This hilariously acerbic new comedy-drama by political insider MICHAEL MCMANUS (Maggie & Ted), puts leadership on the ledge and goes inside the chaos of government to see whether advisers do advise and if ministers can decide.
Can one man, his punchy deputy, a Svengali spin doctor and some dodgy data unite the country? And what can his wife, the King and a large spider do to keep the lights on?
We went along to meet the cast very early on in rehearsal in London. We also caught up with writer Michael McManus at the New Theatre in Cardiff where we can see the play from Tuesday 21st through to Saturday 25th May.
Part Two of our interview special comes very soon.
Directed by Joanna Read, PARTY GAMES! is written by a man who was on the inside of party politics. Michael worked in Central Office while Margaret Thatcher and John Major were Prime Ministers and as a special adviser to a number of UK ministers between 1992 and 1995. He was then head of Ted Heath’s private office from 1995 to 2000 and the Conservative Party candidate for Watford in 2001.
PARTY GAMES! is set in the UK in 2026. John Waggner, newly elected leader of the hastily formed centrist One Nation Party, presides over a hung parliament, a discontented electorate and striking cheesemakers. He and his power-hungry MPs must cling onto authority through whatever shaky means possible. Can one man, a Svengali spin doctor, and some dodgy data unite the country? And what role can his wife, the King and a large spider play in keeping the lights on, not to mention his trusty AI?
Party Games! stars MATTHEW COTTLE (The Windsors, Channel 4) as Prime Minister John Waggner, DEBRA STEPHENSON (Bad Girls; Coronation Street, ITV) as Deputy Leader Lisa Williams, NATALIE DUNNE (The Third Man, Menier Chocolate Factory). RYAN EARLY (Coronation Street), KRISSI BOHN (Coronation Street). JASON CALLENDER (The Play That Goes Wrong, West End) and WILLIAM OXBORROW (The Madness of George III, National Theatre) playing multiple roles.
PARTY GAMES! gets to the New Theatre in Cardiff from Tuesday 21st through to Saturday 25th May. Performances are at 7:30pm each evening with a 2:30pm matinee on Wednesday and Saturday. For more details and tickets, go HERE.
