THEATRE REVIEW: Boris

THE PRESENT political situation seems so comical, it’s hard to imagine a musical satire making it any sillier.

Boris: The Musical

Blowfish Theatre

CAST

Thursday, June 15 to Friday, June 16

And yet, Boris: The Musical manages to take the patently absurd, stick a big, red nose on it and custard pie it full in the face.

This low-budget banter-fest by youthful troupe Blowfish is here for a second year, extended to include the EU referendum and snap election.

Its writers and musicians have been penning new scenes and new songs, bringing this wry commentary bang up to date.

From Eton, it traces the lives of its privileged cast through Oxford (including Bullingdon Club bants) and into Parliament (again), soundtracked by songs like Born to Rule, BeLeave and Prime Minister GB.

There is no set to speak of — other than a big, gold curtain — so don’t expect to be wowed by stage design.

Costumes are similarly scant, with Boris represented by a suit and predictable blonde wig.

Actor David Burchhardt doesn’t look (or really sound) like his character, which annoyed me at first, but then this isn’t BBC’s Dead Ringers.

The story’s the thing — and that’s so well-observed, it’s positively uncomfortable.

A scathing swipe at Tory-Trump politics, it’s not one for the Brexiteer and certainly not for children, with its dirty talk and simulated sex acts.

The humour is mostly silly, sometimes clever and often crude — did you know that “Johnson” has another meaning? You will do, by the end...

This show has all the hallmarks of a student production (not a slur), though professional performances do shine through.

Liz Kearney is especially good as a Spitting Image version of Theresa May — pretty convincing as Michael Gove, too.

Polly Bycroft-Brown makes a despotic David Cameron and, though Kyle Williams doesn’t come close to being David Dimbleby, his slapstick flailing and dry delivery amuse.

And when Jeremy Corbyn (Laurence Peacock) bursts onstage with an hilarious grime number, it could be the man himself (in the 1970s).

Boris is bonkers, rowdy and radical — see blowfishtheatre.weebly.com/boris for news of a promised further update.