James Graham’s brilliant and wickedly funny “Labour of Love” opens at the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, on February 22nd. Considered by many to be the “man of the moment” as far as British contemporary theatre is concerned, Graham is perhaps best known for “Sherwood” and “Dear England”.
The play eye-openingly charts 27 years, from 1990 to 2017, of the uneasy alliance between old and New Labour – the local party in Nottinghamshire versus Westminster – but you don’t have to know anything about or be interested in the Labour party, or even in politics for that matter, to enjoy it. This is essentially the story of the sparky relationship between an MP (David Lyons played by Mark Thompson) and his constituency agent, Jean Whittaker (Katie Merriman)… and there’s more than a hint of romance!
Director Stewart Snape says: “The two lead actors are right at the top of their game and I think they’re absolutely amazing performers. All the other actors, the characters who come and go, are just as good – just as important.”
In an almost a laugh-a-minute play, Graham doesn’t miss a trick nor an opportunity – witness Jean’s answer to why Labour chose a red rose in its move away from a red flag: “Because it looks pretty but it’s full of pricks!”.
It’s also a fascinatingly constructed play, with the first half moving backwards from 2017 to 1990 – when we see David Lyons as a newly elected MP – and the second half then moving forwards from 1990 to 2017, almost symmetrically mirroring the first half. It adds a really unusual element to this highly paced play but the audience is kept up to date throughout with video montages that chart the years. They remind us of numerous key moments in recent history, with the announcement of the Brexit referendum and Margaret Thatcher’s tear-eyed departure from Downing Street as just two examples, and also remind us how quickly time flies! The production of those videos in itself represents a classic “company project”, with more than 20 Crescent members taking part as supporting artists.
Stewart Snape summarises this as “A very good night at the theatre. It’s a very clever play with brilliant dialogue, it’s very, very funny and the two main characters are hilarious.” and “If you enjoyed “Sherlock” and “Dear England” you will definitely enjoy this play.”
“Labour of Love” runs at the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, from 22nd February to 1st March. Tickets are on sale now at www.crescent-theatre.co.uk or call our Box Office on 0121 643 5858 (concessions are available).