The Red Prince – Lion & Unicorn Theatre, Kentish Town,

Writer: Tim Dawson
Director: Susan Nickson

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Political Production”

3.5 / 5

When Craig Kitman was elected into office as part of Labour’s loveless landslide, he (and his colleagues) had big dreams of de-Toryfying the country, reducing crime, improving the economy and helping the UK thrive.

Kitman (Benjamin May) is now 18 months into the role – his constituents in Bolton aren’t impressed, his brief meeting with Starmer was a failure, and most of his days are spent in the office drinking cheap whiskey and avoiding the never-ending stream of emails requiring action. It’s safe to say, he’s pretty useless at his job, the recent exposé of him Googling ‘how to pass a bill’ a key indicator that sparked the interest of journalist Abi McCormack, who’s uncovered yet another scandal, and isn’t likely to let this one go.

May plays the clueless, flustered MP perfectly – his look of dejected hope and exasperated despair as he recounts his time in office making his hour long performance believable and enjoyable. His characters middle-class entitlement shines through perfectly, and his jaded outlook on his job is both humorous and yet also surprisingly endearing, as he discusses his alcoholism and divorce with disappointed acceptance. There is a lot of sharp, contemporary satire sprinkled in throughout the script, which are the most energised segments. May’s Starmer impression is spot on, the snappy commentary on Rayner, Streeting and co are impressively relevant and his fantasised headlines from news outlets are delivered with brilliant timing.

Dawson’s script is well written and is packed with a lot of narrative strands, but is so heavy on the comedy that the storyline itself does occasionally fall to the wayside. Brief mentions about Kitman’s scandal, outlook and relationships are referenced, but are quickly dropped for another gag, and the constant reel of punchlines mean that there’s not enough room for the narrative to actually settle. Some slower pacing or less of a stand-up style performance would help to ground the themes slightly better and allow some breathing room from the barrage of jokes. An enjoyable political production nonetheless and a brilliant performance from May.

Runs until 7th March 2026