There’s no doubt our wearisome Prime Minister is a fit subject for drama. His fall from grace may not quite be tragic but it certainly displays a dramatic arc; not so much a vertical fall down as a horizontal fall in the political spectrum from left to right, from socialist to neo-con. And what better place to stage the play than in Edinburgh, where Mr Brown once published the Red Paper, a work of high ideals that he’s now more likely to dismiss and with an utterance of his recently adopted catchphrase, “get real”. Devised by the Traverse’s artistic director Dominic Hill and playwright David Greig, this is looking like the place to be on election day. Rest assured, the results will be screened during and after the performance.
If the Conservatives win, at least the Traverse bar is well stocked
Taking place the night before the election, the story examines the psyche of the much-maligned PM as he reflects on his political career, awaiting the momentous events of the next day. The script will be written practically right up to the rise of the curtain to take in all the relative events of the week, by a diverse group with everyone from Grieg himself to Andy Duffy. Any concerns about too many cooks should be dispelled by the appropriately democratic writing method. With the possibility of a hung parliament tantalisingly close, this could turn out to be an inspired way to reign in the turning tides, and if the Conservatives win, at least the Traverse bar is well stocked.
Those involved are:
David Greig (Midsummer, Kyoto) (see Ana Bradley’s interviews about the nature of the stage with critic Steve Cramer and David Grieg here)
Rona Munro (House of Bernarda Alba)
Peter Arnott (adaptation of The Silver Darlings)
Vicki Liddelle (acted in Kyoto and The Last Witch)
Andy Duffy (Nasty, Brutish and Short)
Alan Wilkins (Offshore)
Tickets are £5 in advance and £6 on the day
Remember to check your TRUE colours click here and vote for policies not Cameron…ahem…