Most of us will never know how much better this play would have been, had Mel Smith been allowed to smoke his cigars, but I suspect the answer is very little, as it is close to perfection without them.
With a nice little aside about puritanical health laws, Smith puts the issue to bed and wins the audience at the same time. Smith’s grumpiness, like Churchill’s, becomes an endearing quality, indicative of strong beliefs and high principles.
The play’s emotional power comes from seeing two opposing politicians discussing terrorism and national security with such honesty. Here are two men utterly committed to their own cause, and yet, able to share the most intimate moments of their lives, whilst also understanding that they are public servants, attempting to control forces that are far greater than either of them.
In our age of media hype and political spin, this play is a tonic for the soul. If only, you feel, all political broadcasts could adopt the same format, the same honesty, apathy would become a thing of the past.
5/5
Gareth Braddick
