Three Days in May

Synopsis

May 1940....Downing Street…Three days that will change the course of history…Forever.

Ben Brown’s new political thriller, Three Days in May, takes us behind the doors of Number Ten during three of the most pivotal days in British history when, extraordinarily, giving in to Hitler was considered by some to be a viable option.

In Three Days in May, having urgently assembled the British war cabinet, the new Prime Minister Winston Churchill, is suddenly confronted with an intense game of political chess as he tries to persuade peace treaty supporters, including Neville Chamberlain that Britain must not give in. Divided on whether to negotiate terms through Mussolini or escalate the battle against fascism alone, one man has to make a monumental decision which will shape the future of the free world…

Directed by Alan Strachan, Three Days in May, sees Warren Clarke return to the stage for the first time in over a decade, with Jeremy Clyde as Lord Halifax and Robert Demeger as Neville Chamberlain.

Warren Clarke has been starring on stage, television and the big screen for over four decades. His wide ranging credits include most recently Jim Flynn in the BBC hit TV series In With The Flynns; three series of Down to Earth, Blackadder, Bleak House, The Invisibles, Coronation Street and the multi-award-winning BBC TV hit Dalziel and Pascoe..

Jeremy Clyde has starred in films such as Doctor Zhivago, Kaspar Hauser and The Musketeer. His extensive TV credits include Downton Abbey, Ashes to Ashes and EastEnders.

Robert Demeger won the Manchester Evening News Best Actor Award for portraying John Merrick in The Elephant Man. He spent 6 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and he’s also played numerous roles at the National Theatre, Donmar Warehouse and Almeida. He has made around 60 appearances on TV, from Dalziel & Pasco to Doctor Who, and was most recently seen in BBC 2’s The Hour.

Whatsonstage.com have some great cheap Three Days in May tickets so follow the buy tickets link today!

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 3 November 2011

Over the three days in question, in May 1940, with the war underway but not going well, Winston Churchill wrestles with his cabinet over whether to sue for peace with Hitler, as Italy enters the affray, or stand firm as France and Belgium subside into neutrality.

It’s a sort of cliff-hanger – “the tightest corner for Great Britain since 1066,” remarks the lizard-like Lord Halifax — in Ben Brown’s efficiently written waistcoat and watch-chain drama; but with only one possible outcome, which we already know.

And the significance of what doesn’t happen is awkwardly underlined by the narrator/commentator, the young secretary Jock Colville (James Alper) who introduces Churchill and his chums kneeling at prayer in front of the cabinet table and a large map of Europe.

On the one hand there is Jeremy Clyde’s silky Lord Halifax (who really only did have one hand) and Robert Demeger’s blank and desiccated ...

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Latest User Review

Janet burns - 30 December 2011:

Excellent - gripping drama even though we all know the outcome. ...

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