Rishi Sunak musical to be staged in London

Brand-new show Rishi Sunak’s Doing A Musical! is set to open at Waterloo East Theatre in London on 2 July, just two days before the general election, after being penned in just one month.

Writers Rob Gathercole (Faking Bad – The Unauthorised Breaking Bad Parody Musical) and Joe Venable (On Your Bike) had originally intended to write the musical in the autumn, ahead of a presumed October election. However, following Sunak’s surprise announcement, the deadline moved dramatically.

Venable commented: “We both agreed it would be far too difficult – but in the end we felt we had to do it. Like anyone in their twenties, I’ve lived under the Conservatives for my whole adult life – I can’t remember anything else – and honestly, satirists have never had it so good. So it feels nice to honour the end of the era with a proper send-off.”

Gathercole added: “On 22 May, we didn’t have a single lyric written, note scored or Sunak impersonation nailed. We snapped into producing mode – and were very lucky to find a theatre willing to host us for a full week. The Waterloo East Theatre has been incredible. It’s actually lovely to make a show so fast – we all want theatre to be relevant and engaging, and writing a show in a month guarantees you aren’t dated by the time you get to the stage.”

Directed by Mimi Pattinson (Second Temple), Rishi Sunak’s Doing A Musical! tells the story of a prime minister attempting to win over the electorate by staging a musical about himself. The production will feature a live pianist and four actors, portraying characters such as Keir Starmer, who has numbers like “Paint the Town Beige” and “Things Can Only Get Slightly Better”.

Rishi Sunak’s Doing A Musical! runs at Waterloo East Theatre from 2 to 6 July and describes itself as “the only show in London currently offering a concession for ‘soon-to-be-unemployed Tory MPs’.”

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