9 / 10
I confess I didn’t know much about the plays of Arthur Wing Pinero, but after seeing this absolutely knockout production of his 1890 farce The Cabinet Minister, brilliantly adapted by actress and debuting playwright Nancy Carroll, I’m now an ardent fan. This is, hands down, one of the funniest shows in London theatre right now.
9 / 10
This is a production that’s gleefully proud of its genre identity and the limitations that come with it. It’s such an excellent final product that we’re delighted to indulge its theatrical contract: the silliest, most unbelievable twist and all the visual contradictions contained in it are delivered with such exquisite sarcasm and cheerful panache that we don't mind a world where it’s possible to enter an empty room and not notice the two people who are just sitting very still in order not to be seen. It’s ridiculous, but Foster makes it work.
See what the critics are saying about The Cabinet Minister at Menier Chocolate Factory. Arthur Wing Pinero’s farce is given a new life in a brand-new adaptation by Nancy Carroll. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
Sir Julian Twombley is in hot water when it’s discovered that his family has been living way beyond his House of Commons’ wages. This isn’t the latest front page of a Daily Mail-made political attack, it’s the premise of one of Arthur Wing Pinero’s later comedies. Though Victorian farce isn’t exactly all the rage at the moment, The Cabinet Minister is so unfortunately relevant and timely you’d never think it was written in 1890.
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