Drop the Dead Donkey
Fl(ass)h Back
Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening!
by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin
Hat Trick and Simon Friend Entertainment at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking until 1st June, then on tour until 22nd June
Review by Harry Zimmerman
French actress Simone Signoret’s autobiography was entitled Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used to Be.
So far as some recent theatrical activity is concerned, nostalgia is a very important facet of new productions of old favourites, and much in vogue. Fawlty Towers is currently doing good business at The Apollo Theatre, whilst the recently successful West End run for Only Fools & Horses is to be followed by a national tour.
The latest blast from the TV past, reincarnated as a stage play, is also touring, and is currently running at The New Victoria Theatre in Woking.
Drop the Dead Donkey is a fondly remembered award-winning newsroom-based Channel 4 sitcom that ran over six series from 1990-98 and has been reimagined for a 2024 audience in a stage play reincarnation, Drop the Dead Donkey:The Reawakening!
The show, written by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, (also responsible for the successful sit-com Outnumbered, which is also appearing afresh this Christmas in a one off special) won BAFTA and EMMY awards during its time on air with its quirky contrasting characters and fast-paced, insightful, sarcastic and very clever humour often incorporating up-to-the-minute topical allusions in each week’s programme.
The same writers have risen to the challenge of scripting the stage version. Their task is to be faithful to the original premise of the programme, yet creating something fresh and relevant to today’s world, offering insightful yet humorous new perspectives on the treatment of current affairs broadcasting in the 2020s.
The programme was a much loved one, and the audience was largely composed of those, (like me), who were there at the time. Unlike other recreations from TV sit-com history, the majority of the cast were reprising their original characters from over thirty years ago, and this created an affectionate warmth of recognition from an engaged audience. As each of the old team individually made their first entrance they were greeted with generous applause.
The premise is that the team that worked on the original GlobelinkTV news programme has been rehired by a mystery backer paying big bucks for their experience, including, for some, their willingness to cut corners, reinterpret their skillsets and lie.
Each of the team arrives to join the brand-new TV station “Truth News”, shocked to find another of their old team mates there. These characters are exactly as they were, yet they also tell us throughout the show what they have been up to in the intervening thirty years.
This does lead to a rather heavy series of explanatory diversions in the first part of the play, but are necessary not only to remind audience members of a certain age what the characters were all about, but also to introduce them to those coming completely fresh to the production.
With a large part of the success of this play resting upon the cast’s interpretation of their own characters and how they interact with each other, much responsibility lies upon their shoulders. In this respect, there were no problems. It was obvious that the cast knew their characters inside out, and the easy familiarity with which they interacted is the solid base upon which the whole production rests.
Jeff Rawle is George, the hapless and clumsy cardigan-wearing editor, whom nobody really listens to. Neil Pearson’s Dave, a former serial womaniser and (now) teetotal reformed gambler gives intriguing glimpses of a chequered hinterland. Stephen Tompkinson is Damian, the roving reporter whose personality is permeated by a healthy dose of narcissism, known for taking his teddy bear to disaster zones so that they can be filmed as an example of tragic human loss within carnage. Indeed, the teddy bear features throughout the narrative, and takes a well-deserved bow at the final curtain call.
Sally Smedley, played impeccably by Victoria Wicks, is a delight as the self-obsessed news anchor with the monstrous ego who is slightly more right wing than Attila the Hun.
The sarcastic, terrifying one-liner dropping bully Joy (a name totally at odds with her character) is played with just the right amount of menace by Susannah Doyle. Joy is relishing her new role as head of human resources. Ingrid Lacey as Helen is the most ordinary out of everyone, acting as a pivot to the other characters around.
Two new characters have been incorporated into the action, to provide new perspectives to the unfolding narrative. Julia Hills comfortably inhabits the role of Mairead, a high-powered journalist with hidden depths and secret motivations. Kerena Jagpal’s Rita, the young intern who is referred to throughout in a tongue-in-cheek, knowing way as the “weather gi…presenter”, acts as the barometer through which we are able to fully appreciate the often unreconstructed attitudes and outrageous statements of some of the more non-PC members of the Truth News team
They are brought together by Gus, played by Robert Duncan as the ridiculously pompous completely-out-of-touch chap in charge of the station. He is someone whose idea of inclusivity is spouting buzzwords and phrases which he frequently gets wrong, often to amusing effect; referring to the new station as being “full of gender fluids” being one especially striking example.
One particularly heart-warming aspect of the production was the treatment of the two original members of the cast who have sadly passed away, David Swift (Henry) and Haydn Gwynne (Alex). Both characters received sensitive mentions during the show and took their digital bows with their fellow cast members at the end.
The set is wonderfully garish. It is all clear glass, high tech gadgetry, (including a wonderful voice-activated coffee machine) chrome and hot desking, with a broadcast screen above offering both, flashbacks to the original show and a parody reel of vitriolic social media comments on the performance of the new channel.
Peter Mumford’s lighting is spot on too, in particularly the occasional “unscheduled” blackout, whilst the costumes enhance the characterisation, from George’s bland, comfy knitwear, through Joy’s aggressive black leather trouser suit to Sally’s pinpoint and crisp “lead presenter” outfit.
Not wishing to spoil some of the carefully constructed surprises which run through the show, it is fair to say that the core of this production rests upon the concept that the media industry has seen a lot of disruptive change over the past thirty plus years. How will these flawed characters cope with the rise of social media, technology and the ‘post-truth’ landscape that we operate in now?
The political satire is sharp. There are some superb one liners to be enjoyed, with deadpan delivery and superb comic timing. As in the original series, the show is updated regularly with real-life breaking news inserts. And there’s no doubt that the biggest laughs from the show come from some blistering up-to-date satirical jibes, always deftly delivered.
However, the play also explores the serious issues around the ethics of media manipulation and the pressures of ratings-driven journalism. It is ultimately a timely reminder that proper journalism and media integrity still matters, especially in these times of 24-hour rolling news and the irresistible advance of potentially disruptive technology such as AI.
Adapting much-loved television programmes for the stage or film is often challenging, with many previous attempts at transferring the concept of a half hour sit-com format to a longer period of time often falling short of expectations.
Despite the herculean efforts of this very talented cast, there were times when the entire concept did feel a little stretched, and some elements of the plot appeared contrived and over-egged. Possibly a slightly shorter production, running straight through with no interval, would have kept the narrative flowing and the jokes bubbling that bit more.
The speed of social, technological, and environmental change is another challenge to a production of this sort. When the series first aired, there was no internet, no smartphones, no 24-hour rolling news service on numerous electronic devices. Most viewers still had only four channels to choose from.
During the 1990s, Drop the Dead Donkey was an up-to-the-minute comedy about an outrageous, rogue news channel. In 2024, these channels actually exist. And there’s the rub. Nothing the team can parody can come close to the hideousness of today’s TV. The Donkey’s bite has necessarily diminished.
Does this really matter?
In broad terms, probably not. Whilst acknowledging some of the challenges involved in staging this kind of production, it is true that there was a lot of goodwill and love for this production, as shown by the audience, and the play still has something relevant to say about how we consume news and are affected by how it is presented.
There is a lot more to Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening than simple nostalgia, even if it isn’t what it used to be. This show stands on its own merits, and is well worth seeing, whether you were there first time around or not.
Oh, and you will never look at Sir Trevor McDonald in quite the same way again either….
Harry Zimmerman, May 2024
Photography courtesy of Simon Friend
Mark Aspen 