Gyles and I dared William Hague to go on the programme with a spliff dangling from his lips
Last year we performed the play Whipping It Up at the Bush Theatre. Now it has transferred to the West End, opening at the New Ambassadors on 22 February. I play the government chief whip in a Conservative administration. They have won the election by only three votes.
The writer, Steve Thompson, has reworked the play slightly for the transfer. It's an opportunity for him to bring the script up t0 date with some topical references and to edit any gags that never quite achieved lift-off first time around. For an actor, it's fascinating to re-examine a play after a month and a half away - to look at it with a fresh eye. However, I'm finding the new speeches quite difficult to learn. The writing has a great lilt to it and suddenly a new rhythmic phrase looks up at you.
I think possibly my brain is tired from directing my film Primo for HBO. This was a production I first did at the National with Antony Sher, based on Primo Levi's If This Is a Man. At the moment I am trying to find time to edit the film in between rehearsals.
It will be immensely interesting to see how Whipping It Up goes down with a bigger audience. The Bush Theatre seats 81 and the New Ambassadors has a capacity of 409. Fortunately it has an intimacy of its own, which is a rare quality for a West End theatre.
Indiscreet
When I appeared on Andrew Marr's political talk show Sunday AM to discuss the play, Andrew's other morning guest was Gyles Brandreth, who had been a real whip under John Major. There we sat, side by side on the couch - the Tory whip and the actor portraying the Tory whip.
Gyles helped Steve to research the play and came to talk to us about the job during rehearsals. Whips are notoriously secretive about what they do and Steve spent the best part of a year trying to fight his way into the office. Most of the whips that he met were unwilling to discuss goings-on behind the scenes in the Palace of Westminster. However, he found Gyles refreshingly frank and splendidly loose-tongued.
Believability
There was a full house for our first preview. The audience were very warm-hearted; they seemed to like it. We were all delighted to see that the changes had helped. The laughter was in much the same places as at the Bush, but of course with more people it seemed to last longer. We are a very strong company (Helen Schlesinger; Kellie Bright; Robert Bathurst; Nick Rowe; and Lee Ross) and we take the work seriously.
We discuss, for example, that laughter is not really important but truth and trust in the text are what matters. But my goodness, it's still nice to get laughs. Of course to get them you have to be believable. Believability naturally comes from truthfulness.
For drinks with Margaret Beckett. The Foreign Secretary's official residence is a beautiful Nash house, once occupied by Napoleon. As I was chatting to her she was called away to take a phone call. "This could be good news about the Middle East," she said as she left. I had been thinking about asking her to the first night of the play but then I thought better of it - anyone who has peace in the Middle East on their plate shouldn't be distracted by the frippery of the playhouse.
Spliffing
That morning all the Sundays carried front pages about the Cameron biography and the allegations about his smoking pot. William Hague was on the show in his role as shadow foreign secretary and Gyles and I dared him to go on with a spliff hanging from his lips. He wasn't keen, so Gyles and I said we would back him by doing the same. Sadly, our pleas were rejected.
I first met Andrew Marr during a wonderfully happy weekend at Hillsborough Castle, when Mo Mowlam was secretary of state for Northern Ireland. I remember Mo and I going for a swim at a military pool nearby. It is the only time I have been swimming under the gaze of private detectives, in addition to a lifeguard. I think Andrew has put his imprint on Sunday AM in the most convincing way.
"Whipping It Up" runs until 16 June.
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