“A week is a long time in politics.” Was a quote by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the 1960s to describe the rapid and unpredictable political landscape. However,  in the case of Chancellor Rachel Reeves moving into Number 11. The new comedy play Churchill’s Urinal by Rosie Holt is based loosely on actual events. The next thirty-six hours in this comedy prove to be the most challenging of her career.

Facing a divorce, a rather challenging new assistant called Sophie, and an unsightly urinal in her “new office” bathroom, she sets about making some changes, and one of them is to remove the unsightly outdated relic. However, it appears that although nobody can actually visit the room outside the Chancellor’s residence, it seems that everyone has an opinion on her decision about having the urinal removed.

Set in the present day in the role of Chancellor under our current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, opinions and events a placed in the current political landscape. Although with the instability at the moment in Number Ten, who knows if the writer might need to make changes to the during its run at King’s Head Theatre.

Holt firmly takes charge of the audience from the start, breaking the fourth wall and interacting with us as her electorate. There’s some minor audience participation if you are in the front row, although nothing embarrassing or awkward. Michael Lambourne takes on all the other roles throughout the play. That’s all I will say about his roles as I don’t want to give away any spoilers.

Churchill has been deemed as the greatest Btiton who ever lived. Holt challenges these ideas by throwing in some of his vices and alcohol consumption, which have never been kept a secret, so if you know your history about Churchill, these aren’t a surprise.  There are some of his famous quotes weaved into the narrative, along with some of those accredited to him that have been made up over the years.

Director Daniel Clarkson captures the chaos and quick demise in popularity that can happen to a politician when they make an unpopular decision without properly thinking it through first.

For more information about Churchill’s Urinal and future at King’s Head Theatre, please use the link below.

Four Stars.

Photo credit Steve Ullathorne.

https://kingsheadtheatre.com/