Photos: First Look At PARTY GAMES! UK Tour

See first look photos of the world premiere of PARTY GAMES! by Michael McManus (Maggie & Ted), presented by the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford. 

Previews began on 2 May 2024, with a press night on Tuesday 7 May at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. The UK Tour schedule has been completed with Cambridge Arts Theatre, where the production will play from 4 to 8 June (full tour list below).

Directed by the Director and Chief Executive of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Joanna Read, PARTY GAMES! is written by a man who was on the inside of party politics, Michael McManus, who worked in Central Office while Margaret Thatcher and John Major were Prime Ministers and as a special adviser to a number of UK ministers between 1992 and 1995. He was then head of Ted Heath’s private office from 1995 to 2000 and the Conservative Party candidate for Watford in 2001.

PARTY GAMES! is set in the UK in 2026.  John Waggner, newly elected leader of the hastily formed centrist One Nation Party, presides over a hung parliament, a discontented electorate and striking cheesemakers.  He and his power-hungry MPs must cling onto authority through whatever shaky means possible.  Can one man, a Svengali spin doctor, and some dodgy data unite the country?   And what role can his wife, the King and a large spider play in keeping the lights on, not to mention his trusty AI? 

PARTY GAMES! is an Yvonne Arnaud original production, directed by Joanna Read and designed by Francis O’Connor, with lighting design by Chris Davey and sound design and original music by Beth Duke.

Photo Credit: Craig Fuller