Satire on stage: new play 'Party Games!' now on tour

What is Party Games! all about?

Party Games! is a new political comedy, heavily influenced by recent events to imagine a not-so-distant future of government turmoil. Key events from recent years that have influenced the satire include Brexit, frequent cabinet reshuffles, rail strikes, the stripping down of NHS services, and national opinions on the monarchy. It also incorporates current discourse on the presence (or rather, omnipresence) of AI, gender identities, and politics vs celebrity culture.

The play follows John Waggner (Matthew Cottle) in his first week as leader of a newly elected party. He presides over a shaky government and a country gently teetering on the brink of collapse.

Flickering lights and talks of strikes from food manufacturers indicate the unrest across the country as a whole. After enlisting the help of a manipulative spin-doctor, the bumbling and floundering Waggner seems completely out of his depth, and out of step with the rest of his team.

The play pokes fun at the entitlement and buffoonery of politicians that gain popularity through personality alone, and how they fare when they have to make real decisions.

Political Theatre Through History

Satire is a form of comedy that pokes fun at established political and social mores. Its origins in Western culture lie in ancient Greek theatre, and is specifically attributed to the comedic writer Aristophanes, whose work has survived to today. From comedic poems that ridiculed society and religion, satire evolved over the centuries.

The dawn of print media saw a rise in satirical cartoons and political magazines, then radio and TV became established formats for satire. Examples of popular British satire from the last few decades include the grotesque and irreverent puppet show Spitting Image; satirical panel show Have I Got News For You; Armando Iannucci’s The Thick of It; and impressions show Dead Ringers on both TV and radio.

Party Games! star Debra Stephenson is no stranger to satire; well known for her impersonations she has worked on Dead Ringers for the last 10 years, as well voicing characters on Spitting Image. The form of satire is as far reaching and broad as the political, social and cultural landscapes it mocks.

British Political Theatre & Censorship Laws

Whilst satire comes in many forms, British theatre has a slightly more disrupted history when it comes to politics. Although earlier playwrights such as Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe dabbled in satire and politics, there was a centuries-long period where it was a difficult subject.

In the late 17th century, censorship laws came into place to protect the British government from political derision on stage. Of course, theatrical satire still existed, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries through writers such as Gilbert & Sullivan, Oscar Wilde, George Bernad Shaw and Noël Coward. But, compared to their European contemporaries, the work of British writers leaned towards gentle critiques of society rather than politics.

Meanwhile, across the channel, overtly political, socially critical, and theatrically revolutionary theatre makers emerged at this time. Writers such as Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekov and Bertold Brecht. The British government controlled performance licences and censored content, positioning themselves as the arbiters of taste and morality on stage. When European work transferred to British stages, the text was sanitised and productions were often met with opposition from those that considered the work offensive to British sensibilities.

Many established theatre makers tried to abolish this act over the centuries, longing to be liberated from the strict censorship. However, the laws stayed in place right up until 1968. In less than 60 years since the Theatres Act, we have seen an explosion of political theatre, satire on stage, and work that pointedly criticises British culture, politics and society from writers of all kinds. Satire is an established cultural staple in the UK, and an important tool in grappling with current political issues.

Who is Party Games! writer Michael McManus?

Between 1992-1995 McManus worked as a special adviser to a number of ministers giving him an insider’s understanding of Westminster. He was Head of Sir Edward Heath’s private office, 1995–2000, and the Conservative Party candidate for Watford in 2001. Before transitioning into playwriting in 2018, he ran the then Press Complaints Commission (later IPSO) 2012-2014. Party Games! is his fifth play to go into full production.

McManus’ extensive experience within government gives his work an air of authenticity, even (or perhaps especially) when leaning towards absurdity. His goal is to fulfil a niche and write “a good, mischievous, right-wing play”, in the words of Nicholas Hytner. It is well known that artists, and especially theatre makers, tend to be more socially liberal and left-leaning. But McManus recognises that, for an artform which prides itself on reflecting society, it can be distinctly one-sided.

Writing from ConservativeHome.com in 2018, during the initial run of his first play An Honourable Man, Mcmanus said: “The brutal fact is, in June 2016 the political status quo was rejected by 17 million voters and they had their reasons. I believe passionately that, if this country is to have any chance at all of moving forward from its current existential crisis… some brutal truths about modern life do need to be faced; and theatre is precisely the appropriate “safe space” in which to do so.”

See Party Games! at the Connaught Theatre

If you want to have a taste of satire on stage, from a writer who is intimately acquainted with Westminster, Party Games! is for you. Running from June 12 to 15. Book at wtm.uk