Emma Wilkinson Wright returns to the White Bear Theatre in the critically acclaimed production of “The Last Days of Liz Truss?” by Greg Wilkinson. This tragic-comic exploration of political ambition and reality garnered five-star reviews during its sold-out premiere in December.
Directed by Anthony Shrubsall, the play features Wright as Liz Truss and Steve Nallon of Spitting Image as the voice of Margaret Thatcher. The production offers a broader look at broken systems and the contradictions at the heart of British and global politics.
“The Last Days of Liz Truss?” runs from 18-29 March at the White Bear Theatre. Tickets can be booked here.
You’re bringing “The Last Days of Liz Truss?” to the White Bear Theatre. What can you tell us about the show?
We’re bringing The Last Days of Liz Truss? back to the White Bear Theatre for two weeks this month, following an initial sell-out run in which the play enjoyed a string of five and four- star reviews and secured national press coverage (the Guardian, the Daily Star and Radio 5Live). The play is a tragi-comic exploration of the tensions in politics: between ambition and ability, vision and reality, going short and playing it long.
It has some of the things you might expect in a play about Liz Truss – cheese and karaoke, to name two – and it also explores broader themes around politics and power in the UK and internationally. Whilst the protagonist of the play is clearly Liz, it is really a much broader commentary on broken systems – political, economic and financial; policy making and politics; the power of the financial sector; and the rise of the far right.
How did you prepare for the role of Liz Truss?
In the first instance, I spent 6 weeks on full time line learning. The play is a 42-page monologue, so there was just a critical mass of text to get in my head. And in order to sleep at night and avoid all those actor nightmares – stepping onto stage with no lines, with the wrong lines, and so on – I needed to get that done as early as possible in the process so the real work could begin.
Obviously alongside that, there was a need to get my head around political and economic theory, the lexicon of politics, the basics of financial systems and a whole host of material that frankly I just wasn’t particularly familiar with. I’ve always maintained one of the things I love most about being an actor is the opportunity to constantly learn. Every play, every character brings with it the chance to research and immerse yourself in a whole new world.
This theory was certainly tested to its upper limit when I was reading about market economics (bond yields anyone?!) There is good reason I am an actor and not a banker or an economist! I also read the books she has written and had written about her, articles, interviews – I quite literally left no stone unturned. But aside from this body of knowledge, there was also the vocal, physical and character preparation. I worked with the wonderful voice coach Ryan O Grady for 8 weeks to develop Liz’s “voice” – she has a very distinct style of speaking. Not to try and mimic her, but moreover to capture the essence of how she speaks: intonation, patterns, habits and so on. I listened to Podcasts, watched every video I could find of her – analysing and breaking down her voice, and also meticulously analysing how she moves and her physical gestures.
One of the most important things for me was absolutely not to present her as caricature or parody, but rather as a 360 degree, real, truthful person. One of the biggest challenges within this framing was that we – of course – only ever see the “public” Liz. So developing a truth for the person beneath the public persona, who is someone we never really see, was really interesting.
The play features Steve Nallon as the voice of Margaret Thatcher. How does this dynamic work on stage?
The idea is that these are voices in Liz’s head as she re-lives parts of her life, her rise to power and her time in office – during this, her final morning in number 10. The dynamic works really well. The overall tone is very playful. In places it is very, very funny; and in others very poignant. The voices allow whole worlds to be built around Liz, and they are crucial within the context of the storytelling. Steve was an absolute joy to work with and brought so much to these characters. He had a very tough job, because he plays almost 30 different voices throughout the piece and he does them all brilliantly. Each and every single one is different. We had a LOT of fun recording them. It really has been an absolute honour to work with him.
Can you tell us about the themes explored in the play and their relevance to current politics?
The play’s focus – on Liz’s rise to the premiership, her brief time in office, and her imagining of her future after 2022 – allows us to explore a rich set of themes: the importance – and elusiveness – of economic growth; the difficulty of departing from orthodox approaches – and the limitations of sticking with the ‘same old same old’; and the ways in which our leaders’ political destinies are shaped by American influences. Those themes are as relevant to British politics today as they were on the day of Liz’s resignation, two and a half years ago.
As the Artistic Director of Oxia Theatre, what drew you to produce this particular show?
Our mission at Oxia is to make and produce new work that is absolutely relevant to a universal, lived human experience. Work that questions, provokes and challenges. When I first read the script, I was blown away by the breadth and depth of the material covered and by the writing – it is extremely intelligent yet utterly accessible, and beautifully crafted. It has all the ingredients of a cracking play: humour, insight, wit, intelligence, subtlety, nuance and perspective. And I’ve literally never read a more relevant and timely piece: it is eerily prophetic and rings ever more true day by day.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see “The Last Days of Liz Truss?”
I would honestly say that this is one of the single most important plays written in recent times and that anyone interested in how the world is unfolding – at a terrifying pace and in a somewhat terrifying direction – should definitely come and see it. It will challenge you and it will make you think. It does not – in places – make for comfortable watching – but that is Oxia’s mission: we want to hold up a very unforgiving mirror and challenge the most uncomfortable edges of “acceptance”. If people don’t leave our shows thinking differently from how they thought when they walked in the door – then we consider ourselves to have failed. Not that we are prescribing what to think: we merely provide a platform for provocation and reflection.
The Last Days of Liz Truss? by Greg Wilkinson, directed by Anthony Shrubsall with Emma Wilkinson Wright as Liz Truss and Steve Nallon of Spitting Image as the voice of Margaret Thatcher returns to The White Bear Theatre, 18 – 29 March
