Ken & Dobbo Battle Inspires One-Act Comedy

The London mayoral election, with its backbiting and betrayals, might seem like potent material for the plot of a stage farce - and now it is. The writers of last year's Collateral Damage, a timely response to NATO's war in the Balkans, have taken their lead for their new one-act play from the Labour Party in-fighting which has seen left-wing rebel Ken Livingstone become an independent candidate running in opposition to the party's official choice, Frank Dobson.

Snogging Ken, by Tariq Ali, Howard Brenton and Andy de la Tour, will run late night at the Almeida Theatre in Islington for seven performances only between 18 and 28 April 2000. The forty-minute piece, like the performances, takes place in the lead-up to polling day on 4 May.

Two Millbank babes gather over lunch to hatch Ken's defeat, but for them Dobbo is scarcely the exocet needed to shoot him down. Some dirty tricks are called for, and the orders from the very top are 'Make my day'. Meanwhile, on the next table, one of Ken's cronies is wheedling badly needed cash from an unsuspecting aristocrat who's worried about revolution on the streets.

Snogging Ken is directed by Andy de la Tour and, to date, the cast includes Sarah Coomes and Katherine Tozer. Performance dates are 18-20 and 25-28 April at 10.00pm. Tickets cost £6.

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