Find out how critics have been reacting to this stage adaptation of Jonathan Lynn’s farewell to parliamentary sitcom.
The Guardian: *** “Rhys Jones and Clive Francis as Sir Humphrey are a treat, too, the former blithering and pompous, the latter a delicious mixture of vulnerability and shrewdness – frail enough to give the stairlift a go, but with his skill intact for filibustering prolixity.”
London Theatre.co.uk: *** “Longer and more leisurely than needed, the play trades on nostalgia for its estimable brand and benefits from a genuinely top-class performance from Francis, who turns 80 later this year. This venerable actor twice earns applause with his rapid-fire delivery of Sir Humphrey’s runaway sentences, and in a play concerned with the faltering faculties that come with age, Francis very much gives the welcome impression that he could well go on forever.”
Time Out: *** “A blustering Rhys Jones is amusing as Hacker, playing up his Churchillian delusions of self-importance while surrounded by boxes of his unsold memoirs. But Humphrey is the truly compelling character here – a creature of the civil service who is finally speaking his mind now inscrutability is no longer relevant. Francis delivers his lines with the same acidly snobby, guillotine-sharp dryness as Nigel Hawthorne did as Humphrey in the TV series but strikingly mixed with flashes of anger and frailty.”
The Standard: *** “Francis delivers a couple of Appleby’s scrolling, polysyllabic speeches, designed to bamboozle Hacker, as set pieces. He also has a splendid bit of comic business when an alarming spasm in his leg turns out to be a vibrating mobile phone. And did I mention his timing and delivery? Sophie asks if Hacker was a “thinker or a leader” as PM. “No,” he annihilatingly replies.”
All That Dazzles: *** “The play sets its sights on cancel culture, ageing political behemoths, and the discomfort of becoming out of touch. There is a fascinating ambiguity in the audience response. Laughter ripples around the theatre, but it is never entirely clear whether it is ironic, sympathetic, or purely nostalgic. That uneasy space gives the piece an edge. It is satire that risks being embraced by the very people it skewers, which may well be part of its design, but feels uncomfortable nonetheless.”
The Stage: *** “Jonathan Lynn’s final instalment of the comedies is a witty, wistful and still-relevant satire.”
The Arts Desk: “Overall, it’s an affable evening that many boomers who are no longer working full-time will warm to. (It also comes as yet another Cabinet Secretary bites the dust IRL.) Sophie is there as a persistent corrective to the men’s complacency. She gets the great line, when Hacker asks her if she studied economics, “I experienced economics.” She has ended up thousands of pounds in debt and sees them as privileged men who blew it. By the end, they partly understand her point of view. Whether or not we do, Lynn wisely leaves up to us.”
West End Best Friend: *** “Only once the discussion returns to the difficulties of putting on socks or dealing with grown-up children does the audience relax and enjoy the gentle humour, which has always been the hallmark of this series. The play is unlikely to attract those who have not met these characters before, but will be enjoyed by fans of the series, with a central performance by Clive Francis to cherish.”
Theatre Vibe: “I was expecting the sharp quick-witted dialogue that so pleased the fans of the tv shows. I felt in the first half this was a bit lacking in that sequences were sometime slow and laughs irregular. However, after the interval things picked up and the audience were not disappointed with the sharp wit and humour.”
First Night Magazine: **** “Despite some minor issues, I’m Sorry, Prime Minister is bound for a successful tenure in the West End. Lively, scintillating, and deliciously sarcastic, this so-called last chapter may just be the start to a long series of reruns. And it certainly has my vote for that.”
I’m Sorry Prime Minister continues to play at the Apollo Theatre until the 9th May.