‘I am not your punch bag! I am a Member of Parliament!’
An MP with an instinct for compassion. An ex-serviceman with a life in free fall. And a parliamentary protection officer who’s having none of it.
This volatile new play stars BAFTA Award winner Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Line of Duty) as a hard-working opposition backbencher whose ideals of public office are tested by the demands of a man in crisis, played by Tony, BAFTA and Emmy Award winner James Corden (One Man, Two Guvnors, The History Boys).
Directed by Olivier and Tony Award winner Matthew Warchus (A Christmas Carol, Matilda The Musical) and written by Olivier Award winner Joe Penhall (Blue/Orange, Mood Music), The Constituent deconstructs politics, panic alarms and the conflict between public service and personal safety.
__Assisted Performances:__
BSL, 23 Jul, 7:30pm
Captioned, 26 Jul, 7:30pm
Relaxed, (Audio Described, BSL & Captioned) 27 Jul, 2:30pm
Audio Described, Wed 31 Jul, 7:30pm
Corden is outstanding, however, and the manic energy that turbo charged the comedy of One Man is here repurposed in a more dramatic context. You can feel his anger simmering even in some of the more comic interchanges, and Maxwell Martin responds with the cool wariness of someone who wants to do the right thing for a man who behaves like a human IED.
This is a play about what it means to serve. The three characters are all public servants. All three have faced tough problems and ethical dilemmas. Alec is struggling with the aftermath of witnessing unspeakable violence, Monica with the wrath of an angry electorate who feel let down. In a year when, amid division and rancour, many go to the polls, Penhall’s play makes the case for more care and empathy. He reminds us of the other meaning of constituent — “to be part of a whole”.
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