Spitting Image stages revival – and one politician who makes the cut is the ‘surprise hit of the show’
Jacob Rees-Mogg reimagined as a praying mantis, Priti Patel transformed into a bat and four Vladimir Putins – not many live shows can boast such a cast.
But Spitting Image Live: Idiots Assemble has a unique advantage – the lead cast are all puppets.
The world premiere of the stage show
Comedians Al Murray and Matt Forde, the show’s co-writers, tell Sky News: “Suella Braverman is the surprise hit of the show… That puppet is disturbing in a very entertaining way.”
But showbiz is a fickle game, and while Vladimir Putin‘s current role in world politics means he has four puppets “to make what we’re doing with him work”, Kwasi Kwarteng (short-lived chancellor) and Nadhim Zahawi (ex-Conservative Party chairman) didn’t make the cut. Good calls, it turns out in political hindsight.
Murray explains: “You’ve got to be really sure who’s, for instance, the prime minister or the Chancellor of the Exchequer before you can commit to having them in the show because it costs thousands of pounds to have them caricatured and cast in latex.”
Described as “a show simultaneously inspired and appalled by real events”, Murray says they are currently on “version 3.5” of the script.
So, how do you create a topical rolling review, but avoid rewriting it every time there’s a cabinet reshuffle? And let’s face it, with three PMs and four chancellors last year alone, UK politics has been something of a revolving door of late.
Calling the production “an oil tanker” – as well as numerous puppets the show has 12 puppeteers (all of whom appear on stage during the show) and 12 voice artists, and tech-wise there are lighting and video AV setups as well as song and voice tracks – Murray acknowledges, “what you can’t be doing is rewriting a sketch about the budget”.
He goes on: “We’ve ended up developing a show that is essentially shockproof… We’ve got a role for the prime minister in the story. So, we’d swap him out rather than have to rewrite the entire thing [if he changed]. Had England won the World Cup, that would have affected what we’d written as well.”
(R-L) Co-writers Matt Forde, Al Murray and Sean Foley
Fellow comedian and co-writer Matt Forde chips in: “Yeah, there would have been one extra joke.”
The show can basically be switched around and updated as current affairs dictate, but without completely upending the storyline, or cast of key characters.
And there’s not just politics and football to worry about, there’s also the ever-changing fads of the world of showbiz. Celebrities who have the honour of making the cut include Taylor Swift, Stormzy and Tom Cruise. As for royalty, King Charles, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also make it in.
Not just lumps of plastic, it’s like the stars are really there Forde explains: “The puppets are so good, even though they are grotesque recreations of these people, they look and feel alive. And there is a part of your brain that genuinely believes King Charles, Stormzy and Greta Thunberg are all on stage together and chatting to each other. It does some sort of weird trick to your brain where you actually think you’ve seen those people together, it’s brilliant.”
First filmed for TV at Central Independent Television (now ITV Central) in Birmingham 40 years ago, Spitting Image held politicians, the Royal Family and celebrities to account with its biting cultural and political satire over 18 series from 1984 to 1996.
Watched by more than 15 million viewers at its height, the multi award-winning show had no shortage of inspiration for colourful content, with Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and The Queen among those recreated in puppet form and lampooned for our viewing pleasure.
The original TV show ran for 18 seasons from 1984 to 1996
Comedy veterans including Harry Enfield, Steve Coogan, Paul Whitehouse and Alistair McGowan all worked on the programme, as did Red Dwarf creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor.
The show’s creators Peter Fluck and Roger Law (both now part of the live show creative team) were originally political cartoonists, adapting their trade for TV.
Now, Murray says taking the show to the stage is just another level of the adaptation: “It’s not a comic doing an impression. It’s not an actor who doesn’t look like the King. You know, it’s a puppet. That’s a direct caricature of him.”
He says Forde’s Trump impression is “like having him there in front of you”.
So, what’s the trick to nailing the voice of a character?
Donald Trump Spitting Image puppet. Pic: Avalon/BritBox/Mark Harrison
Forde explains: “You need to hit upon a theme first, like some form of audio hook – like a sort of noise they would make, almost like a non-word noise. And then I think it’s about saying things that they could conceivably say. So, you sort of understand their vocal mannerisms… Keir Starmer has that slight blockage noise… With Trump you can just do these mad, rambling speeches.
“There’s a way of effectively capturing their essence through noise and the sorts of words they would say, and then it’s like a magic trick.”
Do they think any of the world leaders, celebrities or royalty lampooned in the show will object? Murray thinks not: “It would be daft to complain about this – it’s a Punch and Judy show.”
To prove the point, they’ve invited everyone featured in the show to come and see it, at least all those who are alive.
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With a tongue-in-cheek trigger warning on the show due to its “really naughty jokes”, Murray knows they are able to get away with more on stage with puppets than they would via conventional comedy.
“We have gone through a slightly sort of censorious vibe in the last few years,” he explains. “But now we’re not on television and we’ve not got to get this past BBC compliance or be worried about what the Daily Mail might say and all those factors that impinge on the kind of satire and comedy we get at the moment.”
With the evident success of the Spitting Image TV show, and more antics to dissect in politics and current affairs than ever before, why isn’t it still on our screens? Murray (who wrote for the two-series reboot in 2000) says it’s simply a case of cost, coming back again to the expense of the puppets at its heart.
“Spitting Image is an expensive show to write, shoot, produce, put on, and that is, to be honest, the beginning of the end of it.”
But he says TV’s loss is theatre’s gain: “When it came to TV in the first place in the 80s, it moved caricature on television and sort of rebadged caricature. And I think we’re doing that again by bringing it on stage. So, in a weird way, it feels like a better refresh than just doing it on the telly again.”
Idiots Assemble – Spitting Image Saves The World: Live on Stage is at the Birmingham Rep until Saturday 11 March.
Entertainment
Olivier Awards: US actor says ‘special relationship firmly intact’ despite Trump’s tariffs
British star Lesley Manville and American actor John Lithgow have won the acting categories at this year’s Olivier Awards, which recognise excellence in London theatre.
Lithgow, 79, played Roald Dahl in Giant, which is about the children’s author wondering whether to make a public apology.
While accepting his award he appeared to reference the current controversy over Donald Trump’s second term as US president.
The Conclave star quipped: “It’s not always easy to welcome an American into your midst, and at this particular moment, it’s probably a little more complicated than usual.”
He also told the audience at the Royal Albert Hall that the “special relationship is still firmly intact”, despite Mr Trump imposing tariffs on British exports to the US.
His co-star, English actor Elliot Levey, took best actor in a supporting role.
Giant was also named best new play.
Lesley Manville was best actress. Pic: PA
Manville, 69, was honoured for her performance in the Greek tragedy Oedipus at the Wyndham’s Theatre.
She said she felt “emotional” while accepting her statuette because it was a production she had “felt very strongly about being” in.
Manville, who played Princess Margaret in The Crown, added that she was taking an early flight to Dublin on Monday to do some filming, and would not be getting “much sleep tonight”.
Romola Garai was best actress in a supporting role. Pic: PA
Best actress in a supporting role went to Romola Garai for her performance in The Years, based on a memoir by French writer Annie Ernaux.
Garai, whose film credits include Scoop and Atonement, was nominated in the same category for Giant.
Elliot Levey was best actor in a supporting role. Pic: PA
Dame Imelda Staunton won a fifth Olivier, for best actress in a musical for the London revival of classic musical Hello, Dolly!
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button won best new musical, a best actor musical award for Lark Rise To Candleford actor John Dagleish, and the outstanding musical contribution award.
The annual event was co-hosted by British singer Beverley Knight and Pose star Billy Porter.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
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