WILL the cheesemakers be blessed? That is one of the questions for a new political comedy that will get its world premiere in Guildford this May.
An all-star cast for Party Games! includes Matthew Cottle, Debra Stephenson, Natalie Dunne and Krissi Bohn.
The show is set two years from now and focuses on John Waggners, the newly elected leader of the hastily formed centrist One Nation Party. He presides over a hung parliament, a discontented electorate and striking cheesemakers.
He and his power-hungry MPs must cling to authority through whatever shaky means possible.
Can one man, a Svengali spin doctor, and some dodgy data unite the country?
What role can his wife, the King and a large spider play in keeping the lights on, not to mention his trusty AI?
And then there are the cheesemakers…
The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre will host the show from Thursday, May 2 – the day of the local elections – through to Saturday, May 11.
After Guildford, the tour will visit the Theatre Royal Windsor, as well as Cardiff, Worthing and Bath.
Directed by the director and chief executive of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Joanna Read, Party Games! is written by a man who was on the inside of party politics, Michael McManus.
He worked in Central Office while Margaret Thatcher and John Major were Prime Ministers and as a special adviser to several 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.
Curtain-up is at 7.30pm, with 2.30pm matinees on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Tickets cost £29, with concessions from £13, advance tickets cost from £15.50, and there are discounts for groups.
For more information and to book, log onto: Yvonne-Arnaud.co.uk, or call the box office on 01483 440000, between 10am and 5pm Mondays to Saturdays.
