing…?
Yes, Prime Minister.
5 stars
Ian D. Hall