Casting has been announced for the World Premiere production of Hell Yes I’m Tough Enough, a modern historical satire exposing the farcical pantomime behind the British 2015 election circuit. Informed by sources within the government, the production stars Ben Hood, Michael Edwards, Cassandra Hercules, Edward Halsted, Venice Van Someren, Mikhail Sen, Annie Tyson, James Bryant and Ben Alderton.
Political leaders Ned Contraband and David Carter ruthlessly battle it out to get into government. Whether it’s propaganda, ridicule, hacking, leaking, bullying, blackmail, coalition or negotiation – no tactic is too low. Which party has the best pitch? Who do we set up for failure? Why are we in this situation in the first place? And who is this peculiar janitor talking in riddles? One thing is clear: the system is very much broken. But who’s going to fix it?
Playwright Ben Alderton said of the play’s origins: “Hell Yes I’m Tough Enough took shape when, after years of our current political malaise, I began to explore what felt like the genesis for the personalities behind our current predicaments: the 2015 election. After years of research and working with inside sources to better understand the true personalities behind the podiums, I shared the script with contacts I’d made within the government. What I thought would be dismissed as a farcical and farfetched satire of debauchery was, I was told, uncannily and uncomfortably close to the truth. So much has come to pass since 2015, but this play serves as a worrying reminder of the pressures of political office, and the mechanisms that humans use to cope when the cameras are off.”
Playwright Ben Alderton will also play political leader David Carter, alongside Ben Hood in the role of the opposition, Ned Contraband. In addition to being a playwright, Ben is an accomplished actor having appeared in productions for Secret Cinema (28 Days Later; Empire Strikes Back and Dr. Strangelove), and other recent work including You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Junction) and Planter’s Island (Black Box).
Hell Yes I’m Tough Enough is at Park Theatre 24th April – 18th May 2019.
