Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image the Musical review

One of the joys of the original TV series Spitting Image was how it was able to keep its satire current. Some segments were filmed at the very last minute to ensure the latest political intrigue or royal scandal could be included each week. So considering that we’ve had a coronation and endless shenanigans in and around the House of Commons since this show, directed by Sean Foley and premiered at the Birmingham Rep in February, there’s a lot that could be rewritten. 

And some moments have indeed been changed. The story centres on the week leading up to the coronation of Charles III, when he learns that his reign is forfeit if the fabric of society has broken down. As a result, he calls on movie star Tom Cruise to round up a collection of maverick avengers to restore faith in the monarchy. Of course, there is a cabal of evil-doers aiming to stop them, led by Boris Johnson, who wants the crown for himself. 

Several coronation-based sight gags have been added, including a sword-wielding Penny Mordaunt, while Nicola Sturgeon is now on the run from the police. Sadly, unashamed Met officers now get their own number with a musical credit to Chas’n’Dave. Otherwise, the satire is best when it is at its most surreal. Carrie Johnson singing with a chorus of giant penises stands out, as does Paddington reimagined as a bug-eyed cocaine bear. Ultimately, it’s the authors’ treatment of Suella Braverman that is perhaps the most shocking. Here, she is possessed in the manner of The Exorcist – tiny but terrifying, and more than slightly deranged. 

The rest is fairly predictable celebrity satire – funny and a little nostalgic, with a few familiar musical numbers with heavily rejigged lyrics to help pick up the pace. Certainly, this show works logistically on stage, with an impeccably coordinated team of incredible puppeteers manipulating more than 106 familiar characters. The design team from Roger Law creates garish caricatures of the good, the bad and the ugly, and Alice Power’s stage-within-a-stage setting captures the scale and mayhem of the original series. 

But authors Al Murray, Matt Forde and Foley will need to keep the script bang up to date on a weekly basis to maintain the humour. And perhaps the antics of rogue royals, narcissistic actors and self-serving politicians have become so much the norm that this form of satire no longer serves its purpose. There’s a moment when Sunak and Johnson sing a comedy duet with a video backdrop of food banks, homelessness and overworked nursing staff, begging the question – is it still a laughing matter?