IDIOTS ASSEMBLE: SPITTING IMAGE SAVES THE WORLD Comes to Birmingham Rep Next Year
Performances run from 1 February to 11 March 2023.
40 years after the hugely popular satirical sketch show Spitting Image was first filmed in Birmingham, the iconic puppets return to the city for the World Premiere of Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World at Birmingham Rep. Directed by The Rep's Artistic Director, double Olivier Award-winner, Sean Foley, the show will run at Birmingham Rep from 1 February to 11 March 2023.
With a creative team that includes original Spitting Image co-creator, Roger Law, alongside a comedy tour de force writing team of Al Murray, Matt Forde and Sean Foley, Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World promises to be the unmissable, laugh-out-loud show to kick-start 2023.
World famous celebrities will be thrown together as Tom Cruise is tasked by King Charles with saving Great Britain. Greta Thunberg duets with Stormzy as Putin and Xi watch on from their premium seats in the stalls. Have they just come out for a night on the town? Or will they wipe out all of civilisation? A show simultaneously inspired and appalled by real events.
Sean Foley said: "Trying to develop a satirical comedy based on the shifting politics of today has been the original fool's errand: we've already thrown away 3 entire scripts - and several famous puppets aren't even going to make their stage debuts anymore... But the sheer joy of casting Tom Cruise alongside King Charles, Greta Thunberg, RuPaul and Meghan Markle has made up for it. To be premiering this theatrical extravaganza in Birmingham, the home of the original ground-breaking television series, is a wonderful thrill."
"It's a who's who of the good, the bad and the ugly' commented Al Murray. "I know Marvel like to say it, but our show is the greatest cross over event of all time. Where else could you get Michael Gove, Tom Cruise, Sir Ian McKellen, Idris Elba, Daniel Craig, Fiona Bruce and Paddington Bear on a single stage?"
Matt Forde added: "We are living through an insane, abnormal, infuriating period, so the timing of this show couldn't be better. It's vital that we see our leaders lampooned with cutting satire and yes, whacked over the head with a big stick."
The BAFTA and Emmy award-winning satirical Spitting Image television series originally ran for 18 series between 1984 and 1996, and was watched by over 15 million viewers. It recently made a popular return to TV on BritBox, where across official social media channels, Spitting Image content has been hugely popular with over 200 million views globally, three number 1 trending videos on YouTube and achieved critical praise across the political divide. Three one-off specials for ITV have also seen huge success on terrestrial television: with a 4.4 million audience achieving ITV's highest Saturday night ratings at that time in four years.
Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World, Live on Stage is presented by Avalon and Birmingham Rep and runs at The Rep from 1 February to 11 March 2023. To book tickets visit Birmingham-rep.co.uk, call 0121 236 4455 or visit the box office during opening hours.*
More Hot Stories For You
Wayne McGregor's WOOLF WORKS Returns To The Royal Opera House This MarchFebruary 1, 2023
Wayne McGregor's acclaimed triptych Woolf Works returns to the Royal Opera House stage this spring. Receiving its premiere in 2015, Woolf Works was McGregor's first full-length work for The Royal Ballet and subsequently won both the 2016 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production and the 2015 Critics' Circle National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography.
Gary Davies Takes His Saturday Night Radio Show On Tour With Mastermixes, Dancers, and Surprise Special GuestsFebruary 1, 2023
Legendary DJ Gary Davies will bring the UK's biggest 80s radio show - BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s - on tour for a series of unique live performances. It's the show that listeners enjoy every Saturday night, but live on stage.
BY THE WATERS OF LIVERPOOL Will Embark on UK TourFebruary 1, 2023
A brand new stage production documenting the early life of best-selling author Helen Forrester is going back on the road during Autumn 2023 after its inaugural tour came to a standstill at the start of the Covid pandemic.
BIRDS AND BEES Comes to the Stephen Joseph Theatre Next MonthFebruary 1, 2023
A searing exploration into sex positivity, online safety and intersectionality comes to Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre next month. Birds and Bees is an enthralling play by renowned writer Charlie Josephine (I, Joan; Shakespeare’s Globe), which reached over 500 schools across the UK with online performances in 2020.
New Open-Air Theatre Will Open on a Lavender Farm in SurreyFebruary 1, 2023
Just a stone's throw from London and set amidst rolling lavender fields, the Lavender Theatre will open for its inaugural summer season this July in Epsom.
