Sir Humphrey and Hacker stage political reincarnation

Yes, Prime Minister was a seminal comedy series that came to define political satire in the 1980s and laid the foundation for shows such as The Thick Of It.

Now, the original writers have collaborated on a new stage play of the show.

Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay have had a huge influence on contemporary comedy – but is the magic still there as they attempt to replicate the success they once had?

Lynn says: “It was as if we had never stopped. We had never lost touch, and we’d seen each other pretty often over the intervening years – my wife and I frequently went down to Somerset to visit Tony and Jill when we were in England – so it was just a question of whether we would still find it easy to write together.

“To our surprise, when we tried it seemed as though it had only been a few weeks since the last time, not 23 years. By the end of the first morning we had found so many ideas that Tony, who analyses and categorises with great precision, remarked that writing the play had gone from being a problem to being a task. This was a relief.”

The reason it was a relief reveals why the latest incarnation has been a success – the writing team were not in this for the money.

“We had made a deal with our producers Mark Goucher and Matthew Byam Shaw but refused to take any money in advance in case we couldn’t deliver something we thought was good enough. In fact, I think we finished writing the first draft before we were prepared to commit to the idea that the play would actually be deliverable.”

While it is 23 years since Sir Humphrey has been on our screens, the characters haven’t disappeared.

The pair had been asked – and agreed to – write pieces in the voices of their characters. It had kept their writing muscles supple.

Lynn says: “One of our biggest concerns was whether the public would accept new actors and different interpretations of Jim, Humphrey and Bernard.

“We didn’t want actors who would do impersonations of Paul (Eddington), Nigel (Hawthorne) and Derek (Fowlds). In fact, we went out of our way to cast it differently. That’s why we had ducked writing a stage play for many years, even though many producers had asked us. But then I realised that so many beloved characters have been recast, like Doctor Who, James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and the audience simply accepts a new interpretation by a different actor and treats it on its merits.

“We hoped that would be the case with our characters, and that’s how it turned out. And yes, we were delighted to have shown that the characters have a life of their own, apart from the actors who first played them.”

Why has the reborn TV show been a success, and why does there seem to be an appetite for the stage version? Antony Jay has an idea.

“Firstly, I think everybody knows something about politics nowadays – it floods our TV screens and newspapers. But, yes, there is something universal about the servant who knows more than his master – Figaro and The Admirable Crichton are good examples – and Jim’s ignorance has a lot of comic potential.”

Having had such an influence – and still being around – Jay and Lynn are able to see the results of their influence. Are they irritated that they appear to have ‘inspired’ modern television shows?

Jay says: “I’m not really a fan of political TV – after all I started in it when I joined Panorama in 1956, and then moved on to Tonight where I did a show a night for six years. After the first 50 years you get jaded. But I think The Thick Of It is excellent.”

Contemporary references

The stage play of Yes, Prime Minister opened at Chichester Festival Theatre in May 2010.

By the end of the year, such was the success with audiences and critics of the play, it had transferred into the West End, running for over a year at London’s Gielgud Theatre.

The writers kept working on the piece throughout rehearsals, so that it would reflect the current political world – Blackberrys were ubiquitous in the stage version and there were even topical references to the Coalition.

The play features some new characters, including a woman who is introduced as head of the policy unit at Number 10.

Bradford Alhambra Theatre, April 9 to 13, Tickets on 01274 432000, Sheffield Lyceum, April 29 to May 4. Tickets on 0114 249 6000.