The opening of Jonathan Maitland’s new play about Boris purports to be based on real events. Just before the referendum, the Tory maverick invited some chums over to help him decide whether to opt for Leave or Remain. Mrs Johnson was present along with Michael and Sarah Gove and the Evening Standard’s owner, Evgeny Lebedev. For a bit of fun, the writer adds spectral appearances from three ex-prime ministers, Blair, Thatcher and Churchill. This is amusing at first but it slows the play down because the fantasy figures can’t affect the real-life action.
There are dazzling performances here. Tim Wallers plays Evgeny as a name-dropping simpleton with naked ankles and an ultra-camp gait. Wonderful. Mrs Johnson (Davina Moon) is portrayed as a Farageist headbanger who thinks migrants cause crime. Will Barton gives an eerily accurate portrait of Boris without any of the harrumphing, finger-wagging, hair-tousling tactics usually deployed by his lookalikes.
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