Yes, Prime Minister

This show has now closed, click here for a listing of current and future London shows

Opened 6 June 2012, Closed 12 January 2013 at the Trafalgar Studios in London

Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's new comedy Yes, Prime Minister in London.

Following a hugely successful season at the Apollo and Gielgud Theatres in London last year, Yes, Prime Minister returns to London's West End... in Whitehall at the Trafalgar Studios.

First broadcast on the BBC on 25 February 1980, Yes, Minister, and it's sequel Yes, Prime Minister, went on to become television's most successful political comedy ever. Now the original writers of these classic series have reunited for this special new stage production which comes to London's West End following a sell out season at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Prime Minister Jim Hacker, his Cabinet Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby and his Principal Private Secretary Bernard Woolley are all back, this time live on stage!

Much has changed since the 1980's - Spin has become an art form and the BlackBerry is the must-have accessory. Dossiers have been 'sexed up', the 'special relationship' has been put to the test and countless MPs have stood down to 'spend more time with their families'. But great institutions have a way of riding punches and bouncing back unscathed for the next round. Will it prove so for Jim Hacker and his coterie of close advisors? Especially with the country on the brink of financial meltdown and the Government's only apparent salvation coming from an unlikely quarter - a morally dubious deal with the Foreign Minister of Kumranistan.

"How wonderful it is to have them back... and in truly vintage form in a new stage play. It is at first a shock to see them being played by actors other than the late and much missed Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne... there is no attempt at slavish imitation of the originals... The comedy however remains as politically sharp, and as blissfully funny, as ever... It's a wonderful show that taps into all our current scepticism about those who presume to lead us, and a smash hit if I ever saw one." The Daily Telegraph 2010

"This is not a simple replica of the popular 1980s TV series. Even if writers Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn couldn't be expected to foresee the comic possibilities of coalition, they recognise that the power balance inside politics has radically changed, and that Jim Hacker has become more presidential, while being ever more dependent on others. The result is to push satire, legitimately in my view, into the zany realm of farce." The Guardian 2010

"Full house at Chichester for Yes, Prime Minister, the TV comedy which has been turned into a farce. The audience loved it. Aphorisms abounded. There were even a couple of topical references to coalition government. A four-star evening? Yes. The set is opulent. The actors are first-division names. The comic timing is sound. But a corner of me remained unmoved. Maybe it was because the plot, for all its outrageousness, is not quite as amazing as what is happening in real politics at present. Or maybe it was because the whole thing is overdone by about 15 per cent." The Daily Mail 2010

The original cast for Yes, Prime Minister in London featured Henry Goodman as 'Sir Humphrey Appleby' and David Haig as 'Jim Hacker' who both reprised their roles from the Chichester Festival Theatre. This production was originally staged at Chichester Festival Theatre where it previewed from 13 May 2010, opened on 20 May 2010, closed on 5 June 2010 after which is transferred to London's Apollo Theatre where it previewed from 17 September 2010, opened on 27 September 2010 and closed on 15 January 2011. The production then returned to the Apollo Theatre where it run from 6 July 2011 to 17 September 2011 before transferring to The Gielgud Theatre from 20 September 2011 to 19 November 2011. The production now returns to London again from the 6 June 2012 at the Trafalgar Studios 1.

Yes Prime Minister in London at the Trafalgar Studios opened on 6 June 2012 and closes on 12 January 2013.