by Steve Waters
seen at the Donmar Warehouse on 16 March 2017
Polly Findlay directs Nathalie Armin as Debbie Owen, Tom Goodman-Hill as David Owen, Paul Chahidi as Bill Rodgers, Debra Gillett as Shirley Williams and Roger Allam as Roy Jenkins in a new play set on Sunday 25 January 1981 when the so-called 'Gang of Four' finally decided to leave the Labour Party and set up the SPD.
The play is set in the open-plan kitchen of the Owens' Limehouse house, beginning in the early hours of the morning when Debbie persuades an irate David to host a meeting there, in part to repay the hospitality of the others and in part to avoid their catering arrangements. The guests arrive at separate times, allowing private conversations to take place before all of them try to thrash out their next move.
