Review: EMMA SIDI IS SUE GRAY, Soho Theatre

“The most powerful civil servant you’ve never heard of”

Emma Sidi is Sue Gray may be considered by some to be a satirical take on the former Downing Street Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but how can something be a satire if barely anything is known about the woman of the hour? For those unfamiliar with Gray (as I am sure many may be), she is the woman responsible for the “Partygate” report, the investigation into the parties held by politicians like Boris Johnson during lockdown.

For those unfamiliar with Gray, Sidi begins by giving us an introduction to her political history, from working in the Foreign Office and taking trips to Spain to being in Codes and Ethics and being involved in investigating “Plebgate,” where Andrew Mitchell called police officers “plebs” in 2012. She also has some history with Rishi Sunak, having worked with him in the Treasury and forming an interesting relationship with him over the years.

The lines between truth and fiction start to become blurred as she goes into a story about going to university with Cressida Dick, a woman she considers to be a rival both personally and politically ever since she didn’t let her have one of her tampons during Freshers week. 

Sidi portrays Gray as a woman who is in tune with pop culture, making comments like “I actually can’t with the Queen” and shortening phrases like “civil service” to “civvy serv.” Instead of going to COBRA (Civil Contingencies Committee) meetings, she goes to TK Maxx. She makes references to popular restaurants like Burger & Lobster (“I don’t know if you’ve been to Burger & Lobster before, but that’s the premise”) and Dishoom, where she has an uncomfortable confrontation with former ally Rishi Sunak while out with Keir Starmer who is, as she claims, “dripping with rizz.”

If you’re sitting in the front row, you might be pulled into the show, as there are several moments in which Sidi pulls audience members on stage and brings them over to the water cooler, having a chat with them and drinking water as music plays. The audience members chosen for the show were fantastic and caused Sidi to break character multiple times, applauding the participants before cursing them out in character.

In one of the more absurdist parts of the show, Sidi tells us about Gray’s trauma, though she considers it to be worse than trauma, labelling what she has gone through as “shawarma,” or a “big kebab of trauma” - this might be a subtle hint at what is to come. In order to tell the story but still have a buffer between her and the horrors she faced, Gray speaks in Spanish, weaving a truly absurd story including (but not limited to) masturbation, Marvel superhero Iron Man and Dobby the house-elf from Harry Potter - with a machete, of course. 

Surprisingly, even with the absurdism of the comedy, Sidi still manages to bring everything together for a more serious ending than one might expect. There is a beautiful theme of hope, made even stronger by Sidi being pregnant - in an adorable moment, her baby actually gives a kick as she is performing the final monologue, adding to the emotional impact of the words.

Ultimately, Emma Sidi is Sue Gray is a delightfully absurdist take on the life of “the most powerful civil servant you’ve never heard of,” giving Sidi the perfect opportunity to shape the life of a woman no one really knows the story of. It might not be the tell-all story that some may have been looking for, but if you’ve come for an hour of political comedy with a “shwarma” twist, you’ve come to the right place.

Emma Sidi is Sue Gray ran from 28 October to 2 November at Soho Theatre.

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