Over thirty years since it first aired on Channel 4, Drop the Dead Donkey has taken to the stage.
If you were a fan of the original series, this production is like meeting up with old friends. For younger audience members, it still has things to say about the media and the position it holds in society.
We are gradually introduced to the actors, most of whom are from the TV series. There is| celebration as Neil Pearson as Dave reconnects with Jeff Rawle as editor George and deputy-editor Helen, played by Ingrid Lacey. This is followed by bemusement, as they realise that Gus, played by Robert Duncan, is still in charge of the newsroom; horror when Victoria Wicke’s Sally Smedley arrives with suitably pompous attitude and attire, then surprise when Stephen Tompkinson’s Damien appears in a wheelchair.
It soon becomes clear that Damien has been rehired more for his disability than his journalism, the underhand methods he used to obtain stories at Globe Link ignored so diversity targets can be met. The young weather reporter, Rita – played by Kerena Jagpal – has clearly been hired owing to her youth and ethnicity. Damien’s place of top investigative journalist has been taken by another new character, Maraid, played by Julia Hills.
Initially, I found the production slightly slow. It would be hard to recreate the fast pace of the TV series on stage, achieved by multiple and quick-change camera angles. Besides which, our characters are considerably older. Everyone slows down a little. As the performance continued, director Derek Lloyd enables the production to develop its own rhythm and pace.
When the original TV series launched,24-hour news channels were new. The pilot programme dealt with the dangers of computer hacking. Newsreader Henry Davenport, played by David Swift, declared that computers were ‘just typewriters with ideas above their station.’ In the stage production, this technological threat continues in the form of AI. The Algorithm. instructs Gus about how to boost audience numbers, sometimes going as far as to substitute digitally produced footage for live newsreel.
David Swift is no longer with us. Neither is Haydn Gwynne, who died in 2021. Both actors are remembered in the programme and on stage. There is a heartfelt piece remembering Gwynne, when in her role as deputy editor Alex Pates, she highlighted how women are undervalued in the media.
There is one last member of the original cast on stage, Susannah Doyle, as the misnamed Joy Merryweather. In the TV series, she played a PA: intelligent, acerbic and efficient, but ultimately in a lowly post. In the Reawakening she has become head of HR, a suitable position from which she can wield power over the staff of Truth News and demonstrate her acid wit, whilst being richly rewarded.
The programme was also known for its cameo performances by famous media figures including Jon Snow, Kirsty Wark and Ken Livingstone. It is Sir Trevor Mcdonald who pops up on the Truth News outside broadcast screen in this production.
The set design by Dan Light is simple but effective. All the elements of news broadcast are here: desks, screens and podiums. All except the cameras, which Gus pronounces are hidden within the fourth wall occupied by the audience. The large screen is used for background motifs, newsfeed and to display feedback from social media.
The original writers, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkins, have come back together and are touring with the production. This enables them to add topical lines as the production tours. I passed Andy Hamilton chatting to audience members during the interval, clearly still actively involved in the process. Given that the post office inquiry has relaunched this week, it was not surprising that jokes related to the Post Office found their way into the script.
I was worried that Drop the Dead Donkey might not pass the test of time. It could never recreate the originality and pace of the original series. Yet the issues it raised: dangers surrounding technology, who controls our media control and fake news are even more current today. This a great cast whose friendship and shared experiences allow them to perform effortlessly on the stage. It was good to be back in the newsroom with them.
Drop the Dead Donkey continues at Leeds Grand until 13th April.
https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/drop-the-dead-donkey-2024/
Images provided by Leeds Grand Theatre.
