one4review | On 08, Aug 2013

****

William Gaminara’s comedy succeeds in several ways. It is part political satire and part farce with a touch of slapstick also thrown into the mix. The action takes place over the two days in December 2010 at a hotel in Switzerland when England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup failed.

An extremely strong cast has been assembled. Dugald Bruce-Lockhart portrays David Cameron as a smart, but shallow, operator who lacks a sense of humour and is given to tantrums when he doesn’t get this own way. Sean Browne is so like David Beckham it is uncanny. He plays him as we might imagine, slow on the uptake but unexpectedly displaying flashes of insight. Prince William played by Tom Davey is portrayed as a straightforward, decent chap but with an impish sense of humour. The three principals are supported well by Alice Bailey-Johnson as Cameron’s inexperienced PR assistant, Ravi Aujla, as a hotel flunkey and Lewis Collier, as a mysterious Australian.

The script and the situations do provide a bucketful of laughs throughout the 90 minutes of the play’s duration. Did Prince William really end up wearing Boris Johnson’s trousers? Some of the comedy it has to be said is predictable, inevitable really when the three principal personalities are never out of the media spotlight. However, the final scene does have an ironic and intriguing twist.

Reviewed by Ben

Pleasance Courtyard; 33

31 July to 26 August 2013 (not 13, 20)

16.30 – 18.00

Fringe Programme Page Number: 329