Despite the odd rhythmic dip, DROP THE DEAD DONKEY: THE REAWAKENING! has lost none of its acerbic wit.
In the 1990s the internet was still a different place. News media, although adopting the 24-hour format, was still regarded as more or less reliable. Or was it?
DROP THE DEAD DONKEY, which ran from 1990 to 1998, provided a satirical take on the world of news and, more specifically, GlobeLink News, the shambolic and angst-ridden comic creation of Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. Over 5 million people tuned in weekly to follow the fortunes of a disparate and desperate cohort of colleagues with guest stars ranging from unknowns such as Daniel Craig and well-known ones such as Neil Kinnock. The programme, which won a BAFTA in 1994, made household names of its cast, and now, 26 years after the last camera at GlobeLink went off air, the show is back as a touring theatre piece and what a piece it is.
Written by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, it has lost none of its acerbic wit, and when in full flight, it remains a beacon of sarcasm, pithy one-liners and total disrespect. To be fair there are moments when the rhythm does dip but that is not any reflection on the actors who all slip seamlessly into their alter egos; Sally Smedley (Victoria Wicks) remains in the 1980s in ideals, the now wheelchair-bound amoral foreign correspondent Damien Day (Stephen Tompkinson), Jeff Rawl as the consistently inept editor George Dent, Ingrid Lacey as Helen Cooper the “capable hands” and the odious Gus Hedges (Robert Duncan), still spouting the company line whatever the company.
We also see Joy Merryweather (Susannah Doyle), who has been elevated to head of HR but remains as abrasive and unlikeable as ever, and Neil Pearson as the beleaguered Dave Charnley, a changed man in his personal life but who remains the office dogsbody. Only missing are Haydn Gwynne and David Swift who are no longer with us.
Now, the team is assembled for a new news station, Truth News, which appears to have a very strange agenda and is a disaster waiting to happen, which it does.
The gags come thick and fast, some signposted, others not. There are running gags, some new and others resurrected, and undercurrents of distrust and dislike amongst the colleagues, but let’s remember, the money is really good. Even up to the minute, one-liners appear, which must have been added within the last 24 hours. Some of the jokes raise a titter, others belly laughs, and one or two cringe through open fingers. All in all a good selection and just what you would expect. The only criticism is that sometimes the wealth of jokes shows up the periods when relationships are being explored and that can slow down the rhythm of the play.
It could be argued that the play shows the way in which news media has changed, and certainly, the inclusion of a Twitter feed brings this home, but have the newsroom staff evolved enough to cope with the new way of thinking? Gus points out, “It doesn’t matter what those tweets say because it’s all about viewing figures you see – our viewers don’t believe the news is true anymore, so it might be better they believe something that isn’t true.” Maybe this statement shows that this donkey isn’t dead, it’s still kicking…
DROP THE DEAD DONKEY: THE REAWAKENING! runs at The Lowry, Salford, until 17 February 2024
Social Profiles