Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Writers: Al Murray, Matt Forde and Sean Foley
Director: Sean Foley
“Satirical Staple with Nothing Off Limits”
4 / 5
~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~
Spitting Image is a satirical staple. Hugely popular on TV from the late 80s to the mid-90s, the political puppets of parody had a reboot in 2020 and are now bursting onto the stage with their musical Idiots Assemble.
The premise of the show is that the fabric of society (aka some royal knickers) is falling apart. King Charles is desperate to rid England of anything that could cause his multi-million-pound coronation to fail, so he assembles a team of brains, brawn and beauty to help save the day. The team in question – Tyson Fury, RuPaul, Angela Rayner, Greta Thunberg, Idris Elba and Meghan Markle, with Tom Cruise at the helm to lead them to victory. This band of misfits are up against a cabal of dark forces hoping to bring the UK to its knees – Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Elon Musk and James Corden to name but a few. The quest of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ is a Mission Impossible, but if anyone can do it, it’s Tiny Top Gun Tom.
This is the most A-List cast that will ever grace the West End stage. It’s doubtful you’ll ever find Prince William, Ian McKellen and Adele starring in a performance together. Writers Al Murray, Matt Forde and Sean Foley do a fantastic job of keeping with the traditional Spitting Image humour, with nothing off limits and everyone getting an equal dose of ridicule. The disclaimer at the beginning of the show warns anyone easily offended and devoid of humour to leave the theatre, but although everyone is under fire, the line never really crosses too far into offensive territory, unless of course, you’re Suella Braverman in the audience watching yourself climax over a fleet of small boats.
The writing team have no hard feat finding personalities and public figures to parody in this show. There is a realm of modern celebrities that get put in the spotlight during the show, some with obvious punchlines such as Andrew’s inability to sweat, some with hilarious twists such as Priti Patel being turned into a vampire bat. Although the show is themed around the already completed King’s coronation, a lot of the jokes are current and up-to-date; such as Nicola Sturgeon being removed from the stage in handcuffs or Philip Schofield’s part being removed due to his unwise, but not illegal, transgressions.
There are a couple of points where the jokes are repeated a few too many times (Prince Harry’s Spare book plug or Keir Starmer’s desperation for a simple yes or no answer), which could be tweaked slightly as it somewhat detracts from the otherwise very funny performance. Homage is made to the original popularity of Spitting Image with features from John Major and Margaret Thatcher, personalities that a younger audience may not recognise, but which fit well with the history of the show.
The puppeteers are absolutely fantastic. They swiftly move around the stage, although completely visible, so well-rehearsed that you manage to only focus on the puppets themselves. There is also a surprising amount of variety within the scenes; some puppets are handled singularly, some require multiple puppeteers and others are simply large face masks worn as they dance across the stage. All of the puppeteers do brilliant jobs at ensuring their entire body is acting alongside their counterparts, bringing wonderful realism to the whole performance.
Sean Foley’s direction throughout the show is seamless, allowing each scene to be fully engaged with, and the musical numbers are well integrated throughout. There is one song parody between Sunak and Johnson that also utilises projections of news footage and newspaper headlines, which snaps the audience out of the comedic show momentarily and shines a stark light on how badly things have been handled the past few years. It quickly takes an unexpectedly serious tone, and although it commendably adds truth to the parodies, it also then struggles to get back to a more light-hearted tone.
This is a wonderfully funny show that doesn’t take itself seriously or shut anyone out. Although there is expectedly a big focus on various politicians and newsworthy names, those who aren’t as interested in current affairs can still be entertained with other popular characters and faces.
Runs until 26 August 2023
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